The Pelagic Research Services team is « still on a mission » and cannot comment on the ongoing Titan investigation, which involves several government agencies in the United States and Canada, said Jeff Mahoney, a company spokesman.
« They have worked around the clock for 10 days, through the physical and mental challenges of this operation, and are eager to finish the mission and get back to their loved ones, » Mahoney said.
Debris from the Titan was about 12,500 feet underwater and about 1,600 feet from the Titanic on the ocean floor, the Coast Guard said last week. The Coast Guard is conducting an investigation into why the submersible imploded during its descent on June 18. Officials announced on June 22 that the submarine had imploded and all five people on board were dead.
The Coast Guard convened a Marine Board of Investigation into the implosion. This is the highest level of investigation conducted by the Coast Guard.
One of the experts consulted by the Coast Guard during the search said that analyzing the physical material of the recovered debris could reveal important clues about what happened to the Titan. And there may be electronic data, said Carl Hartsfield of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
“Certainly all instruments on any deep sea vehicle log data. Data passes. So the question is, is there any data available? And I really don’t know the answer to that question, » he said on Monday.
Horizon Arctic representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Coast Guard representatives declined to comment on the investigation or the return of debris ashore Wednesday. No bodies were recovered, though Coast Guard officials said days earlier they were taking precautions in case they encountered human remains during the investigation.
OceanGate CEO and pilot Stockton Rush was killed in the implosion along with two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, both involved in the investigation, also declined to comment. The National Transportation Safety Board said the Coast Guard has declared the loss of the Titan submersible a « serious maritime casualty » and the Coast Guard will lead the investigation.
« We are unable to provide additional information at this time as the investigation is ongoing, » said Liam MacDonald, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
A spokesman for the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations maritime agency, said any investigative reports into the disaster would be under review. IMO member states can also propose changes such as tougher regulations for submarines.
