Perhaps it’s a coincidence that a seafaring vessel named ‘Titan’ would go missing as it attempted to approach ‘The Titanic’. Perhaps the story has enough meat for those of us with prophetic proclivities to go on and on for coming decades. The submersible Titan is indeed similar in name to Titanic, the ‘unsinkable’ ship that’s at the bottom of the ocean now. Is the name or anything to do with it cursed? We don’t know.
But there would be enough time to ponder on such things later. Now is the time to search for the missing submersible and save the lives of those within. An international search effort is underway at least at the time of publishing of this story. The clock ticks and the possibility of those onboard surviving turns bleak by the second. There is no clue as of now what has happened to Titan. Is it wedged in the sea floor, is it roaming the vast marine expanse without a way to communicate with the world? Or has it exploded?
It would be for the rescuers to make an official statement on this but we can explore some worst-case scenarios we’d pray do not come to pass.
Titan losing communication link
It is still possible that Titan is still intact and that it has only lost contact with the outside world because of communication equipment failure.
Contact with Titan was lost after 1 hour 45 minutes into the expedition. Experts have been quoted in media reports as saying that Titan would have been at a depth of 3500 metres below sea level.
Watch | Titanic submarine: Missing submersible has about 30 hours of air
The Guardian has said that when submersibles go underwater, they communicate with surface ships with an acoustic link. Sometimes, submersibles have two communication systems with independent power supplies.
The first system is an acoustic beacon that pings the surface ship with the location of the submersible. The second system can carry short text-like messages.
It is being reported in the media that Titan did not have an acoustic beacon and that the submersible had become lost in the past.
In case of communication system failing, Titan should have dropped the weight it carried. This would have enabled the submersible to surface on the water. A fresh attempt to send radio signals could have been then made.
A fire inside the submersible
The air inside the cabin of a submersible is usually oxygen-rich so that crew and passengers are allowed to breathe. But this very fact makes fires more risky. Anything inflammable, even petroleum-based make-up products are banned during deep dives.
But fire can still occur and cause an inescapable situation in which people inside the submersible choke on smoke thousands of metres underwater.
Such a scenario likely leaves a low chance of survival and for any remedial measure.
Submersible getting wedged on the sea-floor
This scenario is also likely. In such a case specialised deep-sea submersibles and sonar would have to be used in order to have a chance of finding Titan.
Submersible surfacing but passengers getting trapped
Even if Titan has surfaced the danger for the crew and passengers isn’t over. It has been reported that Titan’s hatch can only be opened from the outside.
This means that people inside would still be trapped even if the submersible surfaced. Those inside would still need emergency oxygen supply which definitely isn’t unlimited.
Submersible exploding underwater due to enormous pressure
This is truly a worst-case scenario. Titan was at a depth of 3500 metres when it lost contact. Water pressure at this depth alone in more than two tonnes per square inch.
This means that every square inch of the surface of the submersible experienced pressure of more than two tonnes!
When we consider that Titan was going even deeper to explore the Titanic wreck situated at 3800 metres below sea surface, its easy to imagine that the enormous pressure on the structure of the vessel was only going to increase.
It has been reported that Titan’s hull was made of carbon fibre. Carbon fibre is widely considered to be an untested material for such depths.
Any undersea explosion however, would have been caught by military hydrophones installed in oceans worldwide. Till now there is no indication of such a report.
The clock is truly ticking for those onboard Titan, considering they are still alive.
Titan is about the size of a school bus. The submersible is 21-foot (6.5 metre) long. When is was lost, there were three fee-paying passengers onboard.
These included billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani business tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.
The company OceanGate Expeditions runs the Titan’s trips. If you want to take one, you will have to pay USD 250,000 for a single seat.
Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate Expeditions and French submarine operator Paul-Henri Nargeolet are also onboard. Nargolet has been nicknamed “Mr Titanic” because of his frequent dives at the site.
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