Life-Saving Equipment Hindered From Titanic Sub Search: Report

BOSTON, MA — Potentially lifesaving underwater robots with arms that would be able to lift Titan from the ocean's floor have been hindered from being deployed in the search for the submersible carrying five people that went missing in the North Atlantic Ocean Sunday, Explorers Club leadership told National Geographic.

The club has been offering the ROVS—remotely operated vehicles— from the deep-water firm Magellan since Monday, though officials have given "mixed signals," according to an email Explorers Club president Richard Garriott de Cayeuxto sent to officials Wednesday afternoon.

In the email, which was obtained by National Geographic, Garriott wrote to multiple officials including U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John W. Mauger, who is leading the recovery mission, that Magellan was first told to get ready to send the equipment and then told to stand down.

SEE ALSO:

• 'Banging' Sounds Concentrate Search For Missing Titanic Submersible
• Vessel Missing On Expedition To Titanic Wreck With 5 Aboard: Officials
• What To Know About OceanGate, Owner Of Lost Submersible

Magellan’s homepage notes that early Monday, a day after Titan went missing, OceanGate, which operates the submersible, "instructed us to mobilize and ‘use the means necessary to fly the needed equipment and crew to St. John’s, Newfoundland as soon as possible, stating time is of the essence.’”

Officials have stated that there are several ROVs currently searching for Titan, but they are only able to record data and would not be able to help lift the submersible if it is found, National Geographic reported.

Garriot told the outlet that not only would the ROVs sent by Magellan be able to lift the Titan, but they could also do so without crushing or damaging it.

Read the full report in National Geographic.

Currently, the search for the missing submersible in the North Atlantic Ocean is concentrated to the area where "banging" noises were detected underwater though officials are unsure what the source of the sound is, officials said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

“The ocean is a very complex place — human sounds, nature sounds — and it’s very difficult to determine the source of those sounds," Carl Hartsfield, director and senior program manager of Oceanographic Systems Laboratory, said at the news conference. “The noises have been described as banging noises, but they have to put the whole picture together in context and they have to eliminate potential manmade sources other than the [missing OceanGate Expeditions vessel] Titan.”

The 21-foot submersible lost contact with the surface during an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic. Officials have been racing against the clock to rescue the five people aboard the vessel in a vast search that involves resources from multiple countries.

The Titan has a 96-hour oxygen supply, which had expired as of Thursday morning—though an expert told BBC News that those onboard might survive longer than expected.

"It depends on how cold they get and how effective they are at conserving oxygen," Dr. Ken LeDez, a hyperbaric medicine expert at Memorial University in St John's, Newfoundland, told the outlet, adding that shivering will use up a lot of oxygen, while wrapping up in a huddle can help to conserve heat.