Titan, your oxygen supply runs out this morning

This morning the passengers of the Titan, the submarine lost in the North Atlantic, could run out of oxygen: the vessel had left with a sufficient reserve for 96 hours.

The Titan sank at 8am on Sunday and was due to resurface seven hours later, but less than two hours into the tour to see the remains of the Titanic – which are almost four kilometers below the surface of the ocean – traces of him have been lost. Rescuers – with US and Canadian military planes, coast guard ships and remote-controlled robots – are facing a real race against time.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, sonar picked up multiple «submarine noises», which gave hope that the passengers of the Titan were still alive and that the submarine was not too far away. The searches, however, continued without success.

The hypothesis

Alistair Greig, a marine engineering professor at University College London, has suggested two possible scenarios. If the Titan had a electrical or communication problemcould have surfaced and remained floating, “waiting to be found”, since the submarine can only be unlocked from the outside. Another scenario assumes that the pressure hull may have been compromised. And, in this case, the forecasts would not be positive.

Even if the Titan were located, however, its recovery would be very difficult. If it makes it back to the surface, it would be difficult to spot it in the open sea. Also, being locked from the outside, no passenger could get out without assistance. If the submersible was on the ocean floor, the rescue would be even more challenging due to the pressure and total darkness.

In 2018, David Lochridge the former director of maritime operations of OceanGate Expeditionsthe company that operates the submarine and organizes its tours, said in a lawsuit it was fired after raising concerns about the submarine. «experimental and untested design» of the craft.

According to David Marquet, a former Navy submarine captain, the five men aboard they are suffering from thirst and hungeras well as extreme discomfort.

How is it inside

Last year, the correspondent of the CBS David Pogue took a Titan tour to see the wreck of the Titanic. He explained that there is only one bathroom (separated from the rest of the room by a black curtain) e there are no seats: the five passengers must stand cross-legged on the floor. There are no windowsexcept the porthole through which passengers see the Titanic.

Since GPS doesn’t work underwater, the Titan communicates with its mothership via text message. “All those things we’re used to now – GPS, Wi-Fi, radio links – don’t work under the ocean,” he explained to cnn former Navy submarine officer, Captain J. Van Gurley.

The Titan’s thrusters are powered by an external electrical system, while an internal system powers communications and a heater: once aboard the Titan, the temperature inside rapidly heats up before starting to get colder as which descends to the ocean floor (where it is just above freezing). If the sub stays in deep water too long, too hypothermia can become a problem. And, in the pitch dark, it’s even harder to keep calm.