Submarine CEO Stockton Rush named as third passenger feared missing on Titanic sub with just 72 hours of oxygen left
A SUBMARINE boss is feared to be on board his vessel that vanished while heading to see the wreckage of the Titanic.
It’s believed Stockton Rush, the CEO of the company which provided the submarine, is one of five passengers missing.
Rescue crews are frantically searching the Atlantic Ocean after the £200,000-a-head voyage disappeared.
It’s thought Rush is on board with French diving expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 73, and British billionaire Hamish Harding.
Rush is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of OceanGate Inc – the company carrying out the expedition.
OceanGate, one of few companies offering trips to see the ruins, confirmed a major search mission has been launched to “bring the crew back safely”.
Tickets for tourists to see the wreckage – which is around 600km off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada – cost up to £195,000.
The company previously revealed it uses Elon Musk’s Starlink to communicate with the vessel, however it’s not clear what has gone wrong with the network.
OceanGate’s sub – Titan – has the capacity for one pilot and four others and an oxygen supply able to last 96 hours.
It means at the time of writing they have 72 hours left.
It comes as Mr Nargeolet previously spoke frankly of the extreme dangers of deep-sea exploration in an interview.
He said: “If you are 11m or 11km down, if something bad happens, the result is the same.
“When you’re in very deep water, you’re dead before you realise that something is happening, so it’s just not a problem.”
And Harding, CEO of Action Aviation in Dubai yesterday posted on Facebook about poor weather conditions before the trip began.
He said: “Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023.
“A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow.
“We started steaming from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada yesterday and are planning to start dive operations around 4am tomorrow morning.
He added: “More expedition updates to follow IF the weather holds!”
A spokesman for OceanGate said: “We are exploring and mobilising all options to bring the crew back safely.
“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families.
“We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible.
“We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
The Sun has approached OceanGate for comment.