PELAGIC RESEARCH SERVICES ROV ODYSSEUS 6K DISCOVERS TITAN DEBRIS FIELD AND CONTINUES RECOVERY EFFORT
[THURSDAY, 22 June 2023 (21:15 UTC)]
PRS wants to express our full gratitude for the incredible, coordinated response
of everyone involved in this search and rescue mission. Our focus right now is on the families
of the Titan passengers and crew and for their tragic loss.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE:
Pelagic Research Services’ ROV, Odysseus 6K, was immediately deployed from Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic within the rescue viability window early Thursday morning. Odysseus was the subsea asset that first located the debris field referenced by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Working in conjunction with OceanGate on the ship Deep Energy, which had the lifting capacity to bring the Titan submersible to the surface, the Odysseus was rigged specifically for a rescue operation.
“We were assigned the primary role of going to the seafloor to search for and to find Titan, having the diving capabilities for the depths of the Titanic wreckage,” says Edward Cassano, CEO of PRS, and the incident commander for the Horizon Arctic subsea assets for the search and rescue effort.
BACKGROUND:
PRS was contacted by OceanGate on Sunday evening, June 18, and was fully mobilized with all deep-sea assets and crew of nine ready for deployment from Buffalo Niagara International Airport within 20 hours. Three U.S Air Force C-17s transported all assets to St. John’s, Newfoundland by Tuesday afternoon for immediate deployment aboard the Horizon Arctic.
“The stellar on-board preparation by the Horizon team allowed for rapid loading and mobilization. We departed St. John’s within six hours of the arrival of all PRS assets,” says Cassano.
During transit, all Odysseus 6K ROV components were assembled, readied, and tested to prepare for an immediate response upon arrival at the last known location of the Titan. Both captains of the vessels Horizon Arctic and Deep Energy coordinated the staging of the cooperative effort, ensuring the most optimal and efficient means of conducting this rescue-focused mission.
PRS was instructed to start searching within the vicinity of the last-known location of the Titan. Once Odysseus was able to reach the ocean floor the debris field was located not long after.
“We have been just one part of an incredible and overwhelming maritime rescue response,” says Cassano. “It’s a difficult loss, and our hearts go out to the families and friends of all those affected by this tragedy.”
Ed Cassano is continuing his role as incident commander for subsea assets aboard the Horizon Arctic, for continued documentation and recovery efforts as directed by the overall incident command of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Currently, no one from Pelagic Research Services is available for interview,
as this is still an ongoing operation.
We will notify the media once we are in a position for interviews. Please refer any recovery questions to OceanGate. (Also note that all photos being released directly by USCG are from the Odysseus 6K.)
