A search is being conducted after a submersible that carries people to view the wreckage of the Titanic was reported overdue. Video / AP
A British billionaire adventurer is among five people on board a submersible that went missing on a dive to the wreck of the Titanic.
Hamish Harding, who runs an aviation company, was on the 6m vessel when it set off on Sunday morning for what should have been an eight-hour trip to the bottom of the Atlantic.
Hamish Harding, a British businessman and explorer, is on the missing submersible. Photo / Supplied
A rescue mission involving the US Coast Guard and an aircraft that can detect underwater vessels was under way on Monday as rescuers raced to reach the group before their oxygen supplies were exhausted.
The submersible has 96 hours of oxygen, and rescuers warned that it could take up to two days to reach the ocean floor if the craft had sunk there.
The OceanGate Expeditions tour group, which takes keen explorers to the depths of the Atlantic for US$250,000 per person, is believed to have lost contact when it was directly above the Titanic.
The Boston Coast Guard said its crew was “searching for an overdue Canadian research submarine approximately 900 miles (1450km) off Cape Cod”.
The submersible, which launched from Canadian research vessel Polar Prince, “submerged Sunday morning, and the crew of the Polar Prince lost contact with them approximately one hour and 45 minutes into the vessel’s dive”, the Coast Guard said.
Seattle-based firm OceanGate, which owns the missing submersible, said it was “exploring and mobilising all options to bring the crew back safely”.
Experts said there were a number of challenges for the rescue effort to overcome.
Chris Parry, a retired Navy rear admiral from the UK, told Sky News: “The actual nature of the seabed is very undulating. Titanic herself lies in a trench. There’s lots of debris around.
“So trying to differentiate with sonar in particular and trying to target the area you want to search in with another submersible is going to be very difficult indeed.”
The missing submersible, named Titan, usually carries a pilot, three paying guests, and what OceanGate calls a “content expert”.
Kathleen Cosnett, Harding’s cousin, told the Telegraph she was “devastated” and “stunned” to learn that he was on the missing submersible. She described him as a “daring” and “inquisitive… adventurist”. Brian Szasz, his stepson, said he was sending his “thoughts and prayers”.
Harding, the chairman of Action Aviation, which buys and sells aircraft, wrote on social media that the research vessel left St John’s, in Newfoundland, Canada, on Friday and the team planned to start the dive at 4am local time on Sunday as a “weather window” had opened up.
The father-of-two, who lives in the UAE, said he was “proud” to be joining OceanGate as a “mission specialist”, adding that the group included “a couple of legendary explorers”.
RMS TITANIC EXPEDITION 2023
4am start this morning on the RMS Titanic Expedition Mission 5 with @oceangateexped. The sub had a successful launch and Hamish is currently diving. Stay tuned for further updates!
Action Aviation also tweeted on Sunday, saying: “The sub had a successful launch and Hamish is currently diving.”
A keen explorer, Harding took part in Jeff Bezos’ fifth human spaceflight on Blue Origin last year.
Colonel Terry Virts, a retired Nasa astronaut with whom Harding broke the Guinness world record for the Earth via the North and South Poles by an aircraft, told the Telegraph several vessels were on their way to attempt to rescue the submarine.
The Rescue Coordination Center Halifax is also helping the search with a P8 Poseidon aircraft, which has underwater detection capabilities.
Virts said: “Exploration is what Hamish loves to do – he’s an explorer in his heart, and we’re all hopeful that he and the others can be rescued.”
Paul Henri Nargeole, the diver and French navy veteran known as “Titanic”, is also feared to be aboard the Titan.
Each 10-day OceanGate Titanic expedition, which includes eight days at sea, sets off from St John’s. Every year it recruits six “mission specialists” to view the wreck, which lies almost 4km down about 563km off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Those selected must be at least 18 and “be comfortable in dynamic environments where plans and timetables may change”. They must also have basic strength, balance, mobility and flexibility such as being able to climb a 1.8m step ladder.
Previous mission specialists chosen to go on the trip include an actor, a chef, a banker and a videographer. The OceanGate website said the purpose of the expeditions was to “conduct a scientific and technological survey of the wreck”.
OceanGate shared a picture of two groups of around two dozen people smiling and wearing matching navy jackets.
The caption read: “It’s been an incredibly busy two weeks! Thank you to all of our dive teams who’ve joined us – here’s a look at our Mission 3 and Mission 4 crew.”
Chef Chelsea Kellogg went on the trip last year when she shared a picture of herself on Instagram with the wreck visible in the background.
The caption read: “My lifelong dream of seeing the Titanic has come true... Thanks to the hard work of the Oceangate Expeditions team and Horizon Arctic crew we made it to the bow section of the wreck and we were able to explore and see some of the iconic parts of the ship.”
