TITAN TRAGEDY

How much did the Titan submarine search cost and who paid for it?

The international search and rescue team scoured the Atlantic Ocean looking for the missing Titan submersible at considerable cost.

BRIAN SNYDERREUTERS

A year ago, the Titan submersible carrying a crew of five to the wreckage of the Titanic lost communication with the mainland, leading to a massive international search and rescue mission that brought together the governments of Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Officials involved in the search confirmed that the passengers perished instantly when the vessel collapsed due to implosion.

The United States mobilized the Coast Guard and used three C-17 transport planes that belonged to the US Army, as well as an aquatic drone that is capable of showing what is 20,000 feet underwater, more than 6,000 meters, and sending clear images. Here is a post on social media in the days after.

For its part, Canada contributed to the operation with a patrol plane and two surface boats, one of which had doctors specialized in diving medicine that arrived on the scene on Thursday. Lastly, France also joined the search by contributing a ship equipped with a remotely operated vehicle called the Victor6000.

How much did the Titan search cost the public?

Each of the three passengers that purchased a ticket to board the Titan paid $250,000, for a total of $750,000. Looking at the expenses of the US government alone, the search and rescue mission was more costly than what was paid by the tourists. The Washington Post released a conservative estimate based on publicly available information and some interviews with government personnel that put the price at $1.2 million.

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