Underwater noises detected near the wreck of the Titanic can’t be positively linked to the missing submersible vessel with five people on board, the US Coast Guard said.
A Canadian plane with sonar capabilities looking for the Titan vessel picked up sounds early Wednesday, and remotely operated vehicles were moved to the area where the noises originated.
“Although the ROV searches have yielded negative results, they continue,” Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick said at a briefing in Boston Wednesday afternoon. “Additionally, the data from the aircraft has been shared with our US Navy experts for further analysis which will be considered in future search plans.”
The search area has expanded to include a section of the North Atlantic about twice the size of Connecticut and 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) deep. It remains a search-and-rescue mission, Frederick said.
“We have to remain optimistic and hopeful,” he said.
The Titan, which was reported missing on Sunday, is estimated to have about 16 hours of oxygen remaning. Its crew is thought to have limited rations on board, Frederick said.
A mother ship on the surface lost all communications with the Titan on Sunday, about 1 hour and 45 minutes after it submerged to explore the site of the Titanic, which sank in 1912 on its first trans-Atlantic voyage.
The search-and-rescue effort has become a fast-paced international logistics operation. US and Canadian authorities are on the scene, about 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. France has dispatched a vessel equipped with an underwater robot that can go as deep as the Titanic site, about 4,000 meters below the surface.
Three more ships arrived on the scene Wednesday morning to continue assisting with the search, the US Coast Guard said. One of them, the John Cabot, has side-scanning sonar capabilities and is conducting search patterns alongside the others.
Several privately owned vessels, one with a decompression chamber and some with underwater search devices, are also preparing to join the recovery mission. OceanGate Expeditions, operator of Titan and the Titanic survey trip, is leading underwater search efforts because of its knowledge of the site.
Earlier, an international exploration club with members on board Titan said “likely signs of life” have been detected, raising hopes of a rescue.
Richard Garriott de Cayeux, president of the New York-based Explorers Club, said on Twitter that “data from the field” had given the club fresh hope.
“We understand that likely signs of life have been detected at the site,” he said in a statement on the social-media platform. “We await hopefully good news.”
De Cayeux didn’t specify what data he was referring to, or provide details about what the “signs of life” were.
The Explorers Club confirmed that members Hamish Harding, who is the founder of investment firm Action Group and an avid adventurer, and French maritime expert Paul Henry Nargeolet are on board the vessel. The other three are OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, and Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, father and son in one of Pakistan’s most prominent families.
At a Tuesday news briefing in Boston, US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick wouldn’t say whether there was enough time to retrieve the submersible — even if it was found immediately — before its air ran out. The primary task is locating the craft, though transferring salvage equipment to the search site is a priority, he said.
“If the sub is located, then the experts need to look at what is the best course of action for recovering” it, Frederick said.
Titan, a 6.7-meter-long craft made of carbon fiber and titanium, is designed to operate at a maximum depth of 4,000 meters.
The Explorers Club said it is continuing to try to get approval for a specialist remotely operated underwater vehicle owned by exploration company Magellan to join the Titan search. Magellan’s equipment can reach depths of up to 6,000 meters and has descended to the Titanic wreck several times, de Cayeux said.
“We believe they can provide invaluable assistance,” he said.
Magellan said in a statement on its website that it is “fully mobilized to help.” OceanGate asked Magellan to fly necessary equipment and crew to Newfoundland, Magellan said.
