10 Things To Know About Ocean Gate's Missing Titanic-Bound Submarine

The US Coast Guard is searching for OceanGate's submarine Titan, that disappeared with five people on board after it plunged toward the decaying wreck site of the Titanic cruise ship. The vessel went missing in the North Atlantic Ocean, where the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in 1912, leaving only about 700 survivors out of the roughly 2,200 passengers and crew. The goal of OceanGate's expeditions has been chronicle the Titanic's deterioration as well as the underwater ecosystem that shipwrecks often spawn.

Here are 10 things to know about the Titanic-bound submarine:

The tourist submarinewith five people on board, which disappeared on June 18 while diving to the Titanic`s wreck in the Atlantic. The submarine was lost about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive on June 18. 

The vessel has around 70 hours of oxygen left, and a huge search and rescue operation is ongoing.

The lost vessel is thought to be tour company OceanGate`s Titan submersible, a truck-sized sub that holds five people and usually dives with a four-day emergency supply of oxygen. 

Also Read: Missing Titanic Tourist Submarine With 5 Onboard Has Only 70 Hrs Of Oxygen Left: Report

Tickets cost $250,000 for an eight-day trip including dives to the wreck at a depth of 3,800m.

In a statement on Monday, OceanGate said its “entire focus (was) on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families”

The Titanics wreck lies some 700 km south of St Johns, Newfoundland, though the rescue mission is being run from Boston, Massachusetts.

There was one pilot and four 'mission specialists' aboard. 'Mission specialists' are people who pay to come along on OceanGate's expeditions. They take turns operating sonar equipment and performing other tasks in the five-person submersible.

Also Read: Submarine Used To Take Tourists To See Titanic Wreck Goes Missing; Search Underway

Hamish Harding, a 58-year-old British billionaire businessman and explorer, is among those on the missing submarine. Harding is an adventurer who holds three Guinness World Records, including longest duration at full ocean depth by a crewed vessel. In March 2021, he and ocean explorer Victor Vescovo dived to the lowest depth of the Mariana Trench. In June 2022, he went into space on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.

Titan is capable of diving 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) with a comfortable safety margin. In a May 2021 court filing, OceanGate said the Titan had an 'unparalleled safety feature' that assesses the integrity of the hull throughout every dive.

At the time of the filing, Titan had undergone more than 50 test dives, including to the equivalent depth of the Titanic, in deep waters off the Bahamas and in a pressure chamber, the company said.