Submarine expert pessimistic: “Unfortunately, there is no hope for those on board”

If the submarine is actually trapped in the wreck, the potential search field is only one square kilometer. “That’s not much in itself, but finding a submarine among all the wreckage is a huge challenge,” says Weber. Without a map, without proper lighting and without communication, the search teams are literally groping in the dark. “How do you tell the difference between wreckage and submarine parts?”

Low survivability

According to information from relatives, there were five people on board the Titan. Among them are British businessman Hamish Harding (58), billionaires Shahzada Dawood (48) and his son Sulaiman (19), but also crew member Stockton Rush (61) and diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet (63).

Weber estimates the chances of survival of the five men as low. “It will take a miracle. As things stand, unfortunately there is no hope for the people on board.”

Because even if the crew decides not to continue the mission after the radio is turned off, the chances of survival are not good. “Most of the boat is under water. About 80 centimeters stick out of the water,’ says Weber. “The submarine is barely visible in the high waves of the Atlantic Ocean.”

Is there enough time for a rescue mission?

The submarine is probably submerged. There is a good chance that one or more systems are not working, says Weber. “Maybe there was a power failure on board, maybe just communications.” It is also conceivable that the drive system no longer works. That would be fatal. “If the propulsion system has failed, nothing will happen.” The boat could neither rise nor sink.

It’s a race against time: with any luck, the oxygen on board will last until Thursday. Until then, the Titan must be found and the ten-ton boat transported 12,000 feet up.

The problem: there is almost no equipment that can go to this depth. And: “Such submersibles can only be transported by water, and that also takes time,” says Weber. “It’s a mammoth task, impossible to solve.”

Three tourists missing

Ocean Gate offers a “unique travel experience” to Titanic for $250,000 per person. The boat is almost 7 meters long, 2.80 meters wide and 2.50 meters high. There isn’t much space there.

On Sunday there were three billionaires on board, a pilot and a diver. Weber can only shake his head at that. “It’s a tricky situation when two professionals go so deep with three inexperienced tourists.” There is huge potential for conflict in such a small space. “It’s not something you do just for fun, and it’s certainly not a great travel experience,” explains Weber.

Added to this is the enormous sea pressure. This is “immense,” says Weber. The expert knows what he is talking about. He himself descended to 870 meters in a submarine and knows “how dark it can be down there”. He was accompanied by a nauseated feeling at that moment. “You have to weigh the risks carefully.”