Titanic Explorers‘ Situation Is Critical
Time is running out.
The international race to save the five unfortunate folks trapped inside the lost OceanGate submersible is desperate. Calculations indicate the people inside the vessel - if they are alive - are running out of oxygen. An unmanned Naval robotic that can dive to great depths is en route but may not reach their location in time.
What was supposed to be a short, hours-long deep-sea journey to visually explore the wreck of the Titanic turned into an agonizing five days with no one knowing for certain that the passengers are alive. Contact with the 22-foot-vessel was lost an hour and a half after they began their 12,000-foot descent.
It’s the sort of dramatic news story that captures the imagination of the public, much like the plight of the Chilean miners did in 2010, the doomed crew of the Kursk in 2000, and Baby Jessica, the 18-month-old who was trapped in a well for 3 days back in 1986.
The Titanic, which sank in 1912, is disintegrating rapidly. The “unsinkable” luxury passenger liner that hit an iceberg and sunk on its maiden voyage rested on the floor of the ocean until it was located in 1985. Since then, many intrepid explorers have attempted to view what remains of the ship. Some expeditions have salvaged items from the liner.
Those trips are expensive. The four passengers on this submersible reportedly paid $250,000 each to travel with one crew member in hopes of getting a glimpse of the ghostly remains.
Among those missing is Hamish Harding, a British adventurer. He holds three Guinness World Records including one for fastest circumnavigation of the earth via both poles that took 46 hours and 40 minutes.
With him is French diver Paul Henry Nargelot, who is described by NBC as “the director of underwater research at the Experiential Media Group, which creates "museum-quality exhibitions" around the world, according to its website. He is considered a leading authority on the Titanic wreckage, according to a biography on the site.
“Nargeolet has led several expeditions to the Titanic wreckage site, completing at least 35 dives in submersibles and supervising the recovery of at least 5,000 artifacts, including the recovery of the “big piece” — a 20-ton section of the Titanic’s hull, according to the biography.”
Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, 48 and his son Suleman, 19, are also on board.
Crewing the submersible is OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
Later we can debate the wisdom of boarding this particular underwater vessel. Frankly, I would have asked for a refund the minute I saw it was being driven by an Xbox controller. Seriously, it is controlled by a plastic video game part.
If that didn’t discourage the passengers, surely Rush’s statements, that he hires according to diversity rather than experience or ability, might have been a disqualifier.
Here’s what he told an interviewer:
"When I started the business one of the things you'll find is there are other sub operators out there, but they typically have gentlemen who are ex-military submariners and you'll see a whole bunch of 50-year-old white guys. I wanted our team to be younger, to be inspirational, and [an old white guy is] not going to inspire a 16-year-old to go pursue marine technology."
Frankly, a sub operator is like a surgeon. Smart people don’t care about his sex, age, or race. They don’t want someone who’s “inspirational” at the Xbox controls. They want the best.
Still, good people all over the globe are praying for a miracle for the five underwater prisoners.
Meanwhile, on social media, there is a cynical group who find the situation amusing, mostly because the victims in this unfolding tragedy are wealthy. Others begrudge public money paying for the rescue attempt.
I’ve been arguing via Twitter with one. Yes, I feel strongly about this.
The Irish have a word for those who resent the success of others: Begrudgery.
It’s an unattractive quality.
It seems the begrudgers are unfamiliar with the mission of the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy which is to rescue those in the water, no matter the size of their bank accounts or the nobility of whatever activity got them into life-threatening trouble.
Every rescue mission is also a training exercise. Lessons are learned that often prove valuable later.
Yachtsmen, sport fishermen and asylum seekers on leaky rafts are given the same amount of American effort, with no attention paid to the size of their wallets or the worthiness of their journeys.
That’s as it should be.
