‘Race Against Time’: Rescuers Rush Equipment to Scene as Search for Titanic Sub Continues

Three United States Air Force planes delivered critical equipment to a Newfoundland, Canada, airport in a “last chance” effort to rescue five passengers aboard the Titan submarine which went missing on Sunday.

A forklift loaded equipment, consisting of  “a giant roll of thick cable, two large machines with a blue frame and a “high voltage” sign on the side, and two heavy-duty Hyundai winches” taken off of the C-17 cargo planes onto six flatbed trucks, Metro UK reported on Tuesday. A police escorted the trucks to the Horizon Arctic, a Canadian supply ship, where the equipment was loaded on, the New York Post reported. Soon after, the ship started its 15-hour, 400-mile voyage to the location where the Titan went missing.

Rescuers are in a “race against time”: Officials said as of Tuesday afternoon the passengers have fewer than 40 hours’ worth of oxygen left, Breitbart reported.

A seven-foot-long submersible, the Odysseus 6K, was flown in from Buffalo as well, WGRZ reported.

Pelagic Research Services (PRS) said the Odysseus can dive 19,000 feet. The company had been contacted by OceanGate Expeditions to assist in the search, it said.

“PRS is committed to helping bring the best possible outcome to this situation,” according to its website. “Our sincere thoughts and wishes are with all the families, friends, and rescue personnel of those affected by this emergency.”

Passengers aboard the Titan are pilot Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Sulaiman, and British billionaire Hamish Harding.

The United States Coast Guard has worked closely with Canada and OceanGate Expeditions in the search operation.

Capt. Jamie Frederick, First Coast Guard District response coordinator, delivers a press briefing in Boston, Massachusetts, about the ongoing search for the 21-foot submarine Titan, June 21, 2023.Video by Petty Officer 3rd Class Briana Carter U.S. Coast Guard District 1 

A rescue plane that has “underwater detection capabilities in the air” heard  “banging sounds” every 30 minutes near where the submarine went missing on Tuesday, the Daily Mail reported.

However, rescue efforts over an area of 7,600 square miles “have not yielded any results,” according to Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick, Breitbart reported. “This is a complex search effort which requires multiple agencies with subject matter expertise and specialized equipment, which we have gained through the unified command,” Frederick said.