Titanic sub; concerns around 12:08 deadline for oxygen supplies may not take into account training

The race to find the missing Titan submersible, which lost contact with it’s above-water crew after it’s third expedition to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, gets very tight now as estimates suggest that the time that the oxygen supply for the five men in the vessel will finish at around 12:08pm BST.

More specialist equipment is being brought to the now widened search area in the Atlantic Ocean, with clanging from the depths of the sea being heard once again last night, with speculation that it could be an S.O.S signal being made by striking the surface of the submersible. Though time is of the essence, it would be unfair to call 12:08pm BST as the moment the rescue efforts become recovery efforts.

Experts have been chiming in over the last 24 hours about the survival training undertaken for deep sea expeditions in a time of crisis. The general consensus looking at the information provided for former explorers and military operatives is that without oxygen, the men may only last three to five minutes.

However, there is a caveat and that is how much oxygen was used up when the submersible had its initial problems. In that case, the oxygen levels on the Titan might not be as reduced as estimated should the men remain calm to avoid panicked breathing, take shallow breaths to reduce the amount of oxygen consumed, and in some cases sleeping has been proven in scientific studies to lessen the amount of oxygen required.

Should that be the case, then in theory the 12:08 “deadline” might instead be extended by a few hours longer, should all five men (including two trained for these situations) have followed their extensive pre-dive training. 

How long can someone last when their oxygen supply is depleted?

There is sadly no one answer regarding this query; this would all depend on the metabolism of the individual and how much oxygen is required for their body.

Those with a better metabolism than others can last longer, but that also depends on variables such as their respiratory system and the environment they are in.