Billionaire businessman who traveled to space with Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin among group missing on Titanic submarine voyage

The Titan submersible was taking tourists to see the wreckage of the Titanic, which famously sank in 1912 on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.

The submersible went missing on Sunday, 700 kilometers (435 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Contact was lost with the crew an hour and 45 minutes into its dive.

OceanGate, the company operating the dive, said in a statement on Monday that it was “exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely.”

“Our entire focus is on the crew members and their families,” the company said, before thanking the government agencies and deep-sea companies assisting with the search.

Tickets for OceanGate’s Titanic expeditions reportedly cost $250,000 each, with the dives reaching a maximum depth of 3,800 meters (12,500 feet). The missions are supposed to last for 10 days, eight of which are spent at sea.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday it was working with Canadian authorities to conduct a search of the area where the sub disappeared, and that aerial searches, surface vessels, and sonar were being used in the recovery mission.

The Coast Guard estimated on Monday that the Titan had between 70 and 96 hours of emergency oxygen available.

According to OceanGate’s website, the Titan is stocked with 96 hours of “life support” for five crew members.

On Tuesday, Sky News reported that a NATO rescue sub was not able to reach the depths required to find the Titan—and that a waiver passengers are required to sign before participating in the Titanic dive “mentions death three times.”

Who’s on board the missing sub?

British billionaire Hamish Harding, chair of private jet company Action Aviation, is among those aboard the submersible.

Harding said on social media on Saturday that over the coming days, he would be making the journey into the depths of the ocean to see the Titanic wreckage—and pointed out that treacherous weather conditions may mean that the entire dive would have to be called off.

On Sunday, Action Aviation announced via Twitter that the RMS Titanic Expedition Mission 5 had begun at 4 a.m. local time that day.  

“The sub had a successful launch, and Hamish is currently diving,” the company said, before promising “further updates” as the mission progressed.

Harding’s exact net worth is unclear, but the Dubai-based businessman is widely renowned as one of the world’s billionaires.

Last year, he was one of six crew members who traveled to outer space aboard a rocket launched by Jeff Bezos’s space exploration firm Blue Origin.

The company has been relatively tight-lipped on how much it costs to become one of its “customer astronauts”—aside from revealing that a seat on its very first launch sold for $28 million—but some reports claim a single ticket is currently priced at around $1.25 million.

Harding’s thirst for adventure became evident long before his space mission, however. As well as being a skydiver and a trustee of the Explorers Club, he accompanied famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin on his journey to become the oldest person ever to reach the south pole.

His explorations have led to his achieving three Guinness World Records, including the greatest distance traveled at full ocean depth and the longest duration spent at full ocean depth, both of which were set during a 2021 submarine dive with American investor and explorer Victor Vescovo.

Vescovo addressed news of the missing submarine in a tweet on Monday.

I have been asked to comment by many in media and other avenues, but I am sorry, I have no comment at this time. I have good friends onboard the submersible. https://t.co/3lcl0gA0L9

— Victor Vescovo (@VictorVescovo) June 19, 2023

In an open letter to members of the Explorers Club on Monday, president Richard Garriott de Cayeux said he had seen Harding a week earlier, adding that “his excitement about this expedition was palpable.”

“I tend to say, ‘Yes sure, why not?’ to things quite a lot these days,” Harding, a graduate of the prestigious University of Cambridge, wrote on his LinkedIn profile.

He is married with two sons and two stepchildren, The Guardian reported on Monday.

Also understood to be aboard the missing vessel are Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman. U.K.-based Dawood, who comes from one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families, is a trustee of the SETI Institute and vice chairman of Engro Corporation, a subsidiary of the Pakistani conglomerate run by his relatives.

Dawood lives with his son, his wife, Christine, and his daughter, Alina, according to his profile on the SETI Institute’s website.

“We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety,” the Dawood family said in a statement to media outlets.

French explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet is also thought to be on board, while Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate—the company operating the dive—is believed to be the Titan’s fifth passenger.

In an old interview, Nargeolet warned of the dangers of deep-sea diving.

“If you are 11 m or 11 km down, if something bad happens, the result is the same,” he said. “When you’re in very deep water, you’re dead before you realize that something is happening, so it’s just not a problem.”