Oxygen In Submersible Titan Is Predicted To Run Out This Morning, But It's Hard To Calculate The Remaining

Rear Admiral John W Mauger. (Source: US Coast Guard)

JAKARTA - The search team for the Titan submersible that disappeared while trying to go to the wreckage of the Titanic continues to search, focusing on the sound source found earlier, while the oxygen in the manned submersible is predicted to run out this morning.

First District Commander (D1) US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger who is leading the search mission said based on information initially provided by the operator, the sub had about 96 hours when they first lost connection.

However, he said, it is not easy to predict how much oxygen is left, because it is based on the consumption of Titan residents.

"One of the factors that makes it difficult to predict how much oxygen is left is because we don't know the level of oxygen consumption per passenger in the submersible," he told the BBC as quoted on June 22.

He said search teams were operating on the assumption they had about 20 hours left to find and rescue the submarine, which was Thursday morning local time.

Rear Admiral Mauger again described the search as complex and arduous, carried out in a remote location, approximately 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA.

"This happened in such a remote location, we have prioritized our efforts on surface and subsurface searches," he said, adding that they were working closely with acoustic experts to understand the sounds they heard.

Experts and equipment had indicated "noise could potentially be generated" by the occupants of the sub and as a result, they removed the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) when discovered.

But they still couldn't tell what that sound was.

"We have caught signs of noise and we are conducting an analysis on them," he said.

As previously reported, the US Coast Guard said on Twitter that a surface vessel, the Polar Prince, lost the Titan it launched about an hour and 45 minutes after starting a dive toward the site of the Titanic wreck on Sunday morning.

The wreckage of the Titanic, the British ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in April 1912, is located about 900 miles (1,450 km) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and 400 miles (644 km) south of St. Louis. John's, Newfoundland.

Authorities have yet to confirm the identities of those on Titan. However, reports have named British billionaire Hamish Harding and Pakistan-born businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, who are both British citizens.

French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Stockton Rush, founder, and CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, are also reportedly on board.