The submersible, named Titan, lost communication with tour operators on Sunday while about 435 miles south of St John's, Newfoundland, during a voyage to the Titanic shipwreck off the coast of Canada. Here's a look at the historic Titanic exploration from the time the ship sank in 1912.
The shocking case of the missing Titan submersible, on an expedition to the Titanic wreckage in the Atlantic Ocean, has rocked the world as the search for the OceanGate vessel with 5 people on board continues. With oxygen supply likely to run out on Thursday, families of those aboard, experts and people worldwide are glued to learn the fate of the doombed submersible.
Here's a look at the journey of the Titanic, from the time it met with its fate in 1912 till the wreckage exploration that has rocked now left the world at the edge of their seats:
The Titanic, which was constructed over a period of 2 years starting March 31, 1999, departed on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. From 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., passengers board the ship. Then at noon, the Titanic leaves the dock at Southhampton. It was carrying 2,229 passengers and crew.
On April 14, 1912, ship lookout Frederick Fleet spotted an iceberg directly in the path of the Titanic. The first officer, Lt. William McMaster Murdoch, orders a hard starboard left turn, but the Titanic's right side scrapes the iceberg. Only 37 seconds passed between the sighting of the iceberg and hitting it.
Titanic obstinately held its course for almost three hours. During those moments, both exceptional bravery and craven cowardice were displayed. Between the command to fill the lifeboats and the ship's last dive, hundreds of human tragedies took place. In the end, 706 passengers made it through the Titanic's sinking.
In 1985, the Titanic site was discovered by American-French team and a year later Submersible Alvin explored wreckage of the ill-fated ship.
In 1987, the first salvage expedition collected 1,800 Titanic artefacts. Years later, in 1995, director James Cameron visted the Titanic wreckage and used the footage in the Oscar-winning movie.
In 1998, a section of the Titanic hull was raised. The so-called "Big Piece" was conserved in a laboratory in Santa Fe for two years before being put on display at the Luxor Las Vegas hotel and casino. The 2000 expedition by RMS Titanic Inc. carried out 28 dives during which over 800 artefacts were recovered, including the ship's engine telegraphs, perfume vials and watertight door gears.
Two Titanic expeditions took place in 2005. For the third and final time, James Cameron came back to the Titanic to film Last Mysteries of the Titanic. The documentary Titanic's Final Moments: Missing Pieces was produced as a result of another expedition's quest for previously undiscovered wreckage.
In 2010, sonar scans and more than 130,000 high-resolution photos were taken as two autonomous underwater vehicles—robots in the shape of torpedoes—repeatedly went backward and forward across the 3-by-5-nautical-mile (6 km 9 km) debris area. On 14 April 2012 (the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking), the wreck of the Titanic became eligible for protection under the 2001 UNESCO.
The first crewed dive to the ship in 14 years took place in August 2019 when a group of scientists and adventurers visited the wreck using the deep-submergence vehicle Limiting Factor. Over a span of eight days, there were five dives. In 2020, US and UK agree treaty to protect Titanic wreck. In 2021, OceanGate made its first successful attempt to reach the site.
Using deep-sea surveying, the first full-size digital scan of the Titanic was produced in May 2023. The entire ship can be seen in 3D, making it appear as though the water has been drained away. It is hoped that the scan would reveal new details about the sinking.
The OceanGate Expeditions submersible Titan vanished off the coast of Newfoundland on June 18, 2023, in the North Atlantic Ocean. Five people could fit inside the submersible, but it was actually carrying a group of visitors who were visiting the Titanic debris.