U.S. Coast Guard says “we need to have hope” in missing sub update

Capt. Jamie Frederick of the United States Coast Guard offered an update on the missing sub in a brief press conference on Wednesday. He addressed the reports of noises being detected and stressed that “we need to have hope” in the search and rescue mission.

Capt. Frederick confirmed that noises were detected beneath the waves of the North Atlantic on Tuesday and Wednesday and have become the focus of the increasingly urgent search for five passengers aboard a submersible, the Titan, that disappeared on Sunday in the midst of a dive to view the wreckage of the Titanic.

Remotely operated vehicles are seeking the source of the sounds, while a team of experts is listening to the noises to determine if they could possibly be from the missing sub. So far, said Capt. Frederick, the analysis has been “inconclusive.”

Capt. Frederick further elaborated that “The surface search is now approximately 2 times the size of Connecticut, and the sub-surface search is up to two-and-a-half miles deep, exponentially expanding the size of the search area.”

But he also cautioned that “with respect to the noises specifically, we don't know what they are, to be frank with you.”

As more emergency vessels arrive, all onlookers can do is cling to hope that a miraculous rescue of the missing sub is still in the cards before it is too late. The search-and-rescue team is up against a ticking clock, with officials believing there only to be enough oxygen in the submersible to last until sometime Thursday morning, hence Captain Frederick's message that “We need to have hope.”