Titanic expert, adventurer, CEO and father and son board the missing submarine

BOSTON (AP) — Renowned Titanic expert, world-record-holder adventurer, member of two of Pakistan’s richest families, and company leading expedition to world’s most famous shipwreck A CEO is in grave danger on a sunken mini-submarine. Missing in the Atlantic Ocean.

The submarine Titan was reported to be past its estimated arrival time Sunday night about 435 miles (700 km) south of St. Johns, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center, sparking a frantic international rescue effort. is being done. Rescuers continued to race against time, as oxygen supplies could run out by about 6 a.m. on Thursday.

A Canadian aircraft detected underwater noise while searching for Titan. The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Twitter early Wednesday morning that it had relocated its search operation after a Canadian P-3 patrol plane detected noise, and that the data would help guide ongoing operations.

The expedition featuring Titan was led by Oceangate, making the third voyage to the Titanic, which sank after hitting an iceberg in 1912, killing all but 700 of its approximately 2,200 passengers and crew. rice field.

The Titan has a pilot and four other people on board. they are:

stockton rush

Rush’s background is in aerospace and technology, but according to the company’s website, Rush founded Oceangate in 2009 with the goal of providing manned submersibles to undersea researchers and explorers. Rush is a Titan pilot, said company spokesman Andrew von Kerens.

A Washington-based private company has started attracting tourists to the Titanic in 2021 as part of an effort to document the wreck’s slow deterioration.

“The ocean is taking this in. We need to document it before it all disappears or becomes unrecognizable,” Rush told the Associated Press in 2021.

In an interview with CBS News last year, Rush defended submarine safety, but said nothing is without risk.

“The things I’m most worried about are things that prevent me from surfacing: overhangs, fishing nets, entanglement hazards,” he said, adding that a good pilot can avoid such hazards.

Rush became the world’s youngest transport jet pilot in 1981 at the age of 19, and flew commercial jets while in college, according to the company’s biography. He joined McDonnell’s Douglas Company in 1984 as a flight test engineer. Over the past 20 years, he has overseen the development of several successful IP ventures.

Greg Stone, a longtime marine scientist and friend of Rush, called him a “true pioneer” in submarine innovation.

“Stockton was a risk taker. He was smart. He had vision and wanted to move things forward,” Stone said Tuesday.

Hamish Harding

British businessman Harding lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Harding was one of the mission specialists who paid for the expedition, according to Action Aviation, an aircraft brokerage firm of which Harding is chairman.

Harding is a billionaire adventurer and holder of three Guinness World Records, including the longest stay at all depths by a manned vessel. In March 2021, he and ocean explorer Victor Vescovo dived to the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. In June 2022, he went into space with Blue in his Origin New his Shepard rocket.

“The Harding family and Action Aviation team greatly appreciate all the kind messages of concern and support from friends and colleagues,” the company said in a statement.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Harding said he was “proud” to be a part of the mission.

“Because of Newfoundland’s worst winter in 40 years, this mission will likely be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023,” he posted. “The weather window just opened, so I’m going to try diving (Sunday).”

Richard Garriott de Cailleux, president of the Explorers Club to which Harding belonged, said Harding “was looking forward to doing research” on the Titanic site.

“We are all eager for the submarine to be found as soon as possible,” he said in a statement.

Shazada and Sullman Dawood

Father and son Shazada and Suleman Dawood are part of Pakistan’s most prominent family. The family said in a statement that both were on the ship.

“We are very appreciative of the concern that our colleagues and friends have shown and ask everyone to please respect the privacy of the family at this time and pray for their safety,” the statement said. “My family is well taken care of and I pray to Allah for their safe return.”

Their company, Dawood Hercules Corp., is based in Karachi and is involved in agriculture, petrochemicals and telecommunications infrastructure.

Shazada Dawood also serves on the board of the California-based SETI Institute, which searches for extraterrestrial intelligent life. The Darwoods family live in the UK, according to SETI.

Shazada Dawood is also a member of the Global Advisory Board of Prince’s Trust International, which was founded by King Charles III of England to address youth unemployment.

He holds degrees from the University of Buckingham, UK, and the University of Philadelphia (now Thomas Jefferson University), USA.

Paul Henry Narjolet

Narjolet, a former French naval officer who has made numerous visits to the wreckage over the decades, is considered an expert on the Titanic.

In an interview with CNN, David Gallo, senior adviser for strategic initiatives and special projects on the RMS Titanic, said Najolet was on board.

According to his company profile, he is the Director of Underwater Research for E/M Group and RMS Titanic, where he completed 37 dives into the wreck and oversaw the recovery of 5,000 artifacts.

He was the leader of the most technologically advanced diving expedition to Titanic in 2010, using high-resolution sonar and 3D optical imaging for bow and stern sections and debris fields.

While at the French Institute for Marine Research and Development, he led the first recovery expedition to the Titanic in 1987.