All eyes have been on the timeline of events of the missing Titanic submarine after it failed to return to the surface as scheduled on Sunday, June 18. Five passengers embarked on the expedition, reportedly paying $250,000 (around £195,750) to see the wreckage of the famed ship.
Those five passengers are British businessman Hamish Harding; Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son, Suleman; and French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, the company that operates the vessel, is also on it.
With a friend of one of the passengers declaring they “need a miracle” and have “hours of oxygen left” here is the full timeline of events…
Timeline of missing Titanic submarine: Submarine fails to return to surface
Sunday, June 18
On Sunday, June 18 at 12pm (GMT) the Titan submersible began what should’ve been two-hour descent to the Titanic wreck, which lies at a depth of 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) in the North Atlantic. At, 1:45pm (GMT), the US Coast Guard confirmed that communications between the submersible and the surface vessel had become lost.
Associate Professor Eric Fusil, director of the shipbuilding hub at the University of Adelaide, theorised that the sub lost power as it ran on batteries. He added that it is unclear if there are power back-ups on the Titan. Professor Stefan Williams, from the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney, theorised that there may have been a fire, citing an “electrical short circuit” as a possible cause.
The submersible was due to return to the surface at 7pm (GMT), but failed to return.
Monday, June 19
On Monday, June 19, US and Canadian ships and planes swarmed the area where the submarine went missing. U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger reported that is a “remote area” and “a challenge to conduct a search”.
Titanic submarine timeline: ‘Banging sounds’ heard from submarine
Tuesday, June 20
On Tuesday, June 20, “banging sounds” were detected over several hours by Canadian Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft. The US Coast Guard announced this on Wednesday June 21, but did not give precise timings for when the sounds were heard.
CNN reported that the “banging sounds” were heard at 30 minute intervals. CNN also reported later sounds but did not describe them as banging.
Wednesday, June 21
On Wednesday, June 21, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Canadian Coast Guard and OceanGate expedition established a unified command to handle the search.
At 6am (GMT), the US Coast Guard also confirmed that remotely operated vehicle (ROV) searches had been directed to the area where the sounds became detected. U.S. Navy experts also analysed the data.
Late on Wednesday, a French research ship, equipped with a deep-sea diving vessel, was expected to arrive at the search area.
Friend of passenger says ‘miracle needed’
Around midday on Thursday (June 22), the oxygen is due to run out in the submarine, according to the US Coast Guard’s estimate. The vessel has 96 hours of air supply from the time it is sealed, according to its specifications.
We need a miracle at this point, but miracles do happen.
Dr David Gallo, a Deep-sea explorer who is also a close friend of the sub’s pilot, told Good Morning Britain on Thursday morning: “Two days ago my hope was sliding down but when these noises appeared. They seem to be very credible, the sources are certainly credible and repeatable. So we’ll see how that pans out. But everything is happening very quickly so we have a race against time. Our hopes are high. We need a miracle at this point, but miracles do happen. So I’m very optimistic.”
Meanwhile, speaking on Thursday’s This Morning, Dr Michael Guillen – former ABC News Science Editor – became tearful as he spoke about the search. Michael was the first TV reporter to visit the Titanic wreckage in 2000 on a submersible.
Dr Michael Guillen’s tears over search
He explained that his trip to the wreckage went “beautifully” on the way. However, they did face a problem when the sub was going towards the stern of the Titanic. Michael said: “I later found out we got caught in an underwater current and it just slammed us right in… we somehow got wedged behind the blades of the propeller.”
He added: “This came out of nowhere. Very quickly I found out there are no ways out of here. You can’t just call the coast service. That was a hard pill for me to swallow. At that point, I knew this was the end of the road for me.”
Host Holly Willoughby later asked him: “This must be incredibly hard for you because you know yourself what these people are going through.”
Michael got choked up as he said: “For the last 72 hours, it’s been hell for me. It’s almost as if I feel I’m down there with them. I know what they went through. I was hoping they would experience that second chance of life that I did.”
He added: “I almost feel guilty talking to you at this point, about how I was given that second chance but it’s pretty remote that they’re going to be given a second chance.”
Read more: Fresh ‘hope’ as ‘banging sounds’ heard in missing submarine amid oxygen fears
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