Coast Guard: ROV discovers ‘debris field’ near Titanic

Editor’s Note: Since this story was published, new information came to light from the company and the U.S. Coast Guard. Follow latest updates on this story here.

BOSTON (NewsNation) — The Horizon Arctic’s ROV discovered a “debris field” on the sea floor near the Titanic wreckage during a search effort Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The government agency said experts within the unified command were analyzing the information, but the debris has not yet been identified.

It is unknown what has happened to the missing sub, but if it remains intact, the oxygen supply has likely run out. However, the U.S. Coast Guard’s mission has remained a search-and-rescue effort Thursday morning.

As more time passes, the possibility of crews rescuing the five people on board the submersible alive remains low.

Crews have been holding out hope as more teams make their way to the search area — some of them carrying ROVs, or remotely operated vehicles, that are capable of giving searchers a deep-dive look under the water.

International agencies from Canada, the U.S., France and the U.K. have all sent crews to assist with the search.

The USCGNortheast tweeted Thursday morning that the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic deployed an ROV that reached the sea floor and started its search for the missing sub.

The French vessel L’Atalante also launched its ROV into the water, the First Coast Guard District said.

More C-17s are in the process of being transported out of Ramstein, Germany to assist in the search and deliver equipment, the U.S. Transportation Command confirmed to NewsNation. The C-17s will stop in Jersey, England, to transport the Magellan Argus XL ROV before flying to St. Johns.

The Titan has been missing since Sunday after it plunged into the North Atlantic Ocean with five passengers heading to tour the Titanic sitting at the bottom of the ocean.

One hour and 45 minutes after its descent, communication stopped, leading to what is now one of the most extensive search efforts ever. Military service members from multiple countries who specialize in water rescues and recoveries are working together, desperately trying to find the missing submersible.

A surface sonar linked to a P3 Canadian aircraft reported it detected an “underwater noise” coming from the search area.

The Coast Guard said it’s not sure where the noises are, or if they were man-made, but they came in half-hour intervals. Deep sea experts suggested the noises may have been made by people on board the Titan.

Recordings of the noises were sent to a U.S. Navy facility for analysis.

Meanwhile, even with the extra assistance on the way to join the search effort, many of the deep-sea experts believe it will be a miracle to find the five men alive. When asked when this search mission turns from rescue to recovery, the Coast Guard said they haven’t considered that possibility yet.

“Sometimes we don’t find what we’re looking for and you have to carefully consider all the factors, and then after you consider all the factors, you have to make a tough decision. We’re not there yet but if we continue to search, potentially we could be at that point,” U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick said. “But again, we’re not there yet. And, that’s a discussion we will have with the family long before I’m going to discuss that here publicly.”

The U.S. Coast Guard said the search effort has been very complex and challenging because of ever-changing wind and weather conditions.

The government agency again made it very clear they’re still conducting a search and rescue as of Wednesday evening.

But as the search expands, all eyes are on OceanGate Expeditions as more and more details continue to come to light about safety warnings made directly to the company leading up to the Titan’s disappearance.

Concerns about the vessel have been raised since 2018.

According to the New York Times, 38 members of a group called Manned Underwater Vehicles Committee of the Marine Technology Society wrote to OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush in a letter informing him that he needed to have standard testing done on the experimental vessel.

In addition to this, one of Rush’s own employees wrote a scathing report about the significant safety concerns of the Titan. It was OceanGate’s director of operations, David Lochridge, who said the vessel needed more testing, writing, “The potential dangers to passengers of the Titan as the submersible reached extreme depths.”

OceanGate allegedly fired Lochridge after he voiced his concerns and filed claims against the company in court for wrongful termination, CNN reported.