Exclusive: Life-saving equipment for Titanic sub search caught in red tape, Explorers Club says

Science

In an interview with National Geographic, the club president explains why special underwater robots are needed to recover Titan without damaging its fragile hull—but requests to bring the equipment to the search area are caught in a bureaucratic snafu.

ByKristin Romey

Published June 21, 2023

• 5 min read

Efforts by the Explorers Club to send potentially life-saving technology to locate and retrieve the missing Titan submersible have been delayed by the U.S. Coast Guard since Monday, according to exclusive information provided to National Geographic. 

National Geographic can also reveal that at least one remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was destroyed during the search for the submersible.

Explorers Club president Richard Garriott de Cayeux says that offers from club leadership to deliver working-class ROVs from deep-water firm Magellan to the search since Monday have been tied up in a bureaucratic snafu.

Two crew members onboard the missing submersible, Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, are Explorers Club members. 

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“Magellan has received mixed signals, first hearing from US Gov to get ready, waiting for plans, then getting told to stand down,” Garriott wrote in an email sent to Vice Admiral William Galanis, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John W. Mauger, who is leading the recovery mission, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, and Representative Eric Swalwell on Wednesday afternoon.

Garriott notes that time is running out to rescue the five-member crew—if they are still alive. “Whatever the right thing is to do, we should still do it, even if it’s now at the cusp of fatality,” he tells National Geographic.

The Magellan Argus-class ROVs, which have been used previously to survey Titanic, are capable of deploying to 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) and are outfitted with external arms that can retrieve and raise Titan. They are currently located in the United Kingdom and could be delivered to the site within 16 hours. 

Instead, the U.S. Navy Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System is currently steaming to the remote Titanic site. This technology was used to retrieve an F-35 from 12,400 feet of water—very similar to the depths of the Titanic site—in March. 

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But unlike a warplane, the hull of Titan is made of carbon-fiber composite. Garriott is concerned that the Navy system’s recovery “scoop” may damage Titan and kill any surviving crew members during the recovery process.

Magellan’s homepage notes that they were contacted by OceanGate early Monday—roughly 24 hours after Titan went missing—for assistance: “OceanGate instructed us to mobilise 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.’”

“The concern is that the big scooper will crush the hull, because it would be almost impossible to get down under it in the mud without applying pressure to the hull itself,” says Garriott. “Instead, a 6,000-meter working-class [ROV] has the ability to attach directly to the [haul cable] point on the top of the sub. It’s a traditional method and people like Magellan have done it over and over again. It’s the way it’s designed to happen.” 

“We believe there might be a living crew, but that they probably only have 24-plus hours of life support—although the crew would probably die slowly over the next days, a person at a time,” says Garriott.

There are several ROVs currently searching for Titan, but they can only record data and would be unable to assist in raising the submersible if and when it is found.

In addition, at least one ROV, possibly two, was damaged or destroyed during the search-and-rescue mission—a testament to the difficult conditions currently facing rescuers.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the statement posted to Magellan’s website.

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