Exploding Submarine: Who Pays for Titan’s Mega Quest?

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After several days of intense searching, it became clear: all the passengers of the lost Titan submarine were dead. Rescuers only found the remains of the missing submarine, which is said to have exploded near the Titanic.

The search went on for days and the media attention was enormous. US, Canadian and French officials, as well as the Coast Guard and the US Navy, participated in the search and rescue efforts. Then the “New York Times” asked who would pay for such a campaign – the provider, the insurance company, the taxpayer?

millions of costs

It is clear that there were five people on board, including British billionaire Hamish Harding. Titan passengers paid $250,000 each for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Chris Boyer, executive director of the National Search and Rescue Association, told the New York Times: “These people paid a lot of money for something extraordinarily risky.”

The worst-case scenario is that this will result in a search operation lasting several days. According to Boyer, the entire search operation will cost “probably millions”—sometimes talking about $50 million and more. It is unknown whether Ocean Gate Expeditions, operator of the expedition, will require travel insurance from participants.

Normally, participants of risky voyages must sign comprehensive insurance policies in advance. One of the extreme tour operators is Peter Anderson, managing director of luxury concierge service Knightsbridge Circle. He told the New York Times that in an emergency they are working with various services to evacuate all participants and cover rescue costs. Only: If the contract has a minimum insurance amount of $100,000, this will not currently be sufficient to finance the entire rescue operation.

US Coast Guard rescues rowers for $40,000

In such cases, coverage in the US depends on the state and the exact location where an accident occurred. For example, if people in New Hampshire are found to have acted recklessly, they must pay for the rescue operations themselves. However, in some US parks, search and rescue operations are a public service – for example, the National Park Service has already conducted 3,428 search and rescue operations, according to the “New York Times.”

When asked by the “New York Times”, the US Coast Guard did not want to comment on the costs. But a case older than 2021 shows the Coast Guard had to rescue canoeist Cyril Derreumaux, who was trying to paddle off the California coast to Hawaii. According to the media, this rescue operation cost about $42,000 and was sometimes borne by taxpayers. The high amount was also criticized accordingly.

But these are not amounts in the millions as they are currently payable. A similar scenario has not existed before, and the case is still too dire for experts to know. Accordingly, a legal dispute over costs is likely to begin soon.

Source :Blick