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Search for Titan: Worst-case scenarios explained as submersible left with less than 40 hours of oxygen

The tourist submersible on its way to Titanic's wreckage was carrying five passengers when it lost contact on June 18

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA: People across the world are waiting with bated breaths for any updates on a submersible that went missing on its way to the Titanic's wreckage. OceanGate’s vessel Titan left for its expedition on June 18 with five passengers, including billionaire Hamish Harding. But an hour and 45 minutes into the voyage, the vessel lost contact and went missing 12,500ft below the Atlantic Ocean.

Since then, search and rescue operation has been on for the craft, which is reportedly left with less than 40 hours of oxygen, making the situation more serious. As per Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard, “It is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area but we are deploying all available assets to make sure we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board.”

What could have happened to Titan?

There are a number of worst possible scenarios that could have happened to the 22 feet long craft. According to a report by The Guardian, Titan may have caught fire after it dived into the water. It explains, “The air in a submersible tends to be enriched with oxygen, making fires more risky. An emergency ascent should still be possible, however.”

Another possibility is the tourist submersible may have experienced a catastrophic failure. Stefan Williams, a University of Sydney professor, said, “If something’s gone wrong, there’s a good chance it’s gone very wrong. If the pressure vessel has failed catastrophically, it’s like a small bomb going off. The potential is that all the safety devices might be destroyed in the process.”

One more scene could be a power failure. Though it might help the Titan to lose weight before emerging on the surface, the vessel “will be hard to spot in such a vast area of ocean,” the Guardian report added.

‘The seabed is enormous’

Meanwhile, amid these fears, reports said that “banging” noises were heard by a search aircraft. The First Coast Guard District Twitter account shared, “Canadian P-3 aircraft detected underwater noises in the search area. As a result, ROV operations were relocated in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises. Those ROV searches have yielded negative results but continue. Additionally, the data from the P-3 aircraft has been shared with our U.S. Navy experts for further analysis which will be considered in future search plans.”

However, according to marine operations specialist and author Mike Welham, it’s not completely great news. He reportedly said, “Time is critical and if these guys hopefully are still alive down there now, which there are the indications this is so, they've got to find them,” before adding that it’s “like somebody putting a 50p piece in a football field and trying to find it. The seabed is enormous. The water depth is enormous.”