On Sunday, June 18, the US Coastguard revealed that a submersible used to take tourists to explore the wreck of Titanic had lost contact with its base off the coast of Canada.
The craft held a “five-person crew”, who each paid $250,000 (£195,270) for the eight-day expedition to see the wreck, and is believed to have between 70 to 96 hours of air. So, officials have since been racing against time to rescue those on the submersible.
Among those who were on the missing OceanGate Expeditions vessel was British explorer Hamish Harding, who is also the wealthy chairman of a private plane firm called Action Aviation.
But, who exactly is Hamish Harding, why was he on the craft, and what do we know about the missing submersible so far?
Who is Hamish Harding?
Hamish Harding, 58, is a British businessman, pilot, explorer, and space tourist.
The billionaire studied natural sciences and chemical engineering at the University of Cambridge before starting his adventurous career.
He also holds an airline transport pilot’s licence and business jet type ratings, including the Gulfstream G650. Harding was inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation in 2022.
The adrenaline lover is a keen skydiver and is a trustee of the Explorers Club.
His career has seen him work with the Antarctic VIP tourism company White Desert to introduce the first-ever regular business jet service to Antarctica. His work saw him make many trips to the south pole and even accompany Buzz Aldrin during the journey that saw him become the oldest person to ever reach the south pole at the age of 86.
Last year, he went into space with Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin company to add yet another once-in-a-lifetime experience to his long list of adventures.
Mr Harding holds three Guinness World Records, including the longest duration at full ocean depth by a crewed vessel, longest distance traversed at full ocean depth by a crewed vessel and fastest circumnavigation via both Poles by aeroplane.
Currently, he is the chairman of the aircraft firm Action Aviation, an international aircraft brokerage company that has its headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Why was he on the OceanGate Expeditions submersible?
Hamish Harding is a keen adventurer and explorer, going on cutting-edge trips such as these on a regular basis.
Before the submersible started its journey, Harding went on social media on Saturday, June 17, to share his excitement about the mission.
On Facebook, he wrote: “I am proud to finally announce that I joined OceanGate Expeditions for their RMS TITANIC Mission as a mission specialist on the sub going down to the Titanic.
“Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023. A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow.
“We started steaming from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada yesterday and are planning to start dive operations around 4am tomorrow morning. Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do.
“The team on the sub has a couple of legendary explorers, some of which have done over 30 dives to the RMS Titanic since the 1980s including PH Nargeolet.
“More expedition updates to follow IF the weather holds!”
What else do we know about the missing OceanGate Expeditions vessel?
The US Coastguard is leading the search and rescue efforts. They are unsure about whether the 21-foot craft is still underwater or has surfaced and is unable to communicate.
Since the submersible has gone missing, US and Canadian ships and planes have been swarming the area, dropping sonar buoys that can monitor to a depth of 13,000 feet.
Talking about it, Rear Admiral John Mauger to reporters: “It is a remote area and a challenge, but we are deploying all available assets to make sure we can locate the craft and rescue the people onboard.”
Alistair Greig, a professor of marine engineering at University College London, said submersibles typically have a drop weight, which is “a mass they can release in the case of an emergency to bring them up to the surface using buoyancy.”
“If there was a power failure and/or communication failure, this might have happened, and the submersible would then be bobbing about on the surface waiting to be found,” he said.
OceanGate Expeditions has released a statement saying that their main focus is getting those on board to their families. The company shared: “We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to re-establish contact with the submersible,” the company said in a statement.
“We are working toward the safe return of the crew members.”
