Missing Titanic Submarine

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

Good that you cleared that up, M0nica, as I can see how your juxtaposition of "very rich men on a vanity trip" with "people fleeing from misery and poverty" could be misinterpreted as divisive. That's certainly the initial impression I gained, so thanks for the clarification. I don't hold out much hope for those poor souls trapped in that submersible, one of whom is a teenager. I almost wish that there had been a catastrophic, instantaneous failure , which I feel would be preferable to a long, slow awful demise in that tiny space. Certainly the stuff of nightmares. God knows what the family and friends must be going through.

Horrific, I can’t even imagine it

I keep thing of the phrase

"you pays your money and you takes your chances"

It must be so mentally tough to have nothing much to aim for and therefore the excitement comes from taking a very big risk, rather than the mundane like saving for furniture or a new coat

I once went years ago to a Cocktail party on a British Submarine.
Omg couldn't wait to get off very claustrophobic, it was a smelly Diesel boat (All de commission now)
I imagine this submersible is similar but without the smell. The thought they won't get out is frightning, makes me shudder.

DH was once trapped underwater in a mini-sub for 24 hours, but in the English Channel and as the result of changing weather conditions, making a delay in retrieval necessary. DH was acting for the insurance company and inspecting the damage to a ship that had gone down, capsized or sank or something.

I received that phone call. The one that goes 'Hello M0nica, I do not want to worry you, but......

The main problem was that a tv company seemed to have got wind of the problem and they needed to let me know before I saw it on tv. Once the patch of bad weather passed over the submarine was raised. DH said when the crew on the ship opened the hatch, they stood a long way back, the pong of 4 men holed up in a minisub for 24 hours was horrendous.

Callistemon

My brother served on diesel and nuclear powered submarines. I remember going down to Gosport for Families Day one summer and being allowed a visit onboard, unbelievably pokey! Not fir me!

You’re right about the non communication while the sub was at sea. A submariner my brother served with lost his wife very suddenly whilst he was deployed and the funeral was over and done by the time the sub returned to port and his very young children were in the care of their grandparents.

This was during the Cold War era and even the sailors didn’t know where they were going when they out to sea!

It sounds unbelievable, doesn't it, mazzie66, but yes, I can believe that.

Can’t think of anything worse, you couldn't pay me enough to do it and think it’s stupid to try it. Think the company involved should meet the rescue costs if hopefully they can be rescued, It worries me enormously those ordinary working putting their lives in danger to rescue them, however at the moment there’s people in a nightmare scenario and the ethics can wait a while.

My first reaction was to think of all those poor people on the boat that sank in Greek waters last week. I think it was estimated that 750 people were on board with all the women and children trapped below deck. I suppose that death for those people would have been quite quick whereas the poor souls on the submersible will die more slowly.

I can’t believe that anyone would pay all that money for a trip to the bottom of an ocean in a tiny ‘coffin’ For me it would like others have said a complete and utter no no I too would be totally claustrophobic
Just because you have more money than you know what to do with why would you ? I just don’t get it
I can understand climbing a mountain or swimming the channel but I can see how some would want to conquer something like that but to view a wreck at the bottom of the ocean in a tiny enclose capsule I just don’t get it at all
Some people have more money than they know what to do with it

What a nightmare for them. I couldn’t face doing something like that, but what an awful thought that they may not be rescued.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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"

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

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 it shouldn’t be a tourist attraction it should be left in peace I hope this is the last time

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'

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

Yes, absolutely.

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.

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