BOSTON – Canadian assets overheard "banging noises" in the search for the missing Titan submersible on multiple occasions over the past two days, authorities confirmed during a briefing Wednesday at the U.S. Coast Guard base in Boston.
The sounds first registered Tuesday, and deep-sea remote-operated vehicles, or ROVs, "immediately" responded to the area, according to USCG Capt. Jamie Frederick. The data has been shared with the U.S. Navy for expert analysis.
Carl Hartsfield, a retired Navy captain and a scientist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said during the briefing that the noises had been "described as banging," but authorities did not elaborate.
"I can't tell you what the noises are," Frederick said. "But what I can tell you, and I think that this is the most important point, is that we're searching where the noises are."
This image shows the Bahamian research vessel, Deep Energy, helping search for the submersible Titan on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. Titan contains a crew of five, including British billionaire Hamish Harding, who were due to visit the wreck of the Titanic, the ‘unsinkable’ ship which sunk in 1912. The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Canadian Coast Guard and OceanGate Expeditions have established a unified command to search for the 21-foot submersible research vessel which went missing Sunday. (U.S. Coast Guard/Cover Images)
The OceanGate Titan submersible is missing, along with five people on board: OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, the adventurous British businessman Hamish Harding, and father-and-son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, who are members of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families, and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a former French navy officer and leading Titanic expert.
US Coast Guard (USCG) Captain Jamie Frederick speaks to reporters about the search efforts for the Titan submersible that went missing near the wreck of the Titanic, at Coast Guard Base in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 21, 2023. The USCG said Wednesday it had not identified the source of underwater noises detected by sonar in the search for the missing submersible. "We don't know what they are, to be frank with you," Frederick said regarding the sounds that had raised hopes the five people onboard are still alive. "We have to remain optimistic and hopeful when you're in a search and rescue case," he told reporters. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
Naval and civilian assets from the U.S. and Canada expanded the search area to twice the size of Connecticut for a 21-foot submersible that could be trapped more than 3,800 meters below sea level at the ocean floor, Frederick said Wednesday.
ROV assets in the vicinity are capable of reaching as deep as 4,000 meters, he said.
Carl Hartsfield of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute talks about the noises heard during a U.S. Coast Guard update on the search efforts for five people aboard a missing submersible approximately 900 miles off Cape Cod, on June 21, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Coast Guard is racing to find a submersible with five passengers that went missing during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
"This is a search-and-rescue mission, 100%," he said.
WEATHER FORECAST FOR FINAL HOURS AS RESCUE CREWS WORK TO FIND MISSING TITANIC TOURIST SUBMERSIBLE
Hamish Harding poses for a photo during the RMS Titanic Expedition Mission 5 on Sunday, June 18, 2023. (@actionaviation/Twitter)
The Coast Guard previously said that Canadian rescuers picked up "underwater noises" in the vicinity but would not confirm that they came from someone "banging" or "tapping."
Authorities were still looking into the source of the sounds Wednesday morning, and at least five additional surface vessels are expected to join the effort by Thursday morning, along with additional ROVs.
This file image provided by OceanGate shows the Titan submersible being transferred onto a platform in the Bahamas. (OceanGate Expeditions)
SEARCH FOR MISSING TITANIC TOURIST SUB CONTINUES IN RACE AGAINST TIME
The Titan vanished Sunday during an attempt to visit the shipwreck of the Titanic about 900 miles east of Cape Cod.
The crew had only an estimated 16 to 17 hours left of breathable air as of 1 p.m. Wednesday.