Before the five-person crew of a missing submersible vessel began to descend to the ocean floor, they first had to be locked inside by a support crew who sealed it shut with bolts.
A search is now under way to locate the small, deep-diving vessel – which is operated by the marine company OceanGate Expeditions – after it lost contact while diving near the wreckage of the Titanic.
What is the Titan?
It is one of the world’s only privately owned manned submersibles.
While OceanGate has also operated a sister submersible called the Cyclops since 2015, the Titan was expressly built by the company to allow tourists to visit the wreck of the Titanic.
According to the company, the Titan weighs some 23,000lbs (10,432 kg) and has an aerospace-standard five-inch thick carbon fibre hull reinforced with two domed titanium end caps.
It is capable of reaching depths of up to 4,000m (13,123ft) below sea level, far more than the deepest diving US submarine – the USS Dolphin – which once reached 900m below sea level.
For context, the wreck of the Titanic sits 3,800m below the surface.
Unlike a submarine, submersibles have limited power reserves and need a separate support vessel that can launch and recover them, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Titan began sea-trials in 2018, before undertaking its inaugural journey in 2021. Last year, it made 10 dives although not all of these were to the Titanic wreck.
Once detached from its launch and recovery platform, the sub’s four electric thrusters help it reach speeds of around 3 knots (3mph; 4km/h).
In one journey the company can go through $1m worth of fuel, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush told CBS News last year.
Source: bbc.com
