Question Period Note: Missing passenger submarine in the Atlantic

Missing commercial submarine

• On June 18, the Canadian Coast Guard was informed of a missing submarine with five people onboard, off the Titanic wreck site.
• The Canadian Coast Guard is supporting the ongoing search and rescue operation which is being led by the U.S. Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Boston.
• We are hopeful that this incident has a positive outcome.

• At 5:25PM EDT on June 18th, 2023, the vessel, Polar Prince advised Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax that they had a missing submarine, Titan, with five people onboard off the Titanic wreck site 365nm south-south east St John’s, NL. The submarine was overdue since 1:30PM EDT and it was not clear whether they were still underwater or had surfaced. The Polar Prince attempted to contact their submarine for four hours with no response. They contacted the JRCC in Halifax to advise that they were starting a surface search and requested assistance. JRCC Halifax advised the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Boston of the case as it was in their search and rescue region (SRR) and they assumed coordination of the incident response.
• JRCC Halifax continues to monitor the situation and support the search with available resources when requested. MRCC Boston tasked the Ocean Sentry ice patrol fixed wing aircraft out of St John’s to conduct an aerial search on the evening of June 18th and requested a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) support to commence an aerial search at first light on June 19th. An RCAF Aurora was tasked and on scene at early June 19th. CCGS Kopit Hopson 1752 was tasked in the morning of June 19th to proceed to the search area and was estimated to arrive the afternoon of June 20th.
• Various on-water and aerial responders continue to search the area though weather on scene has deteriorated with reduced visibility and fog. Fog was expected to improve but will not clear completely until Thursday, June 22nd.
• The Polar Prince suspects that the submarine is still underwater near the dive site but have not been able to reestablish communications to confirm. In the event that they were able to surface, the submarine may not be able to contact the vessel via VHF radio if they surfaced further away than anticipated as their VHF capabilities are very weak. Also, the carbon fiber shell of the submarine does not create a good radar target.
• Of note, the Polar Prince is a former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker that was carrying Titan submarine onboard before launching its subsurface expedition. OceanGate Expeditions, headquartered in Everett, WA, is currently conducting its RMS TITANIC Expedition out of St. John’s, NL, utilizing the Polar Prince and the Titan, 5-person (1 pilot, 3 passengers and 1 crew) submersible submarine for this commercial diving experience.

If pressed:
• Commercial submersible experiences offered to tourists are a growing trend with cruise ships already offering submersible experiences in many Canadian locations, including the Canadian Arctic.
• Working with federal search and rescue partners and industry partners is paramount to understanding the risks posed by these emerging activities and ensuring we have a system capable of mitigating risks and responding appropriately.
• We continue to work closely with partners to improve search and rescue preparedness and response in Canadian waters.