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‘This could be the end’: NY writer describes trip on missing sub
Mike Reiss, a New York-based writer and producer who has worked on The Simpsons, says he was among the explorers to take a trip on the Titan sub last year.
“Yes, the sub that’s gone missing is the same one I took down to the Titanic. I wish everyone involved the best of luck,” Reiss said in a Twitter post.
Speaking with BBC Breakfast in the U.K., Reiss said: “You sign a massive waiver that lists one way after another that you could die on the trip. They mention death three times on page one so it’s never far from your mind.”
“As I was getting onto the sub my thought was this could be the end,” he said. “So nobody who’s in this situation was caught off guard. You all know what you are getting into.”
What is a submersible?
The vessel that has gone missing is a submersible — not to be confused with a submarine.
Unlike a submarine, which is a fully autonomous craft “capable of renewing its own power and breathing air,” a submersible relies on outside support, such as a surface vessel, a team onshore or sometimes even a larger submarine, according to OceanGate Expeditions, the company behind the Titanic tour dive.
The vessel that went missing is named Titan, according to The Associated Press. NBC News was not immediately able to confirm this. On its website, OceanGate describes its Titan vessel as a “revolutionary carbon fiber and titanium submersible with a depth range of 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) that provides access to almost 50% of the world’s oceans.”
“Titan ushers in a new era of crewed submersible exploration and is the only sub in the world that can take five crewmembers to these depths,” it says.
Titanic tour firm offered up-close experience for $250,000
Modern in-person tourism at the Titanic is still in its infancy. The submersible that disappeared Sunday near the Titanic wreckage was on only its third trip since the company OceanGate Expeditions began offering them in 2021.
OceanGate had been promoting the third dive for months on its website and in Facebook posts, offering the chance to “follow in Jacques Cousteau’s footsteps and become an underwater explorer” — for the price of $250,000.
“Become one of the few to see the Titanic with your own eyes,” the tour company said on its website. The ticket comes with a title: “mission specialist.”
Participants have included a chef, an actor, a videographer and someone who worked in banking, the company said on Facebook. One of the customers said on Instagram last year that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that lived up to her expectations.
Read the full story here.
First full-size scan revealed Titanic wreck as never seen before
Few people will ever get the opportunity to survey the wreckage of the Titanic up close — a bid that was at the heart of Sunday’s mission when the Titan vessel went missing.
The first first full-size digital scan of the Titanic recently revealed the world’s most famous shipwreck as never seen before, however, and experts are hopeful it will provide more insight into how the liner came to sink in 1912.
Read the full story here.
What we know about missing billionaire Hamish Harding
Hamish Harding, a billionaire and the owner and chairman of Action Aviation, is among the five people onboard the missing vessel.
Action Aviation, established in 2004, is described on its website as a global sales company in business aviation.
A post Sunday on Harding’s Instagram account said he was joining OceanGate’s expedition “as a mission specialist” — typically a one-time crew member who pays a fee to join the effort.
“Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023,” Harding said in his post. He said that a “weather window” had just opened up and that the team was going to attempt a dive the following day.
“Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do,” he said.
Pakistani businessman and son were onboard vessel, family says
A prominent Pakistani businessman, Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, were among the five people onboard the vessel when it went missing, one of his companies said Tuesday.
“We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety,” the company said in a statement.
Hamish Harding, the billionaire owner and chairman of Action Aviation, was previously identified as one of the missing crew members.
The other two people who were onboard the vessel have yet to be identified.
Search continues for missing Titanic tour submersible
The U.S. Coast Guard continues its search on Tuesday for the missing submersible that disappeared Sunday after it departed for a mission to explore the wreck of the Titanic.
The 21-foot submersible and its five-person crew started a dive Sunday morning from the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince, the Coast Guard said. But the Polar Prince lost contact with the vessel after an hour and 45 minutes and it remains missing.
The missing submersible — named Titan, according to The Associated Press — is part of a tour offered by private company OceanGate Expeditions exploring the Titanic wreckage, 900 nautical miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
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