U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, left, steps away from the media at the conclusion of a news conference, Thursday, June 22, 2023, at Coast Guard Base Boston in Boston. The U.S. Navy has confirmed its acoustic sensors detected “an anomaly consistent with an implosion†in the area where the doomed submersible Titan was operating when it lost contact with surface vessels on Sunday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Steven Senne
The U.S. Navy has confirmed its acoustic sensors detected on Sunday “an anomaly consistent with an implosion” in the area where the doomed submersible Titan was operating several hours before the vessel was reported missing.
In an email, a senior U.S. Navy official says an analysis of the acoustic data was shared with the “unified command” leading the search for the vessel with five people aboard, the wreckage of which was discovered Thursday near the Titanic.
The navy official says the data was not definitive, and they confirmed it was considered with acoustic data provided by other partners in the search, which was led by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The official says the decision was made to continue with the search-and-rescue mission and “make every effort to save the lives on board.”
But that information wasn’t shared with the public until after the Titan’s wreckage was found and all five passengers were presumed dead.
The Canadian Armed Forces, which took part in the search, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2023.
