By Oyintari Ben
A French robot that can dive to a depth of 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) is on its way to the Titanic disaster to assist in the search for a tourist submersible that went missing as it descended. If the sub becomes trapped, the robot could help free it.
Victor 6000, an unmanned robot, has arms that can be remotely commanded to cut cables or carry out other moves to free a stranded vessel, the operator said. Victor 6000 can dive deeper than other equipment in the North Atlantic.
On board a French research vessel, the robot is anticipated to arrive late on Wednesday, giving it a constrained amount of time to help before the missing submersible’s air supply runs out on Thursday morning.
Olivier Lefort, the head of naval operations at Ifremer, the government-owned French ocean research institution that controls Victor, said that Victor cannot raise the submarine on its own.
However, he said that the robot might assist in attaching the 10-ton Titan submarine to a ship that could lift it to the surface.
Titan, a British ocean liner that sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg, went missing on Sunday shortly after its descent to the Titanic. There were five persons on board at the time. The wreck is located at a depth of around 12,500 feet (3,810 metres).
“Victor can do visual investigation using all of its video equipment. Additionally, the expert said it has manipulating arms that might be used to free the sub by cutting cables or other obstructions at the bottom.
Ifremer worked on the 1985 Titanic wreckage search team alongside American underwater archaeologist Robert Ballard.
The 77-year-old French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet formerly worked at Ifremer and operated its flagship Nautile submarine, which was used to explore the Titanic wreck. He is believed to be one of the five personnel inside the missing submersible.
In response to a request from the U.S. Navy, Ifremer deployed the Atalante ship and its robot. “This is the logic of seafarers. Our attitude was: We are close, we have to go,” Lefort said.
Twenty-five people work as the robot’s crew. We don’t have to stop working at night and can work continuously for up to 72 hours.
