Who owns Deep Energy? Rescue ship with 3,800-meter reach is missing Titanic submersible's last hope
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: With under twenty hours of oxygen left on the Titan submersible which went missing during the Titanic shipwreck expedition, the rescuers are racing against time to save five people on board. There was some hope after a Canadian plane detected occasional "banging' sounds from the Titan's last known location.
On board are British businessman Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, French adventurer Paul Henry Nargeolet, and Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, the company behind the dive.
Who owns Deep Energy?
As US and Canadian sea firms continue their search for the missing submersible using sonar buoys, military planes, and submarines, a commercial pipe laying ship Deep Energy with remote submersibles capable of going as deep as 3,800 meters also arrived at the site. Owned by TechnipFMC founded by IFP (Institute of French Petroleum) in Paris. As per its website, it is a leading technology provider to the traditional and new energy industries. The present CEO of the company is Douglas J Pferdehirt who succeeded John T Gremp in 2016. In 2013, Thierry Pilenko introduced Deep Energy as company CEO and his wife Patricia Pilenko is said to be the godmother of Deep Energy as she is the one who named the vessel.
"The Deep Energy is the fastest and one of the largest and most capable pipelay vessels ever built in our industry," the company stated before adding "She supports subsea developments in shallow to ultra-deep waters of up to 3,000 meters. Specifically designed to operate in the North Sea, the Atlantic basin, and intercontinental projects, her service speed of 19.5 knots enables fast transit between work sites, increasing vessel availability for clients."
Titan lost touch with its surface ship
Oceanographer and world-renowned shipwreck hunter, David Mearns, told the BBC that he was hopeful Deep Energy's subs could reach the 3,800m (12,500ft) depth of the Titanic wreck to search for the missing vehicle. The Titanic's wreck is located 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St John's, Newfoundland, Canada, but the rescue attempt is being coordinated from the US city of Boston, Massachusetts. The watercraft sank from its support vessel on Sunday morning to journey to the Titanic debris, which is located at a depth of 12,500 feet. The Titan lost touch with its surface ship, the Polar Prince, about an hour and 45 minutes later.
Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs)
Pipelay activities are supported by two Triton XLX advanced work class ROVs rated to 3,000m. These are located in their own self-contained hangars positioned aft of the aft pipe reel, with one launching to port and the other from the starboard side. The ROVs are deployed in powered cages complete with tether management systems and have 1,000m (3,280 ft) extended tethers fitted, the Technip informs about Deep Energy. State-of-the-art manipulators, sensors, and tooling are permanently fitted. Client-supplied tooling is easily interfaced via dedicated valve packs and hydraulic systems. Each system is configured with a 150 hp power train and can accommodate standard industry tooling. The ROVs are operated from a dedicated control room on the vessel and customized workshop and storage facilities are also provided. It is not known if the Deep Energy vessel was involved in any other deep seas rescue operations before.