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

I can't understand how they all fitted in- it's so cramped in there!

I came on to say I had just read this on the BBC website, about being bolted in.

Lots of places are grave sites but people visit.

I went to Pompeii and Herculaneum last year. They are places where thousands of people died, and yet they are also tourist attractions.

I've visited Ground Zero. I've also visited war cemeteries.

Personally, I think it's completely foolhardy to travel to the Titanic site due to its location, but I don't think condemning people for visiting sites where people lost their lives is a sound argument.

The thing is, when building vessels that are going beyond the normal range, then you use materials in innovative ways. Carbon fibre might not have been meant to withstand pressures that deep, but then again neither is anything else

It can, has, and will again be successfully used at that depth and deeper. Also remember that it's not just the materials, it's how they are put together

We don't know that none of the resurfacing methods worked - no-one knows right now where the vessel is - it could be bobbing along at the surface, but with broken comms

There were various layers of emergency plans, but that reduces risk. It does not eliminate it (true for many activities). The risks were made very clear to those intending to make the dive - rather like astronauts know there are risks despite many mitigations and emergency plans.

GPS only works at surface and the satcomms to a few hundred metres. That doesn't mean a failure to provide proper kit, it's that things stop working at depth, and that's why they rely on pings at depth, then communicate by message when nearer the surface to establish location for retrieval.

Also, I think being classed isn't really applicable here. There aren't agreed standards because there are so few vessels that can go that deep. Making sure vessels reach safety standards is important when there are standards to be met. But it's not the right administrative process for innovative vehicles

I came on to say I had just read this on the BBC website, about being bolted in.

If they are on the surface they can deploy lights and signals for purpose of being spotted. Still not easy in that remote location, and if that's what happened.

Good points here

Well I hope that they are found, but worse things happen.

25,000 people, including 10,000 children die from hunger every day. I have more sympathy for them than millionaires on an exploration trip. They signed the paperwork knowing that there was a risk of death.

Are these people more important because they're rich?

So much judgement in this thread. It’s a natural psychological defence to justify others’ misfortune in terms that distance the perceived danger from yourself.

But I wonder if all those people criticising the visiting of a gravesite have never been to Stonehenge, Collville, or the pyramids.

And those criticising people who take risks might consider that the children trapped in the cave were rescued by people who take extraordinary risks in their extreme hobby of cave diving.

There’s such a stark contrast between a MN thread and the passionate empathy of rescuers, who are risk takers in their own way.

@oakleaffy interesting about the MIR vessel, that one could go even deeper depths. In Wikipedia it says it now laid off in Moscow.

Then SCROLL on for godssake

Another "I don't care because it's happening to rich people" post. Yawn.

Yes, quite. What about any archaeological dig? There are always human remains, but as far as I know they are treated respectfully.

Just hide the thread rather than click on it. The word Titanic is in the title, there’s no mystery on what it’s about

There is a toilet on board, according to the Daily Mail. And one small window to look out of. There are cameras to show more images. Which begs the question of why go in the first place to take turns looking out of a small window in between watching the footage from the cameras when instead you could sit in the comfort of your own home and watch documentaries on the Titanic.
Nevertheless it's horrific and I hope they're found alive.

No. Famine is happening all over the world, the media aren't going to report about it everyday as it's hardly news.
This is a rare event, which will attract high media coverage.

Doing that would require self-control and common sense. It's much more gratifying to come on to a thread to clutch pearls and condemn people for being rich.

Yes, that's how the news works. Dog bites man, not news. Man bites dogs, news. And sadly migrant drownings are increasingly becoming the same; weekly occurences and therefore not unusual.

You could say that about anything - climbing Everest, going on safari, scuba diving, caving, even hill walking. It's the human spirit of adventure and exploration. Everyone feels is to a greater or lesser extent, clearly these guys are at the extreme.

Just thinking about this... There's no windows on this thing is there? So how do they even see the wreck? Through a camera and screens? I'm which case, you may as well watch videos on YouTube which show the wreck? What's even the point?

Yes there's a porthole/window.

There have been a few pix and vids linked to this thread, if you want to scroll back and look

There is one window. So they would have to take turns. I believe a PP said the others would be able to watch on screens.

But yes, why go to such extremes to see something more or less in the same way you could see it on a documentary. Though, I am absolutely terrified of the ocean and can’t comprehend why anyone would want to do such a thing.

It's not a situation people need to fear being in though unless they actively choose to, so I'm not sure your psychoanalysis is that sound.

There is a stark difference between entering a truly inhospitable and dangerous environment in a small vessel just to satisfy a morbid curiosity and visiting an above ground site such as Stonehenge (which people tend to view for the stones anyway)- but yes lots of people find it inappropriate and odd to visit these sites.

The freak change in weather caused the caves to be impassable, I also personally wouldn't apply the same level of appreciation of balancing and understanding risk from the young children to the grown very rich men.

You can wish for a happy ending and not wish harm on people whilst finding it questionable that others might risk their lives to save people who have purposefully put themselves in a very risky position. There are other activities in which Rescue would be too dangerous and no one would be helping.

Oh I see, thanks...one window with everyone taking it in turns to look out it....I wonder how much you can even see?

I can see the attraction to be fair. I find the titanic fascinating.

The graveyard aspect doesn't bother me. People visit all sorts of places...including concentration camps.

Maybe my 19-year-olds were very coddled. I would have fought tooth and nail to prevent them from going into any situations even a fraction as dangerous as this one.