Titanic submarine passenger: Communication failed on my mission too

Writer Mike Reiss said the radar or the compass stopped working

The OceanGate Expeditions submersible vessel named Titan which is used to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic. American Photo Archive/Alamy

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A tourist who made the same trip on the submarine which has gone missing while visiting the wreck of the Titanic has spoken about how the radar stopped working and the crew lost communication during the dive.

Writer Mike Reiss, who travelled on Titan last year, told of the journey he took on the submarine, which he said was like a hollowed-out SUV.

He said during his dive that Titan struggled to locate the Titanic, but managed to with just 20 minutes to go before they needed to surface.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, he said: “You are very taken with how simple it is. In my case, we got down and we were just I think 500 metres from the Titanic, but it is pitch dark down there. The radar or the compass stopped working.

“We spent most of our time down there just kind of flailing around, trying to find the biggest thing in the ocean and we couldn’t see it.

“And just to raise the tension, as if we needed that, a hurricane was coming in over the ocean, so we didn’t have a lot of time to explore. But with just 20 minutes left on the voyage we found the Titanic. And it was enough I have to say for a photo op. We got there and I got to take pictures of the anchor and the bow of the ship and the railing and that kind of thing.”

Mr Reiss said he did three separate dives, including two more off the coast of New York, and “every time they lost communication”.

“This is not to say it’s a shoddy ship. This is all new technology and they are learning it as they go along,” he added.

The submarine is propelled by “tiny motors that look like a fan you would have on your desk”, and steered “literally by an X-Box joystick from a game system”.

Titanic tourist submersible goes missing – in pictures

“You are very taken with how simple it is," he said.

"The submarine, you have to picture a van, an SUV with the seats taken out. It’s about that size. It seats five passengers comfortably but you are just sitting on the floor. It’s actually very relaxing. It’s very comfortable and I actually fell asleep going down to the Titanic."

He said he only went on the trip because his wife, who originally wanted to go, could not make it.

"My wife loves to travel and I love my wife and so if I want to spend a vacation with her, I have to do it in North Korea or the North Pole.

"This trip happened to fall on her birthday and I said well there’s a birthday present. So I paid for the trip for her, and right before she was going to get on the sub she tested positive for Covid. They said Mike, your wife can’t go but you can go. I said I don’t want to go. But I went."

Mr Reiss said the rescue will be challenging.

“If it’s down at the bottom, I don’t know how anyone’s going to be able to access it, much less bring it back up.

“There is a hope that it’s at, or near, the surface,” he said.

Titanic expert Tim Moltin said the submarine will be easy to find if it is near the wreck. But it will be hard to bring it up.

“But the problem of course is you can’t do a ship to ship transfer. The pressure is absolutely intense. It’s nearly two miles down. It’s pitch black,” he said.