Ship carrying Titan debris docks in Canada as investigators probe implosion
Global News
Pelagic Research Services, whose remotely operated vehicle has been used in the Titan search and recovery, said it had successfully completed off-shore operations.
A Canadian-flagged ship carrying debris from the imploded submersible Titan docked in Canada on Wednesday as the investigation into the fatal disaster continues.
Horizon Arctic returned to port in St. John’s, N.L., carrying the remains of OceanGate Expedition’s Titan submersible. It went missing on June 18 while on an expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic in the North Atlantic. Five people were aboard the vessel.
The submersible’s disappearance set off an international rescue mission that captivated the world’s attention given its link to the Titanic. As well, the five passengers were reported to have 96 hours of breathable air — an added element that led to the frantic search.
While there was hope the crew would be found alive, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed last Thursday that searchers had found pieces of the Titan near the Titanic, and that it suffered a “catastrophic implosion.”
Pelagic Research Services, an ocean services company whose remotely operated vehicle (ROV) has been used in the Titan search and recovery, said in a statement Wednesday it had successfully completed off-shore operations.
Its team “is still on mission and will be in the process of demobilization from the Horizon Arctic this morning,” the company said, adding a press conference would be held from its base in East Aurora, N.Y., at a later date.
“They have been working around the clock now for ten days, through the physical and mental challenges of this operation, and are anxious to finish the mission and return to their loved ones.”
In an earlier statement, Pelagic said its ROV, Odysseus 6K, was the vehicle that located the Titan debris field last week. It had made a number of dives to the Titan, and the ROV’s heavy lift capabilities were utilized in the operation.