Search Underway for Titanic Tourist Submarine

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Facts

  • On Monday, the US Coast Guard embarked on a search and rescue operation following the disappearance of a submarine carrying tourists to the wreckage of the Titanic. On Sunday, the Coast Guard was notified that the mother ship, the Polar Prince, had lost contact with the vessel and required assistance.1
  • The tour, provided by Oceangate Expeditions, is thought to be the only such tour on the market and takes passengers to the famous wreckage. Tickets for the expedition can cost up to $250K.2
  • Among those aboard the submersible are Hamish Harding — a famed world explorer and British businessman who is also known for his voyage into space on a Blue Origin rocket in 2022.3
  • In a statement, the private company said, "Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families..." In addition to the US Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard is assisting in the search with its P8 Poseidon aircraft equipped with technology capable of underwater detection.4
  • According to the Oceangate Expeditions website, The Polar Prince transports the submersible for an eight-day voyage to the wreckage, once onsite the submersible carries a pilot, a "content expert," and three tourists on the deep dive. The submarine is capable of diving to depths of up to 2.5 miles (4.0 km) and can sustain a crew of five for up to 96 hours.5
  • The Titanic, which sank 400 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland in 1912, remains a popular destination for both tourists and researchers. The tragic accident took the lives of over 1.5K passengers and crew and forced the remaining survivors into the sea to await rescue.6

Sources: 1CNN, 2Daily Mail, 3New York Post, 4NBC, 5BBC News, and 6Forbes.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by CBS. Deep-sea currents and the marine environment are destroying the remains of the RMS Titanic. Researchers and preservationists must use the little time remaining to document and recover items from the ship before they can no longer be explored. Oceangate Expeditions is making this historic moment all possible by providing an opportunity for people to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience at a fraction of the cost of going into space. Many believe these efforts will allow the world a greater understanding of the accident and how it transpired.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The Telegraph. For decades the Titanic has been used as a boon for profit. Even as James Cameron, famed explorer and movie maker, begged others to leave the ship alone, he himself reaped $2B from his overly fantasized version of the tragic story. We have forgotten that the very site that tourists are clamoring to get to and that profiteers are selling merchandise from is a graveyard for more than 1500 people. Disruptive profiteering actions are robbing the Titanic’s souls of their opportunity to rest in peace.