'340 Million Won Per Person'... The Submarine That Went to See the Sunken Titanic Also Disappeared

Submarine for Deep Sea Wreck Exploration... Only Three Days' Worth of Oxygen

A deep-sea submersible operated to view the wreckage of the passenger ship Titanic, which sank 111 years ago, has gone missing, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to launch a search. There were a total of five people on board the submersible, one of whom is reported to be Hamish Harding (58), a British businessman and explorer.

Titanic exploration submersible 'Titan'.
[Source=OceanGate Expeditions]

According to foreign media including the New York Post on the 19th (local time), the Boston Coast Guard and others launched a large-scale search operation to find the missing submersible, which disappeared the previous day. The five-person submersible named "Titan" is known to be owned by the U.S. underwater exploration company OceanGate Expeditions.

The submersible lost communication with the ground control about 1 hour and 45 minutes after the dive began, and it is known to have only three to four days' worth (70 to 96 hours) of oxygen inside.

The Titanic ship as revealed in 2019. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

John Mauger, U.S. Coast Guard commander, held a press conference in Boston that afternoon and said, "The missing location of the Titan is too far and deep, making the search difficult."

OceanGate Expeditions operates an eight-day tourist program once or twice a year, departing from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, to view the Titanic wreck located 4,000 meters below the Atlantic Ocean. The cost of this tour is known to be $250,000 (about 340 million KRW) per person. The company issued a statement saying, "We are mobilizing all resources to find the submersible" and "We are working for the safe return of the passengers."

Hammish Harding. [Image source=Facebook]

Notably, the famous British wealthy explorer Hamish Harding was also on board this dive. On the 18th, he posted on his Facebook, "I will join the Titanic wreck exploration mission," adding, "Because Newfoundland's winter is the worst in 40 years, this mission will be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023." Along with this, he posted a photo of his name written on the flag of the Titanic exploration team.

Meanwhile, the Titanic departed from Southampton, England, on April 5, 1912, heading to New York, USA, but sank after hitting an iceberg, resulting in the loss of about 1,500 passengers.

Its wreckage was discovered in 1985, 73 years later, about 600 km south off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, and it was registered as a UNESCO underwater cultural heritage site. In 1997, the movie "Titanic," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, was released and became a worldwide hit.