Submarine on trip to explore Titanic wreck goes missing,

A search and rescue mission was underway Monday morning for a submarine that went missing off the coast of southeast Canada on an expedition to explore the wreckage of the Titanic. Lt. Jordan Hart of the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston told CBS News that personnel were “currently undergoing a search and rescue operation” when asked about the rescue efforts off the coast of Newfoundland. 

It is not clear how many people are on board the missing vessel.

OceanGate Expeditions, a company that deploys manned submersibles for deep sea expeditions, recently said on its website and social media feeds that an expedition to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which lies about 400 miles southeast of the Newfoundland coast, was “underway.” 

OceanGate Expedition was not immediately available when contacted by CBS News to confirm if its vessel was the subject of the search and rescue operation, or whether it was involved in any way. 

Contacted by CBS News, the Canadian Coast Guard said the rescue operation in question was being managed by the Boston Regional Coordination Center, and a map showing jurisdictions for the various coastal search and rescue agencies off the North American coast did show the location of the Titanic wreck within the Boston center’s area of responsibility.  

Earlier this month, the company said on Twitter that it was using satellite company Starlink to help maintain communications with its expedition on the Titanic voyage.

“Despite being in the middle of the North Atlantic, we have the internet connection we need to make our Titanic dive operations a success — thank you Starlink,” the tweet said. The company’s website advertises seven-night voyages to see the Titanic wreckage priced at $250,000.

The company last tweeted about its ongoing Titanic expedition on June 16.

OceanGate’s sub, The Titan, is the only five-person sub in the world capable of reaching the Titanic wreck, which sits 2.4 miles below the sea surface. CBS News “Sunday Mornings” correspondent David Pogue joined the crew of the vessel, along with a small group of intrepid tourists, for a journey to see the world’s most famous shipwreck last year.  

As he got situated in the vessel, which he said had about as much room inside as a minivan, Pogue said he “couldn’t help noticing how many pieces of this sub seemed improvised, with off-the-shelf components,” including a video game controller that was used to pilot the sub.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.