Titanic tourist sub goes missing sparking search

[Dan]

Google the story of the Johnson Sea Link accident on the wreck of the Fred T Barry

That’s an interesting reading. Thanks for mentioning it. Here’s the link:

Johnson Sea Link accident - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Jared0425]

Google the story of the Johnson Sea Link accident on the wreck of the Fred T Barry

I think that was the only loss of a submersible up to this point right? I know Costeau almost bit on the USS Hamilton on Lake Ontario and the Fitzgerald in Lake Superior.

 

[Wookie]

I think that was the only loss of a submersible up to this point right? I know Costeau almost bit on the USS Hamilton on Lake Ontario and the Fitzgerald in Lake Superior.

I think you are correct. Of course, JSL went on to perform years of exploration.

 

[TravelGas]

I just read the link and checked on the Fred T. Berry. Multiple sources say it is sunk anywhere from 330' to 390' FSW. That is a wide variance.

 

[Wookie]

I just read the link and checked on the Fred T. Berry. Multiple sources say it is sunk anywhere from 330' to 390' FSW. That is a wide variance.

Well, it’s 400’ in the scour, about 330’ to the top of the house.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

The article mentions:
“A submersible craft used to take people to see the wreck of the Titanic has been missing in the Atlantic Ocean with its crew on board since Sunday, sparking a major search and rescue.
Contact with the submersible was lost about one hour and 45 minutes into the vessel's dive, the US coast guard said.”

And:
“On Monday, Rear Adm John Mauger of the US Coast Guard told a news conference: "We anticipate there is somewhere between 70 and the full 96 hours available at this point."”

Now it’s Monday evening. Assuming the loss contact was on Sunday morning and no water breached into the vessel, they have breathable air in the vessel by Thursday morning. I hope the rescuers find the Sub before then.

Kind of scary to learn that the entry door can only be opened from outside. If the rescuers couldn’t find it floating somewhere in time, the crew inside would suffocate from excessive CO2 built up inside, I think.

I noticed that the hatch was bolted rather than dogged down as well ... to me that seems like trading off one risk for another. I was under the impression that the legacy DSV designs such as Alvin can be opened up by the crew inside, although I think the craft that James Cameron used for his Marianas Trench dive also had the hatch bolted shut from the outside. Alvin also has an escape system that can jettison the crew sphere, although that has never been tested.

If the sub is still on the bottom ... first they have to find it, and then they have to get something down there that can bring it up. Both are tall orders.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

I think you are correct. Of course, JSL went on to perform years of exploration.

Well, Alvin was swamped and sunk while launching in 1968, although the crew got out before it sank and the sub was salvaged a year later for another 50+ years of service. In 2005 the Russian Navy's AS-28 DSRV got tangled in nets at a depth of 190 meters; a British Scorpio ROV was brought in and cut the nets, allowing the seven crew onboard to resurface.

Aside from the JSL, I don't think there's been a submersible (as opposed to military submarine) accident resulting in fatalities.

 

[Jared0425]

If the sub is still on the bottom ... first they have to find it, and then they have to get something down there that can bring it up. Both are tall orders.

First two things that need to be done is ROV the wreck and make sure it isn't on her while simultaneously running high frequency side scan with the 2012 side scan overlay and find the anomalies. MAD is going to be useless.

 

[Jared0425]

Aside from the JSL, I don't think there's been a submersible (as opposed to military submarine) accident resulting in fatalities.

That's what I was saying. Tons of close calls, but only JSL has been lost. Looking at their submersible, it seems to lack the complexity of others that have the same depth capabilities.

 

[Dan]

I shiver from the thought of how cold it is at 3800m, if at 110m depth is already at 7C. Probably near freezing.