Lost submersible Titan Five's only hope is running late: Here's what we know

Following the disappearance of the submersible named Titan Five, several rescue teams have begun search operations over and under the Atlantic Ocean to locate the vessel and save the people on board.

The French government announced on Tuesday that French President Emmanuel Macron had directed the dispatch of the research ship Atalante to join the global search for the missing Titanic tour submersible, as reported by CNN.

The news comes after it was reported that the rescue ship Deep Energy, on its mission to recover the submersible, does not have appropriate equipment to carry out the mission successfully.

However, the DailyMail UK reports that the French ship transporting the only underwater vehicle capable of rescuing the Titan Five is currently en route to Newfoundland but will not arrive until midnight UK time.

The Victor 6000, which can reach depths of 20,000 feet, holds out hope of finding the sub, which went missing on Sunday while descending 12,500 feet to the Titanic wreck.

The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) may be able to attach a cable to the sub before it is raised to the surface by the Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System, a specialised winch that successfully rescued a helicopter from 19,075 feet below the surface in 2021.

According to a marine tracker, the ROV is on board the Ifremer Ocean Research Institute-owned ship Atalante, which is presently travelling at a speed of 11.6 kn (13 mph) in the north-west Atlantic.

The pipe-laying ship Deep Energy was visible in a video of the area where the sub is reportedly located, which was just made public by the US Coast Guard. Despite having ROVs on board, they are unable to dive to the necessary depth.

The DailyMail UK reported that a military plane heard loud banging coming from the area where the submarine is thought to be, but former rear admiral Chris Parry said today that this could be coming from the Titanic itself, which makes a lot of noise.

However, according to oceanographer David Gallo, the sounds could have come from the sub, and he believes diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was trapped inside, would undoubtedly make noise to alert rescuers.

He said, in an interview with CNN, "One of the questions I have is: Did [researchers] make any signal back, acoustically, to signal to the sub that we hear their signal?" You would undoubtedly hear it in the sub because sound travels through the ocean very easily.

The underwater noises are a "target" of the operation, according to US Coastguard official John Mauger, who is also in charge of the search. However, he added that the source of the sound is unknown.