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Missing Titanic Sub

Door. Barn. Horse.

TSB launches investigation into a marine occurrence involving the Canadian-flagged vessel Polar Prince and the submersible Titan

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, 23 June 2023 — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is launching an investigation (M23A0169) into the fatal occurrence involving the Canadian-flagged vessel Polar Prince and the privately operated submersible Titan.

On Sunday 18 June 2023, the Canadian-flagged cargo vessel Polar Prince was at the Titanic wreck site, 325 nautical miles south-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland and Labrador, providing surface support to the submersible Titan. There were 17 crew members and 24 people on board the Polar Prince. Five people from the Polar Prince were on board the Titan and approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes after the submersible began its descent, the support vessel lost contact.

On 22 June 2023, the United States Coast Guard confirmed that the debris found on the ocean floor near the Titanic wreckage consisted of pieces of the missing submersible. As a result, the five people on board the Titan are presumed dead.

In accordance with the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act and international agreements, the TSB, as the investigation authority of the flag state of the support vessel involved in the occurrence, will conduct a safety investigation regarding the circumstances of this operation conducted by the Canadian-flagged vessel Polar Prince.

A team of TSB investigators is travelling to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, to gather information, conduct interviews, and assess the occurrence. In the coming days, we will coordinate our activities with other agencies involved.

This is all the information available at this time. Updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.


. . .
The Polar Prince — a Newfoundland vessel tasked with towing the Titan submersible out to sea last weekend — is also coming home, after a harrowing week searching around the Titanic wreckage site.

It had also been carrying family members of some of the five missing crew.

The vessel is majority owned by Miawpukek Horizon, a company founded by the Miawpukek First Nation. . . .
 
Doubt…

Based on James Cameron’s comments he knew about the implosion/failure on Monday.

The USN knew at the time of the incident on Sunday.
So there was almost 5 days of wasted efforts when all that needed to be done was send a RoV to the site to verify the debris field.

5 days that we debated telling the public (due to the nature of the sensors used) and both other USG entities (mainly the USCG) and Allies that they needn’t waste resources.
I suspect the official line, should they be asked, will be the the sound was 'inconclusive' and they had to proceed on the assumption that it was a rescue operation. Better that than somebody later finding an intact vessel on the bottom (or bobbing on the surface) full of dead bodies.

Emergency services often respond as though people are still alive, even when experience tells them otherwise.

An analogy I heard today was that is akin to driving down the road towing a boat on a trailer and the coast guard pulling you over for safety inspection.
 
My understanding of sonar is relatively limited- I was qualified to run sonar a long time ago but mostly I worked on them under water. I more understood the equipment than the operation despite being qualified for both. Kongsberg systems of different sizes and configurations.

When I heard the signs of life thing I thought it was phrased pretty poorly. The ocean in a sonar sense is incredibly loud, especially with all your sensitivities turned up looking for “anything”. Finding those noises would result in a flagging for “item of note” requiring further investigation- while some people would get excited because you WANT to find something- it’s more like “check this spot out” “nothing found” “check this next spot out”

Or at least my understanding- dated though it is.
 
Emergency services often respond as though people are still alive, even when experience tells them otherwise.

Our Deceased Patient Standard went into great detail on that subject.
 
North Van's 'Newt Suit' experts send...


North Van experts warned OceanGate founder about dangers of experimental submersible​

Nuytco Research’s founder Phil Nuytten and chief submersible pilot Jeff Heaton warned OceanGate founder Stockton Rush that his plans to build an experimental submersible weren’t safe and walked away from any involvement.

While Rush didn’t disclose that he planned to go to the Titanic, “He was talking about designing a deep-water submarine to go to great depths” with an experimental carbon fibre hull, said Heaton.

“We listened to what he had to say. We said ‘That’s not a good idea. We don’t agree with how you intend to do that. That’s not safe.’”

Rush told the local experts he was trying to innovate and push the industry forward.

Heaton said he and Nuytten both told Rush there were safer ways to do that and implored him not to go ahead with his plans. When Rush insisted, the local company refused to be involved any further, said Heaton, telling Rush, “We’re not going to be a part of it.”

 
Having done one wreck dive, I can’t claim to have any interest in doing one ever again.

I don’t see the appeal of this sort of thing at all.

My wife is a recreational diver.

So far, she's dived 26 ships, 3 planes, 4 yachts, a lot of cars and heavy machinery, and a couple of school buses.

I'm more pedestrian in my recreational pursuits. I enjoy swimming, but never had any enthusiasm for diving.
 
Apparently the submersible is bolted shut from the outside, so even if they surface, they can't exit without assistance.
Reviewing his “How it’s Made” video, the skimping on resin on the end caps and the relatively short inner flange interfacing with the bell end and the CF tube makes me wince inwardly. 🤦🏻
 
My wife is a recreational diver.

So far, she's dived 26 ships, 3 planes, 4 yachts, a lot of cars and heavy machinery, and a couple of school buses.

I'm more pedestrian in my recreational pursuits. I enjoy swimming, but never had any enthusiasm for diving.
Wrecks are very interesting.
But I like to look at them from the outside as opposed to being in one…

Frankly like how USMC MWTC Bridgeport CA ruined skiing in the cold for me, diving in Florida, CA and the Caribbean ruined diving in the cold for me…

I like a warm ocean with plenty of light. Cold or dark dives really don’t do it for me anymore, and cold dark, confined spaces are a huge pass.
 
Wrecks are very interesting.
But I like to look at them from the outside as opposed to being in one…

Frankly like how USMC MWTC Bridgeport CA ruined skiing in the cold for me, diving in Florida, CA and the Caribbean ruined diving in the cold for me…

I like a warm ocean with plenty of light. Cold or dark dives really don’t do it for me anymore, and cold dark, confined spaces are a huge pass.
night dives on a coral reef are good but yeah I like it warm and bright and relatively shallow
 
One good thing that came out of this is the various agencies got to do a Subsink ex that was unplanned. Hopefully a lot of lessons are learned and incorporated for next time.
 
One good thing that came out of this is the various agencies got to do a Subsink ex that was unplanned. Hopefully a lot of lessons are learned and incorporated for next time.
First lesson learned: Dumbasses who cut corners, ignore science, and have no provisions for emergency should not build submarines.
 
Lots of people die every year using experimental aircraft. Unless you're John Denver, it doesn't receive much hoopla. This isn't really any different other than the medium it took place in.
There's already been too much time spent on this.
The best thing about the incident are the memes
 
Lots of people die every year using experimental aircraft. Unless you're John Denver, it doesn't receive much hoopla. This isn't really any different other than the medium it took place in.
There's already been too much time spent on this.
The best thing about the incident are the memes
Except they don't usually take paying passengers down with them.

No doubt the fact that they were diving on the Titanic has had a lot to do with.
 
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