This tiny submarine 2.4 miles under the sea, visiting the relics of RMS Titanic. Can it be found and the crew saved before the air runs out?

[lazybloke]

According to the beeb a little while ago, the 'underwater noises' were detected by a 'plane. Eh?

 

[T4tomo]

Cannot see pic abd


But often ships do divert to help.

Mariners will often go to great lengths to help each other and often across different disciplines..

yes they do, and that is an unwritten mariners code of conduct. My point was, there is already a rescue plan in place for these situations should the worst happen. There isn't in the case of this Titan mishap. As tragic as it is, it was very avoidable and caused by vanity of the company/ venture owners and paying "guests".

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

According to the beeb a little while ago, the 'underwater noises' were detected by a 'plane. Eh?

The ‘plane had dropped some sonobuoys and was picking up transmissions from them.

 

[DaveReading]

According to the beeb a little while ago, the 'underwater noises' were detected by a 'plane. Eh?

Almost certainly detected by sonar dropped from a Royal Canadian Air Force Orion and relayed via the aircraft, so technically correct.

 

[newfhouse]

Mrs P and I discussed this last night. For me whatever the outcome the costs of the search and rescue should be paid from the vast fortunes these individuals appear to have amassed during their lifetimes. I can't help but think this "adventure" iilustrates what happens when people have so much, perhaps too much, money that they have nothing left in their lives.

People with hundreds of millions, billions of £££ or $$$ described as adventurers, explorers, aviators, mission specialists - often far from the reality. It's fantasy really, a way to fill a probably otherwise empty life, an unnecessary "adventure" which puts others at risk.

Wouldn’t it be good if the same resources were put into saving the lives of poor and desperate people in peril on the sea, not just billionaires?

 

[Drago]

Oh. Do you know of some other people trapped in submersibles for which there was no rescue attempt that we don't know about then?

 

[PaulSB]

Wouldn’t it be good if the same resources were put into saving the lives of poor and desperate people in peril on the sea, not just billionaires?

My view has always been there are many valuable ways in which money and wealth can be used. Unfortunately concentrating it in the hands of a very few people isn't one of them.

At which point I'd better bugger off and chat with the other old farts......... 🤣

 

[Profpointy]

yes they do, and that is an unwritten mariners code of conduct. My point was, there is already a rescue plan in place for these situations should the worst happen. There isn't in the case of this Titan mishap. As tragic as it is, it was very avoidable and caused by vanity of the company/ venture owners and paying "guests".

Nearly any exploration of this nature, whether in the deep sea or moon missions or X15 rocket planes are all pushing what's possible technologically, or in earlier times Franklin's doomed expedition , They all require an acceptance of risk, considerable risk sometimes Whilst there are "paying guests" in this case I'd see this more as wealthy people sponsoring the technological development costs rather than merely buying a ticket. And the more you are pushing what is a actually possible the less feasible rescue becomes in the event of the risks catching up with you. Neither Scott nor Amundsen had a feasible rescue plan; the later made it home, but Scott and his team didn't. Shackleton managed to brilliantly improvise and got lucky, but still needed a ship to fetch his men home.

There are some who think cycling on the roads as reckless and irresponsible after all

 

[lazybloke]

Almost certainly detected by sonar dropped from a Royal Canadian Air Force Orion and relayed via the aircraft, so technically correct.

The ‘plane had dropped some sonobuoys and was picking up transmissions from them.

Thanks both. A minor details that turns nonsense into sense.
I'd like Auntie to report with greater clarity in future (a increasingly frequent complaint),

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Nearly any exploration of this nature, whether in the deep sea or moon missions or X15 rocket planes are all pushing what's possible technologically, or in earlier times Franklin's doomed expedition , They all require an acceptance of risk, considerable risk sometimes Whilst there are "paying guests" in this case I'd see this more as wealthy people sponsoring the technological development costs rather than merely buying a ticket. And the more you are pushing what is a actually possible the less feasible rescue becomes in the event of the risks catching up with you. Neither Scott nor Amundsen had a feasible rescue plan; the later made it home, but Scott and his team didn't. Shackleton managed to brilliantly improvise and got lucky, but still needed a ship to fetch his men home.

There are some who think cycling on the roads as reckless and irresponsible after all

There are many ways that this operation falls short of the basic standards that would be expected. It is not paving new ground, it is knowingly, for instance, going down to 3800 metres with an inspection window rated only to 1300 metres. There have been previous failures of communications. It does not carry a beacon like this: https://www.sonardyne.com/products/underwater-positioning-mini-ranger/ which is simply routine. Ballast is via bits of old pipe.

It is engaged in tourism in the name of adventure and exploration, just as the Everest trips are, and I fear with similarly tragic results - it seems to be the worst of all scenarios, trapped in a hull underwater, alive with no means of rescue.

 

[cougie uk]

Surely search and rescue operations like this are fantastic training opportunities for the services involved?

Any developed country should have rescue services.

Seems a bit churlish to be talking about costs when there's people's lives very much at stake here.

I'm sure they run exercises anyway?

 

[Drago]

Spot on, it will be used as a live training exercise. Particular handy as ones logistics will never be in a convenient state like they would for a scheduled ex.

The ballast by bits of old pipe is quite clever. It's simple, inexpensive, and much less potential points of failure that air tanks, pumps, ballast tanks and control systems that the likes of Trieste had.

Best of all, the ballast is attached by a final linkage that dissolves in salt water after  xyz hours, so if the mechanical release system fails the ballast will automatically be released. It's actually quite elegant in its simplicity.

 

[markemark]

The U.K. makes costs analysis daily about people’s lives. How much to spend on life saving treatments or medicines. How many staff on a hospital ward. How many ambulances per area.

They will be spending millions and millions to save these few people. Many more people will be denied life saving treatment for the same amount. I hope the U.K. government keeps its spending in proportion. Private companies can do what they like.

 

[Alex321]

The U.K. makes costs analysis daily about people’s lives. How much to spend on life saving treatments or medicines. How many staff on a hospital ward. How many ambulances per area.

They will be spending millions and millions to save these few people. Many more people will be denied life saving treatment for the same amount. I hope the U.K. government keeps its spending in proportion. Private companies can do what they like.

This is a false equivalence.

Any government spending on this will come from military budgets, not from NHS budgets. And as pointed out above, will just replace what would otherwise be spent on exercises.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Surely search and rescue operations like this are fantastic training opportunities for the services involved?

Any developed country should have rescue services.

Seems a bit churlish to be talking about costs when there's people's lives very much at stake here.

I'm sure they run exercises anyway?

It is 3X deeper than any previous rescue, I read. That's the scale of the challenge here - and because it wasn't equipped with a location device, they have lost most of the time - and oxygen available - in locating them (assuming they now have an accurate fix via triangulation from the beacons dropped by the plane)