Missing Titanic submarine search equipment is ‘finest in the world,’ Horizon Maritime says

The equipment being used in the search for a missing Titanic tourist submersible is among the “finest” and “most capable in the world,” according to Sean Leet, chief executive of Canadian Horizon Maritime company.

The Canadian-based company is the co-owner of the Polar Prince, the ship that was chartered to take the Titan submersible to the Titanic wreckage before it went missing while descending. 

Leet gave his assessment of rescue efforts during a Wednesday afternoon press conference, less than a day before the submersible’s oxygen supply is expected to run out. 

“The equipment that’s been mobilized for this is the finest in the world,” Leet said, later adding: “I’ve never seen equipment of that nature move that quickly.” 

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“The response from the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Military, the folks at the airport, the people here, various companies who are involved in the mobilization of that equipment to the [Horizon] Arctic, it was done flawlessly.” 

Leet’s comments come as Canadian and U.S. rescue officials are scrambling to send experts and specialized underwater equipment by land, by air, and by sea to find the submersible before its oxygen runs out.

A remotely operated vehicle that can scan the sea floor, known as an ROV, was flown to Canada on Tuesday and is expected to arrive at the Titanic site on Thursday morning.

“The equipment that is onsite and coming is the most sophisticated in the world and certainly capable of reaching those depths,” said Sean Leet, chief executive of Canadian Horizon Maritime company.

The company and the Mi’kmaq band co-own the Polar Prince, which is the research vessel that launched the Titan.

“We are praying for our friends onboard the Titan submersible,” said Miawpukek First Nation Chief Mi’sel Joe. “We want them to come home safely. We ask everyone across Canada and the world to pray with us that we can find and rescue the Titan.”

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The U.S. Navy, meanwhile, is sending a specialized salvage system that’s capable of hoisting “large, bulky and heavy undersea objects such as aircraft or small vessels” in the hopes that the Titan will be found in the waters of the North Atlantic.

The Titan weighs 20,000 pounds. The U.S. Navy’s Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System is designed to lift up to 60,000 pounds, the navy said on its website.

The Flyaway has a traction winch as well as a system that prevents “high-snap tension” from occurring in the lift line.

The Coast Guard says it is bringing in more ships and underwater vessels to search for a submersible missing in the North Atlantic after underwater sounds were detected, providing a glimmer of hope three days after the Titan disappeared while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic.

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Although the exact location and source of the sounds were not yet determined, they allowed searchers to focus on a more narrowly defined area. The full scope of the search was twice the size of Connecticut and 2 1/2 miles deep, said Capt. Jamie Frederick of the First Coast Guard District.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.