Cost of missing Titan sub search will easily stretch into millions of dollars

Deep-sea robots will continue searching the sea floor for clues about what happened deep in the North Atlantic. The pilot and four passengers died in the catastrophic implosion.

The cost of the search for the missing submersible will easily stretch into the millions of dollars for the US Coast Guard alone.

The Canadian Coast Guard, US Navy and other agencies and private entities also rushed to provide resources and expertise.

There’s no other comparable ocean search, especially with so many countries and even commercial enterprises being involved, said Norman Polmar, a naval historian, analyst and author based in Virginia.

The aircraft, alone, are expensive to operate.

The Pentagon has put the hourly cost at tens of thousands of dollars for turboprop P-3 Orion and jet-powered P-8 Poseidon sub hunters, along with C-130 Hercules, all utilised in the search.

Some agencies can seek reimbursements. But the US Coast Guard is generally prohibited by federal law from collecting reimbursement pertaining to any search or rescue service, said Stephen Koerting, a US attorney in Maine who specialises in maritime law.

The first priority in search and rescue is always saving a life, and search and rescue agencies budget for such expenses, said Mikki Hastings, president and CEO of the National Association for Search and Rescue.

Rescue agencies don’t want people in distress to be thinking about the cost of a helicopter or other resources when a life is in danger.

Read Related Also: Tourist dies after crashing while riding scooter in Queensland

“Every person who is missing – they deserve to be found. That’s the mission regardless of who they are,” Hastings said.

Implosion draws attention to murky regulations

The Titan’s voyage down into the North Atlantic highlights the murkily regulated waters of deep-sea exploration.

It’s a space on the high seas where laws and conventions can be sidestepped by risk-taking entrepreneurs and the wealthy tourists who help fund their dreams. At least for now.

Thursday’s announcement by the US Coast Guard that the Titan had imploded near the Titanic shipwreck, killing all five people on board, has drawn attention to how these expeditions are regulated.

The Titan operated in international waters, far from the reach of many laws of the United States or other nations. It wasn’t registered as a US vessel or with international agencies that regulate safety, nor was it classified by a maritime industry group that sets standards on matters such as hull construction.

Stockton Rush, the OceanGate Expeditions CEO and Titan pilot who was among the dead, had said he didn’t want to be bogged down by such standards.

Experts say wrongful death and negligence lawsuits are likely in the Titan case — and they could be successful. But legal actions will face various challenges, including waivers signed by the Titan passengers that warned of the myriad ways they could die.