With the search for the missing Titan submersible underway, OceanGate's cofounder has opened up about how he believes those on board will have preserved their dwindling oxygen supply.
The Titan has been missing since Sunday, with questions still looming about why the vessel lost contact 1 hour and 45 minutes into its descent to the Titanic wreckage.
Additionally, since the five-man crew departed to the depths of the ocean, the vessel's 96-hour life support window (per US Coastguard's initial estimations) came to a close earlier today.
The five passengers trapped inside the submersible include British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, along with his 19-year-old son, Suleman, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Stockton Rush - the CEO of OceanGate - the company that operates the sub.
According to a Coast Guard official, high-tech vessels and medical personnel are rushing to the search site, amplifying the rescue capabilities.
Early Thursday morning, a Canadian remote-operated vehicle (ROV) successfully reached the sea floor, instigating the search for the Titan, while the French vessel L'Atalante prepared its ROV for action.
Amid this dramatic turn of events, OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein has publicly shared his heartfelt thoughts about his long-time friend and co-founder, Stockton Rush, who is among the Titan's crew.
"My co-founder and friend, Stockton Rush, is among the crew of the missing research submersible, Titan," Sohnlein revealed in a Facebook post. He commended the hardworking professionals who are tirelessly searching for the lost sub and expressed his steadfast hope for a positive outcome, referring to a similar rescue operation in 1972 that successfully retrieved two pilots trapped in a downed submersible.
"Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub's life support supplies are starting to run low," said Sohnlein, as he commented on how he believes those onboard will have preserved their depleting oxygen supplied.
"I'm certain that Stockton and the rest of the crew realized days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to extend the limits of those supplies by relaxing as much as possible. I firmly believe that the time window available for their rescue is longer than what most people think."
Sohnlein then urged the public to "remain hopeful for getting the crew back safely". He also requested privacy for the crew's families and space for the rescuers to focus on their life-saving work.
The entrepreneur further expressed gratitude for the global outpouring of support and delved into the shared history between him and Rush.
Co-founding OceanGate in 2009 with the mission of "opening the oceans" for humanity, Sohnlein passed on the CEO position to Rush in 2013. Since then, Rush has been the driving force behind OceanGate's success, pioneering the design of their Cyclops and Titan subs and leading annual science expeditions to the Titanic.
