The countdown begins and the hope is hanging on the robot to find the submarine Titan

The French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Seas said that a robot that can dive to a depth of up to 6,000 meters underwater is on its way to help in the search for Submarine Titan who disappeared while descending to the wreck site of the Titanic and might help free the submarine if it was stuck.

The institute said that the unmanned robot, called Vector 6000, can dive deeper than other equipment now in place in the North Atlantic Ocean. He added that the robot has arms that can be controlled remotely to cut cables or perform other maneuvers that help free the trapped submarine.

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The robot, which is aboard a French research vessel, is expected to arrive early Thursday, giving it a limited window of time to provide assistance before a Thursday morning deadline when the missing submarine’s air supply is expected to run out.

“Victor is not able to lift the submarine himself,” said Olivier Lefort, head of naval operations at the French state-run Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Seas that operates the robot.

But Levour told Reuters that the robot could help connect the submarine, which he calls the Titan and weighs ten tons, to a ship capable of lifting it to the surface.

Titan disappeared with five people on board shortly after it began its descent on Sunday to the wreckage of the British liner Titanic, which sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. The wreck is located at a depth of about 3,810 metres.

“Victor is able to do visual exploration using all the video equipment it has,” Levour said. “It is also equipped with manipulator arms that can be used to extricate the submarine, such as cutting cables or things that would obstruct it at the bottom.”

The French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Seas was part of the team that located the wreck of the Titanic in 1985 with American underwater archaeologist Robert Ballard.

A crew of 25 operates the robot

The robot operates a crew of 25. “We can work non-stop for up to 72 hours, and we don’t need to stop at night,” Levour said.

The US Coast Guard said Canadian aircraft equipped to find submarines detected noises in the area. US media said
The sounds included knocking at intermittent 30-minute intervals.

“We don’t know what happened. The sounds that were heard give us hope that the submarine is at the bottom of the sea and that people are still alive, but other possibilities are possible… Even if the hope is slim, we will go all the way,” Levour said.

The wreck of the Titanic (Reuters)

The wreck of the Titanic (Reuters)

Rare footage shows the famous passenger liner Titanic lying at the bottom of the ocean