There is a rush to find the submarine, if it has remained seaworthy under the surface. The ship has less than 30 hours of oxygen left.
Loud noises have been heard in connection with the search for the Titan ship, which was on its way to the wreck of the Titanic, according to the US media CNN and Rolling Stone -magazine. According to CNN, the issue is clear from the memo of the US Department of the Interior.
According to the memo, the search crews of the Titan submarine heard bangs every 30 minutes on Tuesday. Four hours later, after additional sonar equipment had been deployed, the bangs were still heard.
The memo does not say what time the sounds were detected on Tuesday.
The Canadian P-3 aircraft has also detected underwater sounds during the search for the missing Titan ship in the Atlantic.
So far, however, nothing has been found in the search. The sounds can be taken as a sign of hope that the passengers of the submarine might still be alive.
There is a rush to find the submarine, because based on the authorities’ estimates, the submarine’s breathing air would last less than 30 hours on Wednesday morning Finnish time.
Five people on board, including OceanGate’s CEO
According to the authorities, there are at least five people in the submarine. One of those on board is According to the BBC British businessman Hamish Harding.
French former diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet and director of OceanGates Expedition Stockton Rush are on board, says Sky News. There is also a Pakistani on board Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman Dawood.
The connection with OceanGate’s Titan submarine was lost on Sunday, about two hours after the trip began. The submarine is used to take tourists to the wreck of the Titanic.
The wreck of the Titanic lies on the seabed at a depth of about 3,800 meters and the sinking site is about 600 kilometers from the Canadian coast.
The CEO complained about the regulation
The CEO of OceanGate, who is now on the missing submarine, has previously complained that companies that organize submarine tours are suffering from the regulations placed on the industry.
– It’s shockingly safe because of all the regulations. But innovation and growth also suffer because of all these regulations, Stockton Rush told Smithsonian magazine in a 2019 interview.
Former Director of Marine Operations at OceanGate David Lochridge warned before his dismissal about the safety deficiencies of the submarine missing in the Atlantic, according to the documents of the lawsuit filed in 2018.
Lochridge was fired from his position in January 2018. In a lawsuit filed the same year, the company accused Lochridge of breaching a non-disclosure agreement.
Lochridge, on the other hand, said in his counterclaim that he was fired after raising critical safety concerns about OceanGate’s Titan submarine.
Lochridge said, among other things, that OceanGate did not agree to perform the necessary tests on the submarine’s experimental hull. According to him, the window in the front of the submarine is made to withstand pressure at a depth of 1,300 meters. The wreck of the Titanic is at a depth of about 3,800 meters.
According to Lochridge, OceanGate had refused to buy a window more suitable for deeper waters from the window manufacturer.