Debris from the Titan was brought ashore by deep-sea robots on Wednesday as the US Coast Guard continues its salvage work following the submarine’s catastrophic implosion.
Titanic’s wreckage was first seen in pictures after the Coast Guard announced on June 22 that ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) had found their chambers in a sea of debris 1,600 feet from Titanic’s bow, about 12,000 feet under the ocean Surface.
Pelagic Research Services, the company that operated the ROV that made the previous wreckage finds, said Wednesday that its team had successfully completed offshore operations and, after 10 days of work, is now in the process of demobilization. The company said a press conference would be held later in the day.
Photos from the wharf show several parts of the submersible appearing to be lifted off the ship, including the nose cone with its distinctive round window. The parts were unloaded from the American vessels Sycamore and Horizon Arctic at a port in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
The US Coast Guard declined to comment on the investigation or the debris’s return to shore. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), both involved in the investigation, also declined to comment.
“We are unable to provide any additional information at this time as the investigation is ongoing,” said Liam MacDonald, a spokesman for the TSB.
Just hours later, the Coast Guard announced that “probable human remains” had been found on the seabed. They will now be analyzed formally.
The CEO of the company that operated Titan Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, famous French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman were on board Titan as of this week imploded.
Just an hour and 45 minutes after descending to the Titanic wreck on June 18, the submersible lost contact with its mothership Polar Prince, sparking a frantic four-day search. Canadian, American and French marine authorities and experts combed large parts of the ocean in hopes of finding signs of life before the tragic events of June 22.
Photos shared by the Associated Press showed what appeared to be several pieces covered in white tarpaulin being unloaded from the American vessels Sycamore and Horizon Arctic at a port in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
(AP)
Just an hour and 45 minutes after descending to the Titanic wreck on June 18, the submersible lost contact with its mother ship Polar Prince
(AP)
(Reuters)
The Coast Guard said last week that shortly after the submarine’s disappearance and before rescue efforts began, the US Navy detected noises suggesting an “implosion or explosion.” Rescue efforts continued at this time because the information was not definitive, the Coast Guard said.
An international group of authorities is investigating what may have caused the submersible implosion, and US Navy officials say they will release a report aimed at improving the safety of submersibles around the world.
(REUTERS)
Debris from the Titan submersible recovered from the seabed near the Titanic wreck is dumped from the shore
(AP)
An international group of authorities is now investigating what could have led to the implosion of the submersible
(AP)
The Coast Guard said over the weekend that salvage operations were still ongoing but recovering the bodies would be difficult due to the “relentless condition” on the seabed. A final report will be issued by the International Maritime Organization.