A Titanic Lifesaving Effort

What began as a mission to view the Titanic shipwreck 

became a race against the clock and the dwindling 

oxygen supply on board a submersible vessel to rescue

five people aboard the small submarine. 

This special tour, one which cost $250,000 per person, was

one that appealed to adventure seekers, world travelers not

interested in the run-of-the-mill touristy places and activities

but rather places presenting the unusual, the rare, and the 

challenging, experts at maritime dives, and anyone else with

a thirst for adventure, danger, and having significant monetary

wherewithal to quench said thirst. This story has put a niche 

and generally unregulated tourism industry sector, and the 

little-known company OceanGate Expeditions, a company 

founded in 2009 for the purpose of enabling deep-sea 

exploration using robotics and submersibles, such as the 

Titan, the missing vessel on which the five adventurers are 

aboard. 

The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian aircraft are conducting 

sonar searches, while a remotely operated vehicle was diving

toward the Titanic. The total area searched thus far was 10,000

square miles, according to the Coast Guard in a statement 

yesterday, in which they also admitted that their search efforts 

have not been successful. 

The people on board are Hamish Harding, chairman of the aircraft

service company Action Aviation which he founded in 2004. Harding

is an adventurer of quite some adventurous trips that he made, 

including being a member of a crew which gained a Guinness World

Record for the fastest circumnavigation of the Earth via the North 

and South poles, with a time of 46 hours, 40 minutes and 22 seconds

accomplished in a Gulfstream G650ER jet.

Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a man in his 70s, is regarded a leading authority

on the most famous shipwreck in history. He has completed over three

dozen dives to the wreckage site, and supervised the recovery of 

many artifacts from the debris field around the ship. Nargeolet was 

in the French navy, attaining the rank of commander before retiring.

Shahzada and Suleman Dawood are father and son, as well as members

of one of Pakistan's wealthiest families. Suleman, 19, is a university

student in Scotland. Although undeniably wealthy, the 48-year-old 

Shahzada has long led a low-key, down-to-Earth lifestyle in a London

suburb. The Dawood family has many and varied business interests,

and have long been active philanthropists in Pakistan.

Stockton Rush, OceanGate's founder and chief executive, is a longtime,

seasoned adventure seeker, having become a certified scuba diver at 14

and at 19 became the world's youngest jet transport rated pilot. Rush

flew around the world under a subcontract from Saudi Arabian 

Airlines. He founded OceanGate because he wanted to expand

deep-sea exploration, and has traveled to the Titanic shipwreck 

several times.

And as your faithful Peasant writes this post, these five brave souls are

down to about a half-day of oxygen.  Please let us pray for the safe 

rescue and return of this adventurous team of five to their families!

MEM