Diving robot joins search for Titanic submersible, which has less than 2 days of oxygen left
- The Victor 6000, described as a ‘flagship device for underwater operations’, can be deployed at depths of up to 6,000 metres
- The robot joins an expanding international armada of ships and planes racing to locate the missing vessel before the breathable air inside runs out
France is sending a specialist boat to aid efforts to rescue a submersible lost in the North Atlantic on a dive to the wreck of the Titanic.
The Atalante research vessel has a diving robot and is heading to the region to find the submersible which was on its way to the wreck of the Titanic, as rescuers race against time, as the amount of breathable air available falls.
The French ship, which belongs to marine research institute Ifremer, was already on a mission but is set to reach the site on Wednesday evening, French state secretary for the sea Herve Berville said, according to a report by broadcaster BFMTV.
Specialists trained in operating the diving robot, which can sink to deeper depths, set off from Toulon in southern France to lead the search on the ground, he said.
“Arrangements are continuing in liaison with the Nato coordination centre and we are in contact with the US authorities,” Berville said. The robot’s operators would arrive in Newfoundland, Canada, on Wednesday morning, he added.
The Victor 6000 robot is controlled remotely from the research vessel via a cord up to 8km long and is described by Ifremer as a “flagship device for underwater operations”, BFMTV said. The robot can be deployed at depths of up to 6,000 metres (around 20,000 feet).