Drones, Robotic Rescue Ship Race to Locate Missing Vessel Near Titanic

A robotic rescue ship from France has been deployed to help find a submersible that went missing Sunday while taking five passengers to explore the wreckage of the Titanic. It’s one of several vessels aiding in the massive search and rescue mission. 

OceanGate Expeditions’ submersible, the Titan, went missing on Sunday an hour and 45 minutes into what officials say would have been a two-hour and 30-minute dive to the Titanic’s wreckage. At the time of its disappearance officials said those inside the deep diving vessel had 96 hours of oxygen left. As of Tuesday afternoon, they were down to only 40 hours left of breathing air. 

OceanGate began offering trips to see the wreckage of the Titanic in 2021. Sunday’s trip was the third since they began. 

Several days before Sunday’s intended journey, OceanGate Expeditions Tweeted that because there are no cell towers in the middle of the ocean, it was relying on Starlink to provide communications required for its 2023 Titanic Expedition. 

The vessel lost communication an hour and 45 minutes into its descent. A massive search and rescue mission has ensued with the U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard, Navy and dozens of national and international agencies all searching for the vessel from the air and the sea. The search is being coordinated in Boston. The wreckage of the Titanic is located 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland and 900 miles east of Cape Cod. 

Sonar buoys have also been deployed to try and locate the missing vessel, but have been unable to locate it.  

The French Ifremer Institute’s underwater robot-equipped ship the Atlante was making its way to help in the search Tuesday. A spokesman from the institute told ABC news Tuesday that its exploration robot can dive up to 4,000 meters. It’s expected to arrive Wednesday.

On Tuesday night, the pipe-laying ship Deep Energy launched its camera-equipped underwater drone at the wreckage site headed toward the Titan’s last known location.