A search operation is underway for a submersible vessel named Titan, which went missing while en route to explore the wreckage of the Titanic. The search involves aircraft and ships from the United States and Canada.

The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the efforts to locate the small craft in the remote North Atlantic Ocean. The submersible is operated by OceanGate Expeditions, an undersea exploration company that has been conducting annual voyages to study the decay of the Titanic and the surrounding underwater ecosystem since 2021.

The Titan went underwater on Sunday morning, and communication with its support vessel was lost approximately one hour and 45 minutes later. The Canadian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, reported the vessel as overdue, stating that it was last located around 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John's, Newfoundland.

The Titan was launched from an icebreaker that was contracted by OceanGate and previously used by the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship has transported numerous individuals and the submersible to the North Atlantic wreck site, where the Titan has conducted multiple dives. Efforts are currently underway to determine what may have gone wrong with the submersible and to locate its whereabouts.

The Titan, described as the largest deep diving submersible, is made of titanium and filament wound carbon fiber and is neutrally buoyant once it reaches the seafloor. It is equipped with advanced safety features to assess hull integrity during dives. The submersible has a remaining oxygen supply of about 40 hours. Efforts are being made to determine what went wrong and to find the submersible before the oxygen supply runs out.

The Canadian research icebreaker, Polar Prince, along with a Canadian Boeing P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, is conducting surface searches and dropping sonar buoys to listen for any signs of the Titan. An underwater robot has also been deployed in the area. Additionally, salvage equipment is being mobilized in case the submersible is located.

The U.S. Coast Guard is utilizing two Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft for overflights, and three C-17s from the U.S. Air Mobility Command have been deployed to transport another commercial company's submersible and support equipment from Buffalo, New York, to St. John's to assist in the search efforts.

The Canadian military has dispatched a Royal Canadian Navy ship equipped with a medical team specialized in dive medicine and a six-person mobile hyperbaric recompression chamber, which are en route to the search area.

These combined efforts aim to locate the missing submersible and its occupants, providing necessary support and resources to aid in the search and potential recovery operations.