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Titanic submarine search: 'Underwater noises' detected by Canadian plane
The “banging” noises were picked up by the aircraft at 30-minute intervals, according to an internal U.S. government memo. When additional sonar was used four hours later, the noises could still be heard at the same interval.
June 21, 2023 7:26am
Updated: June 21, 2023 7:26am
A Canadian airplane detected underwater noises on Wednesday in the area of the search for the submarine that was headed to the wreckage of the Titanic with five passengers on board, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard said in a tweet that the noises were picked up just after midnight by a Canadian P-3 aircraft. “As a result, ROV operations were relocated in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises,” the tweet continued.
While the underwater operations have not found anything yet, the Coast Guard said that the “data from the P-3 aircraft has been shared with our U.S. Navy experts for further analysis which will be considered in future search plans.”
The “banging” noises were picked up by the aircraft at 30-minute intervals, according to an internal U.S. government memo. When additional sonar was used four hours later, the noises could still be heard at the same interval, suggesting that they might be made by humans.
The submersible went missing on Sunday, about an hour and 45 minutes into the dive to the site of the Titanic’s shipwreck at 12,5000 feet (3,800 meters) at the bottom of the ocean about 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Pressure has been mounting to find the vessel, which as of Tuesday evening, only has 40 hours of breathable air left—an estimate based on the vessel’s original 96 hours of oxygen.
Even if the submersible is found in time, it is unclear what a deep-sea rescue would entail. The group is sealed inside the sub with external bolts, making it hard to open underwater.
Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick said on Tuesday that authorities are working around the clock to find the missing submarine. However, he added that it was “an incredibly complex operation.”
"We will do everything in our power to effect a rescue," Frederick said. "...There is a full-court press effort to get equipment on the scene as quickly as we can."
The submersible is part of a tour of the Titanic’s shipwreck offered by the company OceanGate Expeditions. Tickets for the eight-day trip to the wreck cost about $250,000. There are five passengers on board the vessel, an operator, and four passengers. The passengers include Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, British explorer Hamish Harding, and French explorer Paul-Henri Nergeolet. The operator is Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate.
