Missing Titanic Submarine

tickingbird

The money spent on this doomed trip could nowhere near build a hospital BlueBelle. I find all the comments on the costs so unnecessary. Wealthy people can spend their money how they please and I’d hazard a guess that these men are humanitarians as well as adventurers.

Absolutely.

Either they are humanitarians and have donated generously to good causes; or they are not humanitarians, and if they hadn't spent their money on this trip, they still wouldn't have spent in on a good cause.

I woke to the news of the underwater noises. I was even more horrified than the day before.

Primrose53

I went to a talk once given by a submariner. It was absolutely fascinating but scary.

So true. I could never do their jobs. Being a submariner must be incredibly difficult, both for them and their families. I have every respect for them.

M0nica

Freya I am sorry you interpreted my post the way you did. My intention was the opposite. To show how regardless of origins and purpose, wealth or poverty, fate treats us all the same.

Since you needed everything spelled out, once on/in the water, the lives of these people and the fates they face/d are the same and they are equally dependent on the skill and humanitarian aid of others.

Where you see division I see humanity brought together in the fates they face and their dependency on others

"Since you needed everything spelled out, once on/in the water, the lives of " was it necessary to be so patronising and belittling . At least one other reader agreed with me.

The money spent on this doomed trip could nowhere near build a hospital BlueBelle. I find all the comments on the costs so unnecessary. Wealthy people can spend their money how they please and I’d hazard a guess that these men are humanitarians as well as adventurers.

I went to a talk once given by a submariner. It was absolutely fascinating but scary.

The money spent by them all in that ‘thing’ could have built a hospital but they chose to be confined in a tiny tiny claustrophobic space to go to the bottom of the ocean to gawp at a wreck that went down over a century ago why ….….just because
How much is the attempted rescue costing in time money and could even be lives ?
Whilst I feel sorrow when anyone loses a life or comes close to losing a life and I hope (although I very much doubt) they will be rescued I really can’t feel as much sorrow or horror as I did when those little lads were trapped in a cave or the miners underground for days, why ? because they didn’t choose.
And no I m not hard hearted just being truthful

I can sensé thé Hollywood directors and screen writers ghoulishly rubbing their hands together.

It sounds like a very cheaply and poorly constructed vessel. The hope has to be that this small white and grey tube is bobbing about on the sea surface. Why on earth was it not coated in a bright fluorescent colour? It must be nigh on impossible to spot in the sea, if it is floating

There’s been banging noises picked up and the remote vehicles redeployed but that’s horrendous because if they’re still alive there won’t be time to rescue them if that’s even possible. Tragedy for all involved but my heart goes out to the 19 year old on board.

What on earth possessed them? To put your trust in one person who had no control or safety net if things didn't go according to plan, to be locked in a cramped box underwater.
It's worse than looking for a needle in a haystack.

Millie22

Horrendous

I have a concern about the whole concept of this as the wreck of the Titanic should not be a tourist trip experience.

No, I agree, it's ghoulish.

I’m wondering if, sadly, this vessel will never be found, so exactly what happened will remain a mystery.

Mazzie66 Yes, I can remember the communication embargos, which were, I think mainly for the nuclear subs. Base could signal to the sub, but the sub couldn't reply in case it gave away its position.

One of our closest friend's and his son, our god son, served on the nuclear subs and I think the crew all had to make a decision before sailing as to whether they wanted to receive information on family events or not. I think most decided not, for the tragic reasons, you story gives.

Imagine being on board, being told something like this has happened and know you could not get home for the next 2 months, apart from your distress, grief etc, an event like this could seriously affect your operational efficiency and endanger the lives of the rest of the crew.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the sub just popped up to the surface overnight and they were all rescued

Yes, absolutely.

It seems there is a company that 'owns' the wreck of the Titanic. I am not sure how that can be, probably to do with getting rights to have dived it and filmed it.

I agree with others, sites like these are mausoleums for all those who died and while, I can understand the natural desire to film these wrecks, it should be done, once on government contract, those who do it should be paid and then it should be left in peace. No lifting of artifacts, or sale of 'souvenirs'

No it shouldn’t be a tourist attraction it should be left in peace I hope this is the last time

Horrendous

I have a concern about the whole concept of this as the wreck of the Titanic should not be a tourist trip experience.

MOnica
He was the mariner whose submersible got stuck in those propellers because of the current.

I wonder if they had completely disregarded the risk. Why would you take your teenage son down with you if you thought death might be the outcome? We already have people practically queueing to climb Everest - and not all of them coming down again. Even if the submersible is successfully raised and the people saved it may serve as a brake on some of the more dangerous "experiences"

I hope it was a sudden catastrophic event and it was over very quickly.

There was someone interviewed on R4 News. I only heard part of the interview. He had a similar experience, when diving the Titanic 20 plus years ago. He found it difficult to talk about it even now.

What he said, which is a tragedy if we are hoping for their survival, but not if people are acepting that this is a hopeless search. He said that in his incident communication with the mother ship above was never severed, while in this case, the first signs that things were wrong were when communication from the pod ceased and that this suggests a catastrophic happening and that the end would have been too quick for those on board to suffer.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the sub just popped up to the surface overnight and they were all rescued.

I’ve just listened to an American man on Sky news speaking from Boston. He seemed very resigned and said that all in the exploration industry knew this would happen one day. He basically said it’s hopeless. Apparently the area they’re searching in is the size of Cincinnati and if they do by some miracle find them, there is no craft capable of going down that deep. The only hope is lowering over two miles of cable and somehow attaching it in order to lift them.

I’m feeling slightly angry at the hubris of whoever organised this. We have a lot to be thankful for the intrepid character in pioneers and explorers but this was basically sightseeing. So foolhardly. I’d love for them to be found but I don’t think they will be.

Dinahmo
I think something happened very quickly. The currents down there are very strong. You wouldn’t have the power in that submersible to counteract it.
If they were being taken by the current towards those exposed propellers it would do terrible damage.

Hard to believe when I look at myself now, but I used to take part in quite a few adventure sports when I was younger. Mountaineering, white water canoeing, downhill and cross-country ski-ing, all of which had their risks, but looking back at them I always felt that I had a degree of control. I don't feel that this is the case with this submersible. You're entirely reliant on build quality and on technical and operational reliability.. all of which are entirely beyond your influence as a passenger. On that basis alone, it's something I'd never try. I'm also slightly claustrophobic, which is why caving never appealed. Saying a prayer for those poor souls, but it's not looking good, is it? What am absolute nightmare.