An OceanGate Expeditions adviser has slammed the US government for allegedly holding up efforts to rescue the five passengers on board the missing Titanic tourist sub – because of bureaucracy around official paperwork.
David Concannon, an attorney and explorer who had a lucky escape when he pulled out of the adventure at the last minute, told NewsNation on Monday night that critical equipment that could help recover the missing Titan vessel is currently thousands of miles away in the Guernsey Channel Islands.
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The equipment is ready and waiting to be sent to the Atlantic Ocean to help locate the submersible, but can’t go anywhere until the US government authorises it.
“(They are) the same group, the experts, that did the advanced survey of the Titanic last year,” he said.
“They are mobilised. They’re sitting on the tarmac, ready to go. We have a ship off Newfoundland that is ready to take them to the site.”
While the five people on board are in a race for their lives, he said that the officials needed to sign off the rescue equipment aren’t showing the same level of urgency.
“This equipment has been on the tarmac for hours. When I communicate with the U.S. government, I get ‘out of office’ replies, not from everyone, but from key people that have a signoff on this,” he said.
“That’s unacceptable. I don’t want to discourage the government officials that are helping because they’re doing their jobs, but we need to do it quicker.”
With the clock ticking until the vessel runs out of oxygen, Mr Concannon hammered home that there isn’t the time to waste.
“We need to move. We do not have minutes or hours. We need to move now,” he said.
He added: “We have people whose lives are at stake. You have to move. We have assets that are ready to go and they’re sitting and waiting.”
With the clock ticking, concerns continue to grow for the British billionaire explorer, renowned French diver, Pakistani father and son, and the OceanGate CEO stuck on board the vessel at sea.
The Titan vessel left its mother ship on Sunday morning and lost contact just 1 hour and 45 minutes later.
There has been no contact with the vessel since then.
Titan is equipped with enough oxygen to last five people for four days.
On Monday afternoon, Rear Adm John Mauger of the US Coast Guard told reporters that there was believed to be between 70 and the full 96 hours left of oxygen supply at that point.
Desperate friends and family members confirmed their loved ones were on board the vessel as the deepest under sea rescue operation in world history unfolded in the Atlantic Ocean.
Hamish Harding, who has previously travelled on the Challenger Deep to the bottom of the ocean and on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin into space, had taken to Facebook on Saturday to announce that he was joining OceanGate Expeditions for its Titanic mission this week.
“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,” Mr Harding wrote, alongside an image of him signing a card reading Titanic Mission V.
“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!”
He has not posted online since.
On Monday – as news of the missing submersible broke – Mr Harding’s stepson Brian Szasz confirmed that his stepfather was on board the vessel when it went missing.
“Hamish Harding, my step father, has gone missing on submarine. Thoughts and prayers,” he wrote on Facebook, sharing family photos and articles.
“Thoughts and prayers for my Mom and Hamish Harding,” he added.
In a follow-up post, he added: “Thoughts and prayers for my stepfather Hamish Harding as his submarine has gone missing exploring Titanic. Search and rescue mission is underway.”
A friend – and fellow Titanic expert – Larry Daley confirmed to CBC that French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet was also on the vessel. Mr Nargeolet is described by OceanGate as the “Titanic’s greatest explorer” and has done 35 dives in the submersible.
Shahzada Dawood, a 48-year-old businessman and one of the richest people in Pakistan, and his son Sulaiman Dawood, 19, were also on board the vessel to visit the wreckage of the Titanic.
The Dawood family released a statement about the father and son saying: “We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety.”
The fifth person has not been confirmed but is believed to be OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush.
OceanGate Expeditions, which offers eight-day tourist missions to see the Titanic wreckage at a cost of $250,000 per person, said in a statement on Monday that it is “exploring and mobilising all options to bring the crew back safely.”
“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” it said, adding that it is “deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible”.
The Titanic, operated by the White Star Line, sank on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean back in 1912.
The ship – the largest vessel at the time – set sail from Southampton, UK, on 10 April 1912, with more than 2,200 passengers and crew on board headed for New York City.
Five days into its voyage, the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the ocean. More than 1,500 people died.
In recent years, people have taken trips to visit the wreckage which now lies around 12,500 feet at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
