All passengers are believed to be lost after a desperate dayslong search for a submersible carrying five people that vanished while on a tour of the Titanic wreckage off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The 21-foot deep-sea vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after submerging on Sunday morning with a 96-hour oxygen supply. That amount of breathable air was forecast to run out on Thursday morning, according to the United States Coast Guard, which was coordinating the multinational search and rescue efforts.
The executive director of the Straus Historical Society told ABC News that The Times article, which cites archival records, is largely correct with regard to Wendy Weil Rush's heritage.
-ABC News' Nic Uff
Jun 21, 2023, 5:40 PM EDT
US Navy crane in Newfoundland but awaiting ship
A U.S. Navy portable crane system capable of bringing up items from as deep as 20,000 feet has arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland, but is waiting to be welded onto a chartered ship to take it to the search area for the missing submersible, according to a U.S. Navy official.
The Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS) is a portable, ship lift system designed to provide reliable deep ocean lifting capacity of up to 60,000 pounds for the recovery of large, bulky, and heavy sunken objects such as aircraft or small vessels.
Courtesy of NAVSEA
The Navy has not yet contracted a ship for the salvage system, known as Fly Away Deep Ocean Salvage System or FADOSS, the official told reporters Wednesday. Once the ship is contracted, Navy teams will spend approximately 24 hours working around the clock to weld the system aboard the ship before it can leave port, the official said.
FADOSS is the salvage system the U.S. Navy uses for all of its deep-water recoveries. Last year, it was able to bring up an F/A-18 aircraft that had fallen into the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
Jun 21, 2023, 2:51 PM EDT
Head of Horizon Maritime, which owns the Polar Prince boat, holding out hope
The co-founder and Board chair of Horizon Maritime, the company that owns the Polar Prince boat that took the Titan submersible out to sea, is speaking out.
"We have been supporting the Titanic expeditions for several years," Sean Leet said, calling the Polar Prince "an iconic former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker that has been upgraded with advanced technology."
"All protocols were followed" for the submersible's mission, he said at a news conference Wednesday, calling the missing sub an "unprecedented" situation.
This undated photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible.
OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File
Equipment heading to search site can reach the depths of the submersible and potentially take it to the surface, he said.
"We wish to thank everyone involved in this rescue mission, especially the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards, the organizations that have made their marina assets available including the French government … [and] the many private companies that have dropped everything at a moment's notice," Leet said.
This undated image courtesy of OceanGate Expeditions, shows their Titan submersible launching from a platform.
Handout/OceanGate Expeditions/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
"Our thoughts and focus remain with the crew of the Titan and their families," he said.
Leet said he is holding out hope that the five-person crew will be brought home safely.
"We'll continue to hold out hope until the very end," he said.
Jun 21, 2023, 1:34 PM EDT
US Coast Guard searches area where noise was detected
As crews scour the Atlantic Ocean for the missing submersible, the U.S. Coast Guard said it's searching in the area where underwater noise was detected.
The unidentified noise was detected Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
The data on the noise was sent to the U.S. Navy to be examined, according to the Coast Guard.
"We have to remain optimistic and hopeful when we're in a search and rescue mission," Capt. Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator, said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
In this June 20, 2023, aerial image obtained from the US Coast Guard, the ship Deep Energy sails in the search area for OceanGate's Titan submersible.
Handout/US Coast Guard/AFP via Getty Images
The deep-sea vessel submerged on Sunday morning with five people aboard and a 96-hour oxygen supply, according to the Coast Guard. That amount of breathable air is forecast to run out on Thursday morning.
When asked about the search becoming a recovery mission, Frederick told reporters: "We're not there yet."
The Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions to explore the wreckage of the sunken SS Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, dives in an undated photograph.
