UPDATE [6/21/23, 1:39 p.m. EST]:
On Wednesday, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick told reporters that the Coast Guard does not know what the “banging” noises are, per Fox News.
“The good news is what I can tell you is we’re searching in the area where the noises were detected and we’ll continue to do so,” he said.
Frederick also said the search is still a “search and rescue mission.”
He said: “I don’t know whether it’s operable or whether it’s sitting on the ocean floor or whether it’s in the sea column or whether it’s in the surface. You know, it’s all speculation. And we’re just we’re just not in the business of speculation. We’re in the business of searching and we’re putting everything we can with the data.”
New developments have emerged as the search for the missing Titan submersible holding five passengers failed to return from an attempted trip to the Titanic wreckage.
According to updates shared by the Department of Homeland Security’s National Operations Center, through an internal email obtained by Rolling Stone, searchers looking for the Canadian aircraft heard “banging” in 30-minute intervals coming from the area where the submarine disappeared.
The email reads:
“RCC Halifax launched a P8, Poseidon, which has underwater detection capabilities from the air. The P8 deployed sonobuoys, which reported a contact in a position close to the distress position. The P8 heard banging sounds in the area every 30 minutes. Four hours later additional sonar was deployed, and banging was still heard.”
However, the email did not state the cause of the banging.
In an internal US government memo on the search, obtained by CNN, it reported “additional acoustics” were later heard which “will assist in vectoring surface assets and also indicating continued hope of survivors.”
Three vessels arrived on-scene Wednesday morning, the The John Cabot has side scanning sonar capabilities and is conducting search patterns alongside the Skandi Vinland and the Atlantic Merlin. #Titanic
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 21, 2023
On Wednesday, the US Coast Guard posted an update about the progression of the search on its Twitter page, writing, “Three vessels arrived on-scene Wednesday morning, the The (sic) John Cabot has side scanning sonar capabilities and is conducting search patterns alongside the Skandi Vinland and the Atlantic Merlin.”
In a previous statement obtained by the BBC, OceanGate Expeditions, the company that hosted the “Titanic Expedition” expressed their urgency in finding the five missing passengers.
“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” the company shared. “We are deeply grateful for the urgent and extensive assistance we are receiving from multiple government agencies and deep-sea companies as we seek to reestablish contact with the submersible.”
They concluded, “We pray for the safe return of the crew and passengers.”
