BOSTON — A renowned Titanic expert, an adventurer with world records, two members of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families, and the CEO of the company that orchestrated the Titanic wreckage expedition are on the missing submersible in the Atlantic Ocean. .
The Titan submersible was reported missing Sunday night about 435 miles south of San Juan, in Newfoundland, Canada, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center.
Rescue teams are now racing against time because the oxygen could run out as early as 6 am on Thursday.
The expedition was led by OceanGate on its third voyage to the Titanic, the massive luxury liner that in 1912 hit an iceberg and sank, surviving just 700 of 2,200 passengers and crew.
The five people in the submersible are:
STOCKTON RUSH
While his background is in aerospace and technology, Rush founded OceanGate Inc. in 2009 to offer underwater expeditions to researchers and explorers, according to the company’s website.
The Washington-based company began taking tourists to the Titanic in 2021 as part of its effort to record the slowly deteriorating ruins.
“The ocean is swallowing the Titanic, and we have to document it before it disappears or becomes unrecognizable,” Rush told The Associated Press in 2021.
An OceanGate spokesperson confirmed via email that Rush is on the submersible.
In an interview with CBS News last year, Rush defended the safety of his submersible, but warned that nothing was entirely without risk.
The pressure to find it, with its 5 occupants, is extreme because they only have 96 hours of oxygen and they have already consumed half.
“What worries me the most are things that could prevent me from getting to the surface, like loose objects, fishing nets, things that the cable could get tangled in,” he said, adding, however, that a good pilot is capable of avoid such dangers.
Rush became the world’s youngest transport jet pilot at age 19, in 1981, and flew commercial planes as a college student, according to company biography.
He joined McDonnell Douglas Corp. in 1984 as a Flight Test Engineer and has overseen the development of multiple ventures over the past 20 years.
Greg Stone, a veteran oceanographer and friend of Rush’s, called him “a true pioneer” in innovation for submarines.
“Stockton was fearless. He was inteligent. He had vision, he wanted to push projects forward,” Stone said Tuesday.
hamish harding
Harding is a British businessman living in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Action Aviation, the aviation company he heads, said he was one of the passengers he paid to go on the expedition.
Harding is a billionaire adventurer who holds three Guinness World Records, including the longest time spent by a manned ship at the bottom of the sea.
In March 2021, he and marine explorer Victor Vescovo descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. In June 2022, he went into space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft.
“Both the Harding family and the Action Aviation team are extremely grateful for all the kind messages of concern and support we have received from our friends and colleagues,” the company said in a statement.
In a Facebook post Saturday, Harding said he was “proud” to be participating in the mission as, due to the weather, another one this year was unlikely.
“Due to the worst Newfoundland winter in 40 years, this mission will likely be the first and last crewed mission to the Titanic in 2023,” he wrote. “A small window has opened with good weather and we are going to try (on Sunday).”
Harding “was excited to do research” at the Titanic site, said Richard Garriott of Cayeux, president of the Explorers Club, a group to which Harding belonged.
“It is the fervent hope of all of us that the submersible will be found as soon as possible,” Garriott said in a statement.
SHAHZADA AND SULEMAN DAWOOD
Shahzada Dawood and her son Suleman are members of one of Pakistan’s most prominent families. The family reported in a statement that both are on board the submersible.
“We are very grateful for the concern expressed by our colleagues and friends, and would like to ask everyone to pray for his safety while giving the family privacy at this time,” the statement read. “The family is being cared for and we pray to Allah that our relatives return safely.”
The family business, Karachi-based Dawood Hercules Corp., is involved in agriculture, petrochemicals and telecommunication infrastructure.
Shahzada Dawood is also a board member of the California-based SETI Institute, which investigates the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence. The Dawoods live in the UK, according to SETI.
Shahzada Dawood is also a member of the Global Advisory Board at Prince’s Trust International, an organization founded by King Charles III of England to help unemployed youth.
He has degrees from Buckingham University in the UK and Philadelphia University in the US.
PAUL-HENRY NARGEOLET
Nargeolet is a former officer in the French navy who has made several expeditions to the ruins of the Titanic and is considered an expert on the sinking of the ship.
David Gallo, adviser for strategic initiatives and special projects for RMS Titanic, said in an interview with CNN that Nargeolet was on the submersible.
Nargeolet is director of underwater research for E/M Group and RMS Titanic Inc., has completed 37 missions to the Titanic’s wreckage and overseen the recovery of 5,000 artifacts, according to his profile on the company’s website.
He was the leader of the 2010 expedition, which used high-resolution instruments and three-dimensional photography to explore the bow and stern and surrounding areas of the ruins.
Working with the French Institute for Maritime Research, he led the first recovery expedition to the Titanic in 1987.
