Day: June 23, 2023

A “debris field” has been discovered within the search area for the missing Titan submersible, the U.S. Coastguard (USCG) said on Thursday.

The agency said a remotely-operated vehicle made the discovery near the wreckage of the Titanic on Thursday.

The hunt for the missing deep-sea vessel is still an “active search and rescue” mission after it lost communication on Sunday.

The vessel was about 700 kilometres south of St John’s, Newfoundland, during a voyage to the Titanic shipwreck off the coast of Canada.

Coastguard officials said they were “evaluating the information” following Thursday’s debris discovery.

A press conference will be held at the Coastguard base in Boston to “discuss the findings” at 8pm (1900 GMT).

Rear Admiral John Mauger, the first Coastguard district commander, and Captain Jamie Frederick, first Coastguard district response coordinator, will lead the press conference.

Founding member of the Board of Trustees of The Explorers Club, Hamish Harding, was on board the undersea craft, alongside UK-based businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, and OceanGate’s chief executive and founder Stockton Rush, as well as French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

The USCG said the ROV that made the discovery was from the Canadian Horizon Arctic ship – with the debris being found on the sea floor near the Titanic wreckage.

Assistance from the Royal Air Force (RAF) is due to arrive in St John’s on Thursday after it confirmed a request was received overnight for help with movement of additional commercial equipment.

Two RAF planes, a C-17 Globemaster and A400 Atlas, departed RAF Lossiemouth in north-east Scotland on Thursday.

A British submariner and equipment from a UK firm has been sent to help the search at the request of the U.S. Coastguard, Downing Street said.

Royal Navy submariner Lieutenant Commander Richard Kantharia, who was on exchange with the U.S. Navy, has been seconded to the search and rescue team.

OceanGate Expeditions estimated the oxygen supply on the 6.7 metre-long vessel would last 96 hours, giving rescuers a deadline of around midday on Thursday.

Experts said the chances of finding the sub and rescuing those inside was diminishing.

Former Royal Navy submarine captain Ryan Ramsey told the PA news agency: “The outlook is bleak, that’s the only word for it as this tragic event unfolds and almost the closing stages of where this changes from rescue to a salvage mission.”

The Titan is believed to be about 900 miles east and 400 miles south of Newfoundland.

It is not known how deep the vessel is, with the seabed being around 3,800 metres from the surface.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The family of a British billionaire adventurer who died after the Titan submersible suffered a catastrophic implosion have paid tribute to their “dedicated father”.

Hamish Harding was described as “a guide, an inspiration, a support, and a living legend” following the news of his death on Thursday.

The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the tail cone of the deep-sea vessel was discovered around 500 metres from the bow of the Titanic wreckage during a press conference in Boston.

Rear Admiral John Mauger said further debris was also found, in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, that was “consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”.

OceanGate Expeditions said its pilot and chief executive Stockton Rush – along with Harding and fellow UK citizens Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, and French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet, “have sadly been lost.”

In a short statement, Harding’s family said: “He was one of a kind and we adored him.

“He was a passionate explorer – whatever the terrain – who lived his life for his family, his business and for the next adventure.

“What he achieved in his lifetime was truly remarkable and if we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it’s that we lost him doing what he loved.”

Harding’s family said his death has left a “gap in our lives that can never be filled”, and that they were “united in grief” with the families of the others who had died.

“We know that Hamish would have been immensely proud to see how nations, experts, industry colleagues and friends came together for the search and we extend our heartfelt thanks for all their efforts,” they said.

Shahzada Dawood’s company paid tribute to him and his son after their deaths.

In a statement, Engro Corporation, the Pakistani conglomerate that Dawood was vice chairman of, said: “With heavy hearts and great sadness, we grieve the loss of our vice chairman, Shahzada Dawood, and his beloved son, Suleman Dawood.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Dawood family at this tragic time.

“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, colleagues, friends and all those around the world who grieve this unthinkable loss.”

Rear Admiral Mauger said there did not appear to be any connection between the underwater noises detected during the search and rescue mission and the location of the debris on the seafloor.

“This was a catastrophic implosion of the vessel which would have generated a significant broadband sound down there that the sonar buoys would have picked up,” he said.

Undersea expert Paul Hankin said five major pieces of debris helped to identify it as from the Titan submersible – including the vessel’s nose cone and the front end bell of the pressure hull.

According to court documents, safety concerns had previously been raised about the Titan submersible by a former employee of OceanGate.

The filings said David Lochridge, OceanGate’s former director of marine operations, claimed wrongful dismissal after flagging worries about the company’s alleged “refusal to conduct critical, non-destructive testing of the experimental design”.

Court papers suggest Lochridge “identified numerous issues that posed serious safety concerns” but he was allegedly “met with hostility and denial of access” to necessary documents before later being fired.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described the update as “tragic news” and said the UK Government is closely supporting the British families affected.

The White House said the families of those who died had “been through a harrowing ordeal over the past few days, and we are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.”

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The United Nations has accused Russia of killing 136 children in 2022 during its war of aggression against Ukraine, an internal report seen by dpa in New York on Thursday showed.

UN Secretary general António Guterres said he was “appalled” by the killings.

The report also stated that 80 children were killed by Ukrainian forces.

The Russian army was included on a UN list of organisations that commit serious offences against children in armed conflicts.

According to the UN list, a total of 477 children were killed in Ukraine last year, with 136 attributed to Russian forces and allies and 80 to Ukrainian troops.

For the remaining victims, neither of the two warring parties can be blamed with certainty.

The children were mostly killed by air strikes, it said.

Such attacks are carried out by Russian forces on Ukrainian towns and villages.

The UN stressed that there was a large number of unreported cases because of the strict guidelines for verifying such cases.

“I am particularly shocked by the high number of attacks on schools, hospitals and protected personnel, and by the high number of children killed and maimed, attributed to Russian forces and affiliated armed groups,” Guterres said.

He also expressed concern about the actions of Ukrainian forces.

The UN documented a total of 92 cases of children last year in which most were used as human shields in Ukraine.

According to the report, the Russians were responsible for all but one of these cases.

Of a total of 751 attacks on schools and hospitals, 480 were carried out by the Russian army and its allies and 212 attacks were attributed to Ukrainian armed forces, while the remaining cases could not be attributed.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Richard Montgomery on Thursday pledged to work closely with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) toward the development of stronger ties between both countries.

Montgomery made the pledge during a courtesy call on the Managing Director of NAN, Mr Buki Ponle in Abuja.

The British envoy said the collaboration between the high commission and NAN became necessary, especially at a time both countries “are in their transition periods’’.

The high commissioner who is the new British envoy in the country expressed delight at being in Nigeria “at such an exciting time’’.

“I know that the News Agency of Nigeria is a long-standing news agency and one of the biggest in Africa.

“I also know that because Nigeria is watched by so many other countries, the news that you produce is very important for the citizens here and also all over the world.

“I am happy that you are giving me time today and it is an incredibly exciting time with the transition of the two administrations.

“This is my first open media engagement. I am very appreciative of the role that you play and I look forward to good collaborations,” Montgomery said.

Responding, the managing director of NAN urged the government of the United Kingdom to support the new administration in Nigeria led by President Bola Tinubu so that it will achieve huge success.

According to Ponle, as commonwealth nations, both Nigeria and the UK have had very successful, long-standing close ties across many sectors.

He said that Nigeria would be looking forward to enjoying the support of the UK government in boosting its economy, trade relations, and strengthening the security situation in the country.

He added that Nigeria would be looking forward to deepening diplomatic relations with the UK under the leadership of President Tinubu and King Charles III.

“We are highly honoured to receive you here and as you have rightly pointed out, this is the first media house you are visiting since you arrived Nigeria two months ago, because you came at a critical time – during transition to a new government – although government is a continuum.

“We need your assistance to fight insecurity. We need your assistance in the area of the economy, especially where trade imbalance is concerned.

“We look up to you for support in terms of whatever you could do to make this new administration a success.

“Yes, it has been receiving global goodwill but we want that to be sustained.

“We need more positivity, more visibility in terms of reforms and everything to make this administration a success we count on you,” Ponle said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Labour Party has vowed to stage a peaceful protest over Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa’s alleged outright refusal to conduct local government elections.

The Factional National Chairman of the party Lamidi Apapa, made this known in a statement in Abuja.

Apapa urged the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC) to do the needful

“If BYSIEC fails to issue a notice to commence the process of local government elections before month end, the party would resort to civil actions aimed at pressuring the governor to do the needful.

“The civil action would be peaceful, but resolute, in our pursuit of electoral justice and democratic representation for the people of Bayelsa State,” he said.

Apapa said that the governor would not deny the importance and significance of the grassroots to the development of a state, as local government areas were created to help establish, nurture sustain democracy and democratic political culture.

He said that as such ,LGAs needed to be given powers to function effectively, to stabilise and strengthen the political system.

He further said that the importance of local government in ensuring democratic representation for the people at the grassroots level could not be over-emphasised.

“The people of Bayelsa State, particularly those at the grassroots deserve elected officials who can effectively advocate their needs and drive development initiatives.

“We are concerned that funds intended for local governments in Bayelsa State are being withheld by the state government, instead of being allocated to democratically elected local government officials

“We view the development as a deliberate neglect of the local area, contradicting the governor’s claims of pursuing a prosperous administration,” he said.

According to Apapa, Labour Party strongly condemned the utilisation of civil servants to administer local government affairs describing it as an unconventional and backward approach.

He said that the delay in conducting the local council election may be driven by the governor’s political agenda, contrary to his earlier statements of prioritising the people’s development over political maneuvers.

He said that the attention of the party had also been drawn to the slow progress of the ongoing case in Sagbama High Court, Yenagoa, aimed at compelling the governor to conduct elections.

Apapa also expressed concerns about alleged potential interference with the judicial process.

He, therefore, urged the governor to respect the independence of the judiciary, which played a crucial role in his assumption of office.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria