Source of noises heard during search for missing Titanic sub unknown

Additional planes and ships are heading out Wednesday afternoon as the search for the missing submersible carrying five passengers continues, with the scale of the effort ramping up hour by hour.

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, officials with the U.S. Coast Guard said in the next 24 to 48 hours the number of aircraft and ships searching for the submersible, Titan, is expected to double to 10.

“Our Canadian partners have been providing critical leadership and significant response capabilities since the beginning of our efforts,” Capt. Jamie Frederick of the U.S. Coast Guard told reporters during a press conference in Boston. “This is an incredibly complex search operation requiring both surface and subsurface elements.”

Frederick said the amount of area searched on the surface of the ocean is now about two times the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut, while the subsurface search is up to 2.5 miles or about four kilometres deep.

On Tuesday, a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) plane detected “banging noises” but officials do not know if the sounds are coming from the submersible.

“With respect to the noises specifically, we don’t know what they are, to be frank with you,” Frederick told reporters. “We need to have hope. I can’t tell you what the noises are, but what I can tell you is …we’re searching where the noises are.”

Officials also confirmed additional noises were heard Wednesday by an aircraft searching the area.

The sounds discovered by the Canadian aircraft are the first potential lead in the case since the search started.

UNCLEAR IF UNDERWATER SOUNDS ARE FROM THE SUBMERSIBLE

Estimates suggest the Titan submersible has less than 24 hours before the oxygen on board runs out.

Surface crews aboard the Polar Prince lost contact with Titan about one hour and 45 minutes after it descended into the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday morning on a tourist expedition bound for the Titanic.

The wreckage lies about 3,800 metres below the surface of the ocean. The expedition had departed from St. John’s, N.L., earlier that morning.

After the RCAF plane detected underwater noises in the search area, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a tweet just after midnight ET Wednesday that both underwater and air searches would be “relocated in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises.”

It’s not clear whether the sounds are linked to the missing submersible.

CNN reported Wednesday morning “banging” noises were heard every 30 minutes for a period of time on Tuesday, citing a U.S. government memo obtained by CNN and Rolling Stone.

The memo did not detail when or how long the sound lasted on Tuesday, CNN reported.

CTV News has not independently verified the details of the memo.

The 1912 wreckage of the Titanic is located about 600 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland. The U.S.-based company OceanGate operates tours to the site.

The missing submersible is carrying five passengers, including billionaire and explorer Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul-Henry (PH) Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, who are members of a prominent Pakistani family, and OceanGate CEO and Titan pilot Stockton Rush.

OceanGate says the Titan can provide enough oxygen and life support for up to 96 hours or four days.

Officials said Tuesday afternoon that there was enough oxygen remaining on board the Titan for only 40 hours.

“This is a complex search effort which requires multiple agencies with subject matter expertise and specialized equipment,” Frederick told reporters during a press conference in Boston on Tuesday.

‘WE WANT THEM TO COME HOME SAFELY’

Horizon Maritime Services operates the Polar Prince through a partnership with Miawpukek First Nation in southern Newfoundland.

Sean Leet, co-founder and chairman of Horizon Maritime Services, addressed reporters on Wednesday to offer his thoughts to the passengers on the Titan and their families.

“The people onboard the Titan and their families are our focus,” Leet said. “We care deeply about their well-being. All of us here in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, the United States and around the world are unified in this work.”

Leet said company client ExxonMobil has provided a 94-metre vessel called the Horizon Arctic to help with the search.

The Horizon Arctic is equipped with an American remotely operated vessel that arrived by air in St. John’s late Tuesday, he said. The vessel left at 5 a.m. local time Wednesday morning and should arrive at the Titanic site by Thursday morning.

“We are very aware of the time sensitivity around this mission,” Leet said.

“Our crews and onshore team are experts in their fields and will continue to support this effort in every way we can. We remain focused on contributing to the search for the Titan, crew and continue to hold out hope that they will be located and brought home safely.”

Miawpukek First Nation Chief Misel Joe, who joined Leet at the press conference, asked for everyone across the country and around the world to offer their prayers for those on the Titan.

“We want them to come home and we want them to come home safely.”