Titan submersible: timeline of missing vessel’s voyage

The search for the missing Titan submersible is continuing on Wednesday amid concerns over dwindling oxygen supply on the vessel.

As more rescue vessels arrive at the search site off Newfoundland, we look at a timeline of the Titan’s voyage, starting on Friday, when it set off.

Friday

The expedition sets off from St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.

Saturday

The British billionaire and adventurer Hamish Harding, one of those onboard the submersible, posts on Facebook: “Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023. A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow.”

The Titan submersible, as seen in an undated handout photo issued by OceanGate Expeditions. Photograph: OceanGate Expeditions/PA

Sunday

8am GMT/3am ET: Time the submersible originally aimed to start its descent, according to a post by Harding on Instagram. It actually started its descent later, according to the US Coast Guard.

12pm GMT/7am ET: The submersible starts what should be a two-hour descent to the Titanic wreck, nearly 4,000 metres down, according to the US Coast Guard.

1.45pm GMT/8.45am ET: Communications between the submersible and the surface vessel are lost 1 hour and 45 minutes after starting its descent.

The Titan submersible is seen during a descent in an undated photo. Photograph: OceanGate Expeditions/AFP/Getty Images

7pm GMT/2pm ET: Titan is scheduled to return to the surface, the US Coast Guard says but fails to appear.

9.40pm GMT/4.40pm ET: US Coast Guard receives report about an overdue submersible from the research vessel Polar Prince about 900 nautical miles east of Cape Cod on the US coast.

Monday

US and Canadian ships and planes are swarming the area, some dropping sonar buoys that can monitor to a depth of almost 4,000 metres, US Coast Guard R Adm John Mauger says. Officials have also asked commercial vessels for help.

Tuesday

2.50pm GMT/9am ET: France says it will help with search by deploying Atalante, a ship equipped with a deep-sea diving vessel. It is expected to arrive late on Wednesday.

The Titan submersible is seen launching from a platform in an undated photo. Photograph: OceanGate Expeditions/AFP/Getty Images

During the day: Sounds detected over several hours by Canadian Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft, equipped with gear to trace submarines. CNN and Rolling Stone magazine report banging sounds at 30-minute intervals had been detected.

Wednesday

US Coast Guard, US Navy, Canadian Coast Guard and OceanGate Expeditions establish a unified command to handle the search.

6am GMT/1am ET: US Coast Guard confirms Canadian P-3 aircraft detected underwater noises. It says remotely operated vehicle (ROV) searches are directed to the area of the sounds and the data is also sent to US Navy experts for analysis.

Late on Wednesday: More vessels, including a French research ship, equipped with a deep-sea diving vessel, were due to arrive to assist the “complex response effort”, which covers an area twice the size of Connecticut.

Thursday

10am GMT/5am ET: Approximate deadline for when the air in the submersible will run out, based on the US Coast Guard’s estimate that the Titan could have up to 96 hours of air supply from the time it was sealed.