A former passenger on the missing Oceangate craft has described the deep-diving vessel's voyage to the Titanic as a "suicide mission".
The vessel, named Titan, lost communication with tour operators on Sunday about 435 miles south of St John's, Newfoundland, during a voyage to the famous shipwreck off the coast of Canada.
German adventurer Arthur Loibl, who previously explored the Titanic wreckage on the same submersible, spoke of the problems experienced on the mission and said he was fortunate to survive.
“I was incredibly lucky back then,” the 60-year-old said.
Loibl undertook the perilous underwater odyssey in August 2021, diving down over 12,000 metres to the famous wreck in the now infamous submersible.
Alongside him for the £87,000 descent were Nargeolet, 73 and Rush, 61.
“It was a suicide mission back then,” exclaimed the Bavarian entrepreneur.
"The first submarine didn’t work, then a dive at 1,600 metres had to be abandoned.”
Loibl explained they ended up launching five hours late due to electrical issues, which he suspects is to blame for the Titan crews’ current predicament.
Right before his voyage, the bracket of the stabilisation tube, which balances the sub, tore and had to be “reattached with zip ties,” he said.
He added the cramped conditions on board the Titan weren’t exactly reassuring.
“You need strong nerves, you mustn’t be claustrophobic, and you have to be able to sit cross-legged for ten hours,” said Loibl, who has circumvented Titanic’s remains twice in Titan.
He even touched down aboard the ill-fated liner during one of the dives.
Rescue workers on the present-day hunt for the Titan submersible expect the oxygen supply on board to run out at 12.08pm UK time today, according to a US Coast Guard spokesperson.
The 6.7m-long OceanGate Expeditions vessel, which has British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding on board, reportedly had a 96-hour oxygen supply in case of emergencies.
Also in the undersea craft are UK-based businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, and OceanGate's chief executive and founder Stockton Rush, reportedly with French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
