Revenge of the steerage class?

[BoSoxGal]

Titanic tourist submersible: desperate search for sub missing with five onboard

[BoSoxGal]

Would you go down in that thing?

[Burning Petard]

A ticket for this little boat ride is said, by various news sources beyond the Guardian, as costing %250,000.00. As I tax payer and steerage passenger for my two trans-Atlantic boat rides, I deeply resent the amount of money that is being consumed by the governments involved in this search/rescue operation. I hope very much some private party(s) is billed for it.

snailgate

[Joe Guy]

I'm amazed at the depths that people will go to see a sunken ship.

[BoSoxGal]

[Big RR]

BP--

I deeply resent the amount of money that is being consumed by the governments involved in this search/rescue operation.

Do you have the same feelings for the amounts expended to find a lost child, or perhaps a child who fell down a well"? What about all the expenditures associated with investigating air, rail, or roadways accidents? Or rescuing people swept out to sea by a rip tide? Or other emergency services?

FWIW, I would bet the registration and port fees for the submersible (and all other maritime craft) cover some of these fees, but even it if it tax dollars, I would rather see hem spent on this than sending our military on idiotic foreign policy ventures, or paid to dictators to look kinsly on US interests, to mention a couple. Hell, how much did it cost the US to send a delegation to the coronation? Rescuing people (or attmepting to do so) is a much better use of our tax dollars IMHO

[BoSoxGal]

If nothing else this is a real world training opportunity for US Coast Guards and their Canadian counterparts. To the extent that what they learn and the skills they develop help them in future to rescue working fishermen from Gloucester, New Bedford, Newfoundland etc. then it's a valuable endeavor.

I do share the frustration expressed by snailgate and I'm sure many other people do as well. It isn't a horrible thing to resent thrill seekers when they cost everyone money that could have been better spent to the benefit of the many. We see this a lot here in New England with all the foolhardy hikers who decide to hit the White Mountains entirely unprepared for the conditions that occur there, which are some of the most challenging in the world thanks to a weird confluence of weather-making factors that exist there. Every single year some idiot takes off for a hike without the proper gear or skillset to survive conditions which are a common occurrence in those mountains, and SAR folks have to risk life and limb to rescue or recover them. It makes me angry.

[Big RR]

I understand the feeling, but given the way our government wastes money on other unimportant things (or even on lethal things to send our military into areas we have no business going into), I think this a far more justified use of my tax dollars, even if it can be frustrating at times.

[BoSoxGal]

This is what happened to a mock human (made of pig components) at 300ft when rapid depressurization occurred on a MythBusters episode. Don't watch if you can't stand the sight of gore.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Meanwhile 700 (by some estimates) people die in a vain attempt to cross the Mediterranean to some sort of freedom. I'm not saying all countries should have open borders all the time and I don't know what the answer is: but in that context the sheer publicity given to this search is just frightening.

[Burning Petard]

Follow the money. The universal explanation for most anything in America.

snailgate.

[Joe Guy]

This is what happened to a mock human (made of pig components) at 300ft when rapid depressurization occurred on a MythBusters episode. Don't watch if you can't stand the sight of gore.

It now seems very likely that the people in that sub have blended more than they anticipated.

[Bicycle Bill]

People have been dying on the open ocean ever since the first human pushed out into the water on a floating log.  Neptune is not a merciful deity and he will have his tribute, and the sooner people realize this the better.

-"BB"-

[Econoline]

[Big RR]

I'm not entirely sure in this case, but usually the pressure inside submarines and most submersibles is maintained at ordinary atmospheric pressure so there should be no depressurization. There are some exceptions, especially for submersibles where the occupants can exit and dive on wrecks, but I think the Titanic is too deep for this.

[BoSoxGal]

Unless there is a hull breach due to materials failure, which is a real concern given it is untested material which OceanGate has resisted submitting for independent analysis and has fired at least one employee who raised concerns about the safety of the vessel for intended use.

Honestly the more that comes out about this OceanGate outfit and the lack of safety considerations that went into design and deploy of this vessel, the more I am flummoxed that people who are clever enough to become billionaires could be so foolhardy to jump on board such an unproven contraption. But I am admittedly highly risk averse.

I’ll be shocked if they are able to rescue the vessel at this point. If that is them banging down there then they are obviously somehow stuck on the wreck and cannot float up. Not sure an unmanned submersible has the capacity to disentangle them in such a scenario?

[Sue U]

people who are clever enough to become billionaires

Assumes facts not in evidence.

[BoSoxGal]

people who are clever enough to become billionaires

Assumes facts not in evidence.

[Big RR]

BSG--

Unless there is a hull breach due to materials failure, which is a real concern given it is untested material which OceanGate has resisted submitting for independent analysis and has fired at least one employee who raised concerns about the safety of the vessel for intended use.

I have no doubt they could have been crushed to death by rapid pressurization. Or just died Or are now dying) slowly due to a lack of oxygen.

As for who would go on the vessel, I would never pend that sort of money (even if I had it) to dive to the Titanic wreck, but I would consider spending even more to go to space (even on the good ship Penis). I guess it depends what you are willing to take risks on.


Sue--

[Econoline]