Anyone have insights on the missing Titanic tour submersible?

Shower Fart

Shower Fart

Occasionally a shower shart
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This situation is looking pretty grim. For those that haven’t followed the story, the tour company seems to have taken a few shortcuts in designing and building the sub. When you’re going down 3800 meters, that seems…not wise.

The Coast Guard isn’t sharing much info, but some major resources are en route ( from the US, Canada and the UK). There’s conflicting reports on whether the Coast Guard rejected help from a private UK firm that has a submersible that is capable of reaching the Titanic depths. This is looking like a cluster at the moment.

Time is quickly becoming a factor because the max 96 hours of oxygen will run out tomorrow morning sometime. So if they’re still alive, and if the sub is found, and if there is the proper equipment on site to bring it up…maybe these guys get lucky.

I’ve thought from the beginning that a catastrophic failure causing the hull to implode seemed most likely. Hopefully I’m wrong.

Anyone have any guesses on what happened? Any Navy or CG vets have thoughts on the likelihood of a successful rescue?
 
I have read several stories where they reported that they have had these communication blackouts before but never for this long. Some "experts" say they might have gotten caught in the current and are trapped against the wreck.

All of it sounds like a horrible way to go.... hope they beat the odds.
 
Darwin at his best. I am not too empathetic with the owner and his passengers. The sub was built without any redundant systems and made out of substandard parts. Safety was not a factor in anything done by this company, nor was it apparently high on the list of concerns of the passengers.

At first I thought this was going to be a catastrophic hull failure, which would have been the kindest end to those onboard because it would have been too sudden to notice the end was near. Without any backup electrical supply, it could have been an electrical failure or even fire at any depth. For us, fire was the most feared scenario because you can only use so much water to combat fire without making you sink forever. Our rule of thumb was that you had four minutes from the spark of inception until extinction. IIRC newer subs have the ability to dump nitrogen banks into a compartment to kill the fire. They could be pinned against the Titanic or at any depth including surfaced and still be in the same dilemma. My guess is that regardless of their depth, they slowly died of asphyxiation.
 
Here's something about the specs of this tub.


Carbon fiber? Look. I know what I've heard and read about this stuff, but at those pressures?

Besides, if they find it then what? Can't pop the hatch and move em to something else. And what is available with the ability to latch onto it and tow it to the surface.
 
batchaps4me said:
Darwin at his best. I am not too empathetic with the owner and his passengers. The sub was built without any redundant systems and made out of substandard parts. Safety was not a factor in anything done by this company, nor was it apparently high on the list of concerns of the passengers.

At first I thought this was going to be a catastrophic hull failure, which would have been the kindest end to those onboard because it would have been too sudden to notice the end was near. Without any backup electrical supply, it could have been an electrical failure or even fire at any depth. For us, fire was the most feared scenario because you can only use so much water to combat fire without making you sink forever. Our rule of thumb was that you had four minutes from the spark of inception until extinction. IIRC newer subs have the ability to dump nitrogen banks into a compartment to kill the fire. They could be pinned against the Titanic or at any depth including surfaced and still be in the same dilemma. My guess is that regardless of their depth, they slowly died of asphyxiation.
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Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I hadn’t even thought about a fire, that would obviously be a nightmare scenario too. It would be a shame if they’ve been on the surface this whole time and just not seen. I saw some footage from a search boat and the surf was pretty rough, with white caps everywhere…that white hull would be difficult to spot, and it’s such a low profile small craft that I think radar would be useless in those conditions.
 
LyquidMetal said:
Here's something about the specs of this tub.


Carbon fiber? Look. I know what I've heard and read about this stuff, but at those pressures?

Besides, if they find it then what? Can't pop the hatch and move em to something else. And what is available with the ability to latch onto it and tow it to the surface.
Click to expand...
That guy has a lot of good videos and I have seen several of them. The problem I have with him is that he is a sonar tech ... bastard passed the ASFVAB and stayed sober in school. :LOL:
 
Shower Fart said:
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I hadn’t even thought about a fire, that would obviously be a nightmare scenario too. It would be a shame if they’ve been on the surface this whole time and just not seen. I saw some footage from a search boat and the surf was pretty rough, with white caps everywhere…that white hull would be difficult to spot, and it’s such a low profile small craft that I think radar would be useless in those conditions.
Click to expand...
I know I sound callous, and I do feel for the families and loved ones of the passengers. To me it is like BASE jumpers as far as if you are intentionally cutting the safety margins for thrills, I just cannot feel for you when things go wrong. Don't get me wrong, I hope their death was sudden and pain free as possible. I do fear that they lost electrical power and spent their last days in the dark knowing what was happening to them. I would think that had the sub imploded, our SOSUS system would have heard the noise and it is quite distinguishable.
 
LyquidMetal said:
Interesting. Then what was the periodic banging sound they heard. Questions, questions.
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That’s an oddity for sure. Maybe they were alive and trapped at some point, then were able to dump ballast and had a hull breach on their way to the surface.

One of the background articles I read mentioned that there’s a bacteria that’s eating the rust on the Titanic and eventually there won’t be anything left. If parts of the structure are bending or breaking, maybe it could make a similar sound? But to hear it multiple times after a submersible goes missing seems like a bridge too far.

Like you said, questions, questions. The conspiracy explanations are sure to be interesting. Aliens, Hillary Clinton and Trump can all prepare for some accusations.
 
LyquidMetal said:
Tsk rsk. You going to hell for that. LOL!!!!
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I’ve always loved orcas, I couldn’t resist! It’s weird what they’ve been doing lately in the Straits of Gibraltar, attacking boats…or at least ramming them for fun, breaking rudders, etc. Scary stuff with how strong they are. A few boats ended up sinking, and a 66 foot boat was damaged enough that it took on water.

This is article has some good video:

www.cbs8.com

Orca whales captured on camera randomly attacking boats

There's debate over whether the whales are seeking revenge or playful behavior.
www.cbs8.com www.cbs8.com
 
Shower Fart said:
I’ve always loved orcas, I couldn’t resist! It’s weird what they’ve been doing lately in the Straits of Gibraltar, attacking boats…or at least ramming them for fun, breaking rudders, etc. Scary stuff with how strong they are. A few boats ended up sinking, and a 66 foot boat was damaged enough that it took on water.

This is article has some good video:

www.cbs8.com

Orca whales captured on camera randomly attacking boats

There's debate over whether the whales are seeking revenge or playful behavior.
www.cbs8.com www.cbs8.com
Click to expand...
Orca for president 2024
 
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