The search for a missing Titanic tourist submersible continued Wednesday as experts fear the watercraft may have only a day’s supply of oxygen left.
U.S. and Canadian crews began searching for the underwater vessel Sunday after the 22-foot submersible, named Titan, lost contact with a support ship while carrying five people to the wreckage site of the Titanic.
Here’s a closer look at the missing Titan submersible owned by OceanGate, a Washington-based deep-sea exploration company.
Missing Titanic submersible:Maps, graphics show last location, depth and design
How big is the missing submersible?
The Titan is about 9 feet high, 8 feet wide, 22 feet long and weighs 25,000 pounds, according to the OceanGate website. The watercraft left from St. John’s on June 16 and lost contact with the ship that was monitoring it about an hour and 45 minutes later. It usually takes two-hours to visit the ship.
Missing Titanic submersible live update:Search expands ‘exponentially’; more sounds heard
Titanic submersible controller
A CBS reporter who rode the Titan submersible last year told USA TODAY that parts of the vessel seemed “less sophisticated.”
“There were parts of it that seemed to me to be less sophisticated than I was guessing. You drive it with a PlayStation video controller… some of the ballasts are old, rusty construction pipes,” CBS correspondent David Pogue told USA TODAY. “There were certain things that looked like cut corners.”
Titanic submarine exterior
The Titan submersible is launched underwater from a platform. Submersibles require a support ship that can launch and recover them unlike submarines, which are fully autonomous.
Interior of Titan submersible
The Titan fits five passengers inside the hull, an area where passengers sit, including one pilot and four crewmembers. The hull is made of five inch thick carbon-fiber materials.
Submersible vs submarine
A submersible is a vessel in the submarine family but smaller and less self-sufficient than the classic military sub.
Who is on the Titanic submersible? 5 passengers
Passengers aboard the submersible are British businessman Hamish Harding, Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and two members of a Pakistani business family Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.
How far down is the Titanic in miles? How deep in feet?
The submersible was traveling to the wreckage site of the Titanic, which is about 2.4 miles, or 12,500 feet, below the surface.
Where is the Titanic wreck located?:What to know after submersible goes missing in Atlantic
Where is the Titanic wreck location?
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City. On April 15, at about 2:20 a.m., the ship sank.
The Titanic lies about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, in the Atlantic Ocean.
Has OceanGate gone to the Titanic before?
This was OceanGate Expeditions’ third annual voyage to the wreckage site. OceanGate operates three of these submersibles and says it has completed at least 14 expeditions and more than 200 dives in the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, according to the website.
Contributing Janet Loerhrke
