Difference between submersible and submarine

Publish date: 2024-05-02

Explore More

The tourist vessel that went missing on its way to the Titanic wreckage is a submersible, not a submarine — and the difference is key to why it has disappeared.

A submersible, unlike a submarine, doesn’t have enough power to launch itself into the ocean and return on its own, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains on its website.

Instead, a submersible relies on a support ship to launch it and recover it.

The procedure is similar to a boat that takes scuba divers out to sea with their gear, allowing them to jump for their underwater adventure and then climb back onboard for the trip back to shore.

OceanGate Expeditions’ Titan — a Cyclops-class submersible designed to carry five people to depths of up to 13,123 feet — uses the Polar Prince, a former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, as its support ship.

But the Titan lost contact with the Polar Prince 1 hour 45 minutes into its dive on Sunday afternoon, according to the US Coast Guard, leaving it missing in the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean.

The Titan, a tourist vessel that went missing on its way to the Titanic shipwreck, is a submersible — not a submarine. Becky Kagan Schott / OceanGate Expeditions
Unlike submersibles, submarines like the Royal Australian Navy’s Rankin (above) have enough power to get to and from their destinations without the need for a support ship. Australian Defence Force via Getty Images

Nuclear submarines can remain underwater for months, however, David Concannon, an adviser to OceanGate, told The Associated Press on Monday that the Titan had a 96-hour oxygen supply. 

The submersible’s dives to the Titanic wreckage usually last about 10 to 11 hours.

Tourist submersible exploring Titanic wreckage disappears in Atlantic Ocean

What we know

A submersible on a pricey tourist expedition to the Titanic shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean has vanished with likely only four days’ worth of oxygen. The US Coast Guard said the small submarine began its journey underwater with five passengers Sunday morning, and the Canadian research vessel that it was working with lost contact with the crew about an hour and 45 minutes into the dive.

It was later found that a top-secret team with the US Navy detected the implosion of the Titan submersible on Sunday, but did not stop search efforts due because the evidence was “not definitive” and a decision was made to “make every effort to save the lives on board.” 

Who was on board?

The family of world explorer Hamish Harding confirmed on Facebook that he was among the five traveling in the missing submarine. Harding, a British businessman who previously paid for a space ride aboard the Blue Origin rocket last year, shared a photo of himself on Sunday signing a banner for OceanGate’s latest voyage to the shipwreck. 

Also onboard were Pakistani energy and tech mogul Shanzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman, 19; famed French diver and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush.

What’s next?

“We’re doing everything we can do to locate the submersible and rescue those on board,” Rear Adm. John Mauger told reporters. “In terms of the hours, we understood that was 96 hours of emergency capability from the operator.

Coast Guard officials said they are currently focusing all their efforts on locating the sub first before deploying any vessel capable of reaching as far below as 12,500 feet where the Titanic wreck is located.

Mauger, first district commander and leader of the search-and-rescue mission, said the US was coordinating with Canada on the operation.

The debris recovered from the US Coast Guard’s Titan submersible search site early Thursday included “a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible.”

After search efforts to recover the stranded passengers proved futile, and bits of debris from the submersible were found, it was decided that the sub imploded, which correlated with an anomaly picked up by the US Navy in the same area.

The Coast Guard later reported that all 5 passengers were confirmed dead, and rescue efforts were halted.

READ MORE

One pilot and four tourists are trapped on board, including a British billionaire and one of Pakistan’s wealthiest men and his 19-year-old son.

Hamish Harding, a successful British businessman, was confirmed to be one of the trapped tourists, according to Action Aviation, a company for which Harding serves as chairman.

Harding is also an adventurer who holds three Guinness World Records, including the longest duration at full ocean depth by a crewed vessel.

So-called “Titaniacs” pay $250,000 to ride aboard the submersible to the iconic wreck 12,500 feet below the surface. CBS

Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, members of one of Pakistan’s most prominent families, were also on board, according to a family statement sent to the Associated Press.

This was OceanGate Expeditions’ third annual voyage to chronicle the deterioration of Titanic since 2021. 

ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3R7j29ma2hfora0v8innmasmamur7XCZqquml2ZtqeyxKucp5uVYq%2BmwNaenKdlkWLAtq7MnqmsoZKhsm6tzZ1kmmWjqq%2BurdGipZ5n