Rescue teams waiting for days for 'incompetent' coastguard approval
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Will we even make it in time now?’: Private search and rescue groups with state of the art equipment have been waiting since MONDAY for approval from ‘incompetent’ US Coastguard to help with Titan sub search
- One firm applied to help on Monday but has just now been approved, source said
Valuable time may have been lost in the Titan sub rescue mission after the US Coastguard was slow to authorise private groups with state of the art equipment to help in the search effort, it has been claimed.
One firm which has a vehicle capable of reaching 20,000ft depths is said to have applied as early as Monday to take part in efforts to find the sub, with approval allegedly delayed until today.
The sub, which is Operated by OceanGate Expeditions, has been missing since Sunday with five onboard, including British billionaire Hamish Harding, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, a French navy veteran and a businessman and his son.
The USGC has been frantically searching for it alongside British and French teams, but it has been alleged that the Coastguard did not put a call out until last night for assistance from private groups.
An expert close to the rescue mission slammed what they labelled ‘institutional arrogance, politics and incompetence’ by the mission’s leadership for failing to approve teams quickly.
They said they believe that the USGC has now approved private teams to help, but asked ‘will it be in time?’ – as oxygen onboard the tiny vessel is quickly running out.
Operated by OceanGate Expeditions, the sub has been missing since Sunday with five people onboard
Approval was slow, it was claimed, despite everyone in the search and rescue community ‘offering to do what they can’ as soon as news of the missing sub emerged.
As the search for the missing Titan submersible becomes increasingly desperate, some of the world’s most advanced underwater search equipment has already been deployed to scour the depths of the Atlantic.
Two submersibles capable of descending 20,000ft beneath the ocean surface are currently leading the underwater search and more are on the way, Coast Guard chiefs said yesterday.
The vehicles are being aided by a fleet of specialized ships which also include tools that could help lift Titan from the seabed – if it is found.
As time runs out, more equipment is expected to arrive as late as tomorrow morning, including more remote operated vehicles (ROV) to detect noise as planes continue to scour the ocean from above.
Hopes of finding the sub have been pinned on the Victor 6000, which can reach depths of 20,000ft and is being rushed to the search area.
Five people are onboard, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding
Amongst those on board are Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman, 19 (pictured together)
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) is believed to be taking part in the expedition, along with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of the OceanGate Expedition
The Victor 6000 ROV may be able to fix a cable onto the sub before it is hauled to the surface by the Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System, a specialist winch which in 2021 managed to rescue a helicopter from 19,075ft deep.
The ROV is onboard the French-flagged ship Atalante, which is owned by the Ifremer.
A second ROV that can dive down to 19,000ft, the Odysseus 6K, is owned by US-based Pelagic Research Services (PRS).
On Wednesday, PRS said it had sent the vehicle to assist. An airport official told a US news website that the vehicle had landed in Newfoundland on a plane – but it is not clear if it will reach the rescue site on time.
The Victor 6000 ROV is onboard the French-flagged ship Atalante, which is owned by the Ifremer ocean research institute and is currently in the north-west Atlantic
Timeline (British Summer Time) of the search for the Ocean Gate submersible, if Titan has lost its power the crew will be in complete darkness facing temperatures of 3C
A third ROV that can reach the required depth, the CURV-21, has not been dispatched by its owners, the US Navy.
The search area for Titan has now expanded to around 14,000 square miles – twice the size of the state of Connecticut.
The USCG has been contacted for comment.
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