Tourist submersible missing on visit to Titanic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:one of the members of the 5 is a retired French navy diver. apparently tapping every 30 minutes is a navy call signal and not something random. I think they are or at least were still alive.

That's Paul-Henri Nargeolet, the Titanic expert. I was reading about him last night. Fascinating life story. He devoted his life to Ocean exploration and Titanic research. He's 77 and has been down to the site 35 times!

That’s amazing. How did he go down to the site 35 times (what method)?

other (perhaps more reputable) submersibles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:one of the members of the 5 is a retired French navy diver. apparently tapping every 30 minutes is a navy call signal and not something random. I think they are or at least were still alive.

Thank you! I didn't know that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:one of the members of the 5 is a retired French navy diver. apparently tapping every 30 minutes is a navy call signal and not something random. I think they are or at least were still alive.

The reports are so vague and contradictory (distinct banging vs possible random ocean noise), that it makes me think that the us navy is trying to balance hiding their ability to hear underwater from the Russians and not sending the coast guard on a wild goose chase.

If there was manmade banging detected from a sonar buoy, then the next step would be to deploy more buoys in the area and triangulate. But there is so much random ocean noise and I can’t find the article, but I’m pretty sure there was a past incident of a lost us or Russian military sub where banging was reported but turns out that it wasn’t manmade, as the sub had been destroyed before it was heard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A vehicle the size of a mini-van with a bottle and Ziploc bags for a toilet. Viewing portal tested to 1400 meters’ depth and they were going down 14,000 feet. Controller made from a GameBoy.

The level of delusion involved in boarding this craft is shocking. It’s hard not to see it as a form of suicide.

But one guy had gone down to the site 35 times, and lived to tell the story. So...no.

(I think it was reckless, but their intentions were not suicidal!)

I agree that these were likely not folks who would have died by some other means of suicide had they not gotten into this vehicle. But there are limits to human capabilities in nature, and the fact that one is paying $250k to test them doesn’t mean that the limits are nonexistent. That’s delusion.

I see it as being a lot like guided Everest climbs by inexperienced climbers. Very unfortunate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A vehicle the size of a mini-van with a bottle and Ziploc bags for a toilet. Viewing portal tested to 1400 meters’ depth and they were going down 14,000 feet. Controller made from a GameBoy.

The level of delusion involved in boarding this craft is shocking. It’s hard not to see it as a form of suicide.

Hadn’t it made successful trips before? I agree that it was obviously taking on huge risk, but they probably saw it had been done safely before.

Also, in general we trust that something like this won't be allowed to operate without some sufficient oversight. We trust this every time we get on an airplane or buy a new car, or get on a ride at an amusement park. We trust it when we participate in anything that, of course, has risks - but aren't there guardrails in place to prevent some yahoo from simply taking $250k from whoever wants to pay it and sending them 12,500 feet down without some sort of oversight and inspection?

Of course there can always be an accident, something can always go wrong - but is the system built to go wrong? I guess it turns out it is - but I don't think it's crazy for the people who bought their seats on this doomed ride to have believed that this insane company wouldn't have been allowed to do this unless someone without a financial stake in the company thought it was safe. I know this is an extreme case - but I just don't think you can blame the people who participated for not knowing how unregulated this turned out to be. Or accuse them of wanting to die.

This is just so horrific.

And the migrant boat sinking is also horrific. It's sort of the opposite end of the same spectrum. Though I don't know anyone thinks the migrant boats are safe - it's just the people willing to take them are that desperate.

I think this is the huge difference in wrapping my mind around these two events. I understand the risk of the migrants because they are in a disadvantaged position where the gamble may be worth it. I can also envision how a boat sinks.

But with the submersible, my brain is just trying to fathom the extreme darkness and pressure that deep in the ocean. I don’t understand the risk of very well off people wanting to get on something not well regulated. And just to see the titanic on a video monitor anyway. What is the bonus of being that far below the sea, just to say you did it? Seems reckless without much upside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A vehicle the size of a mini-van with a bottle and Ziploc bags for a toilet. Viewing portal tested to 1400 meters’ depth and they were going down 14,000 feet. Controller made from a GameBoy.

The level of delusion involved in boarding this craft is shocking. It’s hard not to see it as a form of suicide.

Hadn’t it made successful trips before? I agree that it was obviously taking on huge risk, but they probably saw it had been done safely before.

Also, in general we trust that something like this won't be allowed to operate without some sufficient oversight. We trust this every time we get on an airplane or buy a new car, or get on a ride at an amusement park. We trust it when we participate in anything that, of course, has risks - but aren't there guardrails in place to prevent some yahoo from simply taking $250k from whoever wants to pay it and sending them 12,500 feet down without some sort of oversight and inspection?

Of course there can always be an accident, something can always go wrong - but is the system built to go wrong? I guess it turns out it is - but I don't think it's crazy for the people who bought their seats on this doomed ride to have believed that this insane company wouldn't have been allowed to do this unless someone without a financial stake in the company thought it was safe. I know this is an extreme case - but I just don't think you can blame the people who participated for not knowing how unregulated this turned out to be. Or accuse them of wanting to die.

This is just so horrific.

And the migrant boat sinking is also horrific. It's sort of the opposite end of the same spectrum. Though I don't know anyone thinks the migrant boats are safe - it's just the people willing to take them are that desperate.

I think this is the huge difference in wrapping my mind around these two events. I understand the risk of the migrants because they are in a disadvantaged position where the gamble may be worth it. I can also envision how a boat sinks.

But with the submersible, my brain is just trying to fathom the extreme darkness and pressure that deep in the ocean. I don’t understand the risk of very well off people wanting to get on something not well regulated. And just to see the titanic on a video monitor anyway. What is the bonus of being that far below the sea, just to say you did it? Seems reckless without much upside.

Completely agree - but wanted to add there is a portal they can look through at one end of the vessel but its small. I saw a photo somewhere of an individual who had done this trip before and the photo was like a selfie with his face and the portal showing the titanic.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone thought about training a pod of dolphins to swim down and try to dislodge the tourist submarine. They are incredibly bright animals and should only take a couple of hours to train. Would be good to at least try while they wait for the ship with unmanned submersibles to arrive.

They could also consider some sort of pully with magnets, perhaps using a nearby fishing ship in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A vehicle the size of a mini-van with a bottle and Ziploc bags for a toilet. Viewing portal tested to 1400 meters’ depth and they were going down 14,000 feet. Controller made from a GameBoy.

The level of delusion involved in boarding this craft is shocking. It’s hard not to see it as a form of suicide.

Hadn’t it made successful trips before? I agree that it was obviously taking on huge risk, but they probably saw it had been done safely before.

Also, in general we trust that something like this won't be allowed to operate without some sufficient oversight. We trust this every time we get on an airplane or buy a new car, or get on a ride at an amusement park. We trust it when we participate in anything that, of course, has risks - but aren't there guardrails in place to prevent some yahoo from simply taking $250k from whoever wants to pay it and sending them 12,500 feet down without some sort of oversight and inspection?

Of course there can always be an accident, something can always go wrong - but is the system built to go wrong? I guess it turns out it is - but I don't think it's crazy for the people who bought their seats on this doomed ride to have believed that this insane company wouldn't have been allowed to do this unless someone without a financial stake in the company thought it was safe. I know this is an extreme case - but I just don't think you can blame the people who participated for not knowing how unregulated this turned out to be. Or accuse them of wanting to die.

This is just so horrific.

And the migrant boat sinking is also horrific. It's sort of the opposite end of the same spectrum. Though I don't know anyone thinks the migrant boats are safe - it's just the people willing to take them are that desperate.

That’s a strange series of analogies to me. Cars and airplanes and amusement park rides slide past our risk calculations because they are so commonly used and enjoyed.

But this submersible is nothing like that. It’s an *unusual* thing, and the fact that it was essentially unregulated was no more obscure or difficult to come by than the opportunity itself.

Think about it another way: would you drive a car with a GameBoy controller as the steering wheel? And a car is on land, where you could readily stop and disembark.

The extent to which these folks were not thinking with the tools commonly used by the rest of us is shocking. In that way it is remarkably similar to the tragedy of the Titanic itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone thought about training a pod of dolphins to swim down and try to dislodge the tourist submarine. They are incredibly bright animals and should only take a couple of hours to train. Would be good to at least try while they wait for the ship with unmanned submersibles to arrive.

They could also consider some sort of pully with magnets, perhaps using a nearby fishing ship in the area.

Call the Coast Guard, I'm sure they'd love to hear your ideas.

[Anonymous]

Have they tried UpUpDownDownABABStart?

[Anonymous]

Can dolphins swim that deep?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Billionaires' descent
Titanic's watery grave calls
Lost souls, darkness claims

Don’t quit your day job.

Oh? Let's see your haiku.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone thought about training a pod of dolphins to swim down and try to dislodge the tourist submarine. They are incredibly bright animals and should only take a couple of hours to train. Would be good to at least try while they wait for the ship with unmanned submersibles to arrive.

They could also consider some sort of pully with magnets, perhaps using a nearby fishing ship in the area.

Are you the same person who suggested using a crane?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Billionaires' descent
Titanic's watery grave calls
Lost souls, darkness claims

Cringe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have they tried UpUpDownDownABABStart?

Wow, thanks for making me feel like a terrible person for laughing at this.