By Ada Kohli
Published Jun 22, 2023

Hindustan Times
In Focus

Titanic Sub: What Exactly Is A Submersible

A Titanic submersible carrying five people to the Titanic wreckage site went missing in the North Atlantic Ocean on June 18, 2023

The vessel lost contact with a support ship called the Polar Prince approximately one hour and 45 minutes into its descent

Here is all you need to know about what a submersible is

A submersible is a small boat designed for mainly research and exploration

A submersible, in comparison to a submarine,  is limited in its movement and the duration it can stay underwater

It needs a mother ship that can launch and recover it under water, unlike a submarine that has sufficient power to leave and come back to port on its own

According to AFP, submersibles have a top speed of three knots or 5.5 kilometers an hour

The missing Titan is made of lightweight carbon fibre with a nine feet wide and 8 feet tall structure 

This particular submersible has only one toilet and no seats. Passengers are to sit cross legged on the floor

The five people on board reportedly include - British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman, founder and CEO of the operating company OceanGate Stockton Rush, and veteran French diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet

Search operations detected underwater noises while searching for the missing submersile. They however, state that the source of the sound is still unclear