Search and rescue operation underway for submarine touring wreckage of the Titanic

Originally Published: 19 JUN 23 12:01 ET

Updated: 19 JUN 23 14:37 ET

By Eric Levenson, CNN

(CNN) ”” The US Coast Guard launched a search and rescue operation Monday for a submarine that went missing during an expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic, CNN partner CTV News reported.

The group conducting the trip, Oceangate Expeditions, said it is “exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely.”

“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible,” the group said. “We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”

FOR USE ONLY WITH CNN STORY 6-19-23 — The bow of the Titanic, photographed during an early dive to the vessel in 1986. Photo credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/Reuters.

The submersible holds up to five people, the company says on its website. It wasn”™t immediately clear how many people were on board.

The US Coast Guard said on Twitter a C-130 crew is “searching for an overdue Canadian research submarine approximately 900 miles off Cape Cod.” The Rescue Coordination Center Halifax is also assisting in the search with a P8 Poseidon aircraft that has underwater detection capabilities, the Coast Guard said.

In an interview with Fox News, District 1 Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said the Coast Guard is “bringing all assets to bear” in search of the missing submersible.

“So this is a comprehensive approach to try and locate this submersible, but it is a large area of water and it”™s complicated by local weather conditions as well,” he said.

“We don”™t have equipment on site yet that can do a comprehensive sonar survey of the bottom, but we”™re working very closely with our partners both within the federal government and in the Canadian armed forces and with private resources that are there to provide that capability,” Mauger added.

CNN has reached out to authorities in Newfoundland, Canada.

The Titanic infamously hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in April 1912, killing over 1,500 people. The wreckage of the Titanic, discovered in 1985, sits in two parts at the bottom of the ocean nearly 13,000 feet below the surface southeast of Newfoundland.

What a $250,000 trip to the bottom of the ocean is like

More recently, costly private tours have been offered to tourists, allowing people to see the wreck up close.

An archived version of OceanGate”™s website, accessible via the Internet Archive”™s Wayback Machine, lays out what passengers can expect on the $250,000 trip.

“Follow in Jacques Cousteau”™s footsteps and become an underwater explorer ”” beginning with a dive to the wreck of the RMS Titanic. This is your chance to step outside of everyday life and discover something truly extraordinary,” the website said. “Become one of the few to see the Titanic with your own eyes.”

The eight-day expedition is based out of St. John”™s, Newfoundland. The trip begins with a 400-nautical-mile journey to the wreck site.

There, up to five people, including a pilot, a “content expert” and three paying passengers, board the submersible named “Titan” and descend to the bottom of the ocean.

“Once the submersible is launched you will begin to see alienlike lifeforms whizz by the viewport as you sink deeper and deeper into the ocean. The descent takes approximately two hours but it feels like the blink of an eye,” the website said.

According to OceanGate, the Titan is a 23,000-pound submersible made of carbon fiber and titanium. As a safety feature, the sub uses a “proprietary real-time hull health monitoring (RTM) system” that analyzes the pressure on the vessel and the integrity of the structure, the company states. It also has life support for a crew of five for up to 96 hours, the website states.