The US Coast Guard has confirmed that more noises were heard in the ocean this morning as the search continues for the missing Titan submersible with five men on board.
Search efforts are now concentrated in the area of those noises.
(Titan Submarine via OceanGate website.)
US Coast Guard spokesperson Captain Jamie Frederick told reporters in Boston this afternoon that multiple sensors detected the noises yesterday and again this morning, which are now being analyzed by US Navy officials.
He says several P-3 flights picked up the noises yesterday and resources have been sent to the site. He says the submersible does have some food and rations on board, but he’s unable to say how much.
(Via OceanGate)
Captain Frederick expressed continued hope, and would not speculate on how much oxygen might be left for those on board the submersible, saying that it’s just one piece of data to consider in the ongoing effort.
Some reports have described the noises heard as “banging” but Carl Hartsfield of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution says it’s hard to determine exactly what the noises are at this time.
He says noises in the ocean are complex, “you have to be an acoustic analysist, and you have to have context” Hartsfield told reporters in Boston today.
Captain Frederick says additional equipment and resources are being brought into St. John’s on a continual basis for assistance in the search.
Five “surface assets” are in the area now, with a total of ten expected in the area in the next 24 to 48 hours. Captain Frederick says Two ROV’s are on site with more en route.
Furey on Search
Premier Andrew Furey says he’s continuing to be briefed on the search effort underway off the province’s south east coast.
Furey says the information he’s received is much the same as that already being publicly reported.
He says the noise heard is offering some renewed hope for those watching the unfolding search effort. He once again offers his thoughts to the families of the people on board the submersible.
Safety Concerns Over Titan Previously Brought Forward
(Titan Submarine via OceanGate.)
Court documents show that a former OceanGate employee had raised safety concerns about the Titan, the submersible designed to take tourists to the Titanic wreck site.
The Titanic lies at a depth of 12,500 feet. Water pressure at that depth is a crushing 390 times that at the surface.
According to media reports out of the US, David Lochridge, the former director of marine operations with OceanGate, claimed that he was terminated when he raised safety concerns about the Titan.
The New York Post reports that “months after Lochridge was fired, the Marine Technology Society sent a letter to OceanGate on behalf of its members, “who have collectively expressed unanimous concern regarding the development of TITAN and the planned Titanic Expedition.”’
