Missing Titanic submarine

[Twinklesgolden]

How horrifying that a submarine carrying 5 people has gone missing. Apparently there’s only 96 hours of air on the submarine when it sets off.

The people on board must be terrified!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65953872.amp

Ffs what a horrible comment

I suppose the best outcome is that they are able to float to the surface and get noticed and rescued.

The other horrifying detail I read somewhere while going down the rabbit hole yesterday is that the sub cannot be opened from the inside. They are literally sealed up with 17 bolts so only someone from outside can open it.

Honestly I can’t feel too sorry for people who sign up for this. Maybe they should have had more respect for the titanic and the souls lost on it, rather than treating it like a fun crazy tourist destination!

Soooo what do you call people who visit the World Trade Centre memorial?!

Well I would hope with all their money they took out good insurance which should cover it.
And I would say the same if it was "ordinary" people 4 miles under water. The difference is "ordinary" people don't have the funds to do it, so it's moot.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I don't see why it should be tax payers (of any country) funding this very risky escapade for very wealthy people.

Using a video game controller is not necessarily a bad thing, it's something easy to replace and you can carry a spare.

I've been out to sea with ROVs as well (again US research ships) @SinnerBoy and they were all tethered. I actually prefer that to a cruise with a crewed sub because you get images live streamed to the ship at all times the ROV is down, and the ROV can stay under water as long as required. We lost a platform (also tethered) with equipment and samples when someone accidentally triggered the release of the platform, we never found it again. Quarter of a million US$ worth of equipment still drifting about the Indian Ocean.

I don’t necessarily think you can equate the expedition like visiting the World Trade Center memorial. That is something that you can visit for free, without risk, stay and reflect a while. This trip is basically a bit of a thrill, paying £250k for an experience where you sign your life away beforehand with the disclaimer. I don’t suggest they aren’t going through hell, but it was a big risk to take to do something that us mere mortals cannot.

Sadly, suffocation is not an easy death. You may eventually "fall asleep", but not until after a very uncomfortable and prolonged period of gasping for breath.

96 hours of breathable air is 4 days worth under normal conditions - normal conditions means not panicking which changes the breathing pattern and uses more oxygen - this will reduce the survival time.

If they have released ballast and are gently floating to the surface, as opposed to being propelled, then it will take quite a while, but assuming the sub hasn't been damaged, they should survive.

The sanitary conditions inside will be very unpleasant, though, and they will be desperately thirsty when they come back up - I can't imagine a small craft like that has much in the way of facilities.

Oh, good heavens

I didn't know that - that's horrible!

The people on board (now named n many media sources):

• Stockton Rush (CEO of Oceangate)
• Paul-Henri Nargeolet, French explorer and highly experience dive expert and submersible pilot
• Hamish Harding, British billionaire and explorer
• Shahzada Dawood, Pakistani businessman (and director of at least one underwater research company)
• his son Suleman

There are some horrible comments on this thread from what I assume are unambitious people on low incomes. Being jealous or judgemental of those that can afford to take part in ventures such as these trips where there is a mishap doesn't give you the moral high ground.

Let's look back to the early 1900's when flying was only for the rich elite, it was incredibly dangerous as it's new and the risks are not understood. This is history repeating itself but for a different means of transport and in a different environment.

None of you would be enjoying holidays abroad if it were not for this kind of exploration and experimentation.

Unfortunately learnings are written in blood, this is part of development and improvement in travel technology.

It's sad that this situation is ongoing and I wish those on board the best and I hope they're found safe, but it makes me laugh how everyone is quick to judge. It's not a race to the bottom, if you'll pardon the pun.

Oh darling, definitely not unambitious OR on a low income but whatever helps you sleep at night

I hope they surface and out found safely, and that expeditions like this are never allowed to happen again.

Absolutely!

They may come out of this alive, but they will not be undamaged mentally. I don't care how rich and self-indulgent they are, this is a horrible, horrible thing to happen and nobody should have to endure it.

Yeah it's not like a regular submarine with a top hatch that can be opened.

Someone else was talking about how would a submarine be rescued but it's that hatch that makes it possible, another craft can attach to it and then the hatch is opened to allow people to get out, and be transported to the surface. But even that is only possible at shallower depths, not 2.4 miles down! So we have a submersible with people bolted into it, despite whatever failsafes are there, things can still go horribly wrong.

If you look up the Kursk submarine disaster, they mention: "Over four days, the Russian Navy repeatedly failed in its attempts to attach four different diving bells and submersibles to the escape hatch of the submarine." (wiki) That was also a horrific incident.

Ok so if they were at Titanic depth it could take a couple of days to float back up??

This will depend on weight and shape of this particular sub. Alvin took about one hour to come back to surface from 2000m after release of the weights.

I just read this. The whole thing is horrific.

What I don’t understand is how and why this sub has been designed / allowed to operate with seemingly no back up plan should the software / gps fail?! it’s a recipe for disaster surely.

@Igneococcus At some future dare I would love if you started a thread on your experience. Been fascinated by Alvin since I read about it in Nat Geo. So many questions but not appropriate on this thread.

There's no GPS on the submersible. All they can do is 'ping' and if that fails they are out of communication, and have no idea where they are because it's the ship above that messages them with those details - 'the Titanic is 100m to your left' sort of thing. So without that they are blind. The 'backup plan' seems to be to float upwards, ditch ballast.

A case of more money than sense unfortunately

The sanitary conditions inside will be very unpleasant, though, and they will be desperately thirsty when they come back up - I can't imagine a small craft like that has much in the way of facilities

Oxygen supply should last c.4 days

As I posted last night, no word on water supplies, but dehydration will start to kick in somewhere around the 1-2 day mark, and can be severe by 3 days, and life-threatening.

I'd be happy to do that @MotherofGorgons and I agree it wouldn't be appropriate on this thread.

If they have released ballast and are gently floating to the surface, as opposed to being propelled, then it will take quite a while, but assuming the sub hasn't been damaged, they should survive.

I havent seen anything in the news about a ballast maybe enabling them to float to the top. Is this possible?! I do hope so. If they float to the top will they be able to breath without hatch being opened?

There are some horrible comments on this thread from what I assume are unambitious people on low incomes. Being jealous or judgemental of those that can afford to take part in ventures such as these trips where there is a mishap doesn't give you the moral high ground.

What nonsense. I very much doubt anyone on this thread is jealous, and we are allowed to be judgemental of something which is costing a fortune in a rescue mission and which appeared to be a risky venture. I could be the wealthiest person in the world and wouldn't want to embark on such a trip, or one into space. A previous poster mentioned more money than sense, and I agree with them.

As for comparing it to the early days of flying, once again, nonsense. You can't compare flying to another country for a holiday to an expedition to the bottom of the sea to look at a wreck which has been there for a long time, and what does seeing it achieve? A bunch of wealthy people paying over the odds for a risky "adventure" for no reason other than that they can. I wish them well, but I will judge them.

@Igneococcus (hope I've tagged correctly )
I assume that the submersible has either clump weights, or ballast tanks, which can be filled with compressed air, as a minimum safety measure. I was on one job when and ROV tether broke, in 600m of water and it took 12 hours to float to the surface.
Said on radio how massively heavy the vessel would be.DO you think its feasible for it to resurface ?

On previous trips, they have only taken one sandwich and a bottle of water on board each.