The search is
still on for our neighbor's boat. All of us in the International Community of
Submariners are praying for a good result of that rescue mission. Argentina is
a member of the International Submariners Association, and they do attend the
congresses.
Those, which have
gone down to the sea in a submersible ship know all too well that this could be
one of us fighting for our lives. Using our skills and experience to beat once
again the odds of ending up in Davy Jone’s locker. Our prayers are that the sea
is so rough that they are keeping their heads down in hopes of riding it out.
Thanks
Bud
|
An Argentinian national flag with messages in support of
the 44 crew members of the missing ARA San Juan submarine at the Mar del Plata
naval base. Photograph: Marcos Brindicci/Reuters
(CNN)Sounds,
which were detected during the search for a missing Argentine navy submarine
did not come from the vessel; the navy said late Monday.
Noises that had been
detected earlier Monday were thought to be a possible distress signal from the
crew of the sub.
A US Navy P-8A Poseidon
aircraft was brought to the area to record an acoustic footprint of the sound,
but analysis of the file determined the noises were not from the missing
vessel, Argentine navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said from Buenos Aires.
The noises were possibly
from the ocean, or marine life and two vessels searching for the sub had heard
a "noise" at a depth of about 656 feet. The location of the noise
coincided with the route the submarine would have taken on the way to its home
port in Mar del Plata.
The sonar systems of the
two ships had detected noises sounding like tools being banged against the hull
of a submarine, according to a senior US Navy official familiar with the Navy's
assistance in the search for the Argentine vessel. The official said that crews
of submarines in distress bang on the vessel's hull to alert passing ships to
their location.
The missing submarine --
ARA San Juan -- has a crew of 44. The sub was heading from a base in southern
Argentina's Tierra del Fuego archipelago to Mar del Plata. It was scheduled to
arrive there Sunday.
'Failure' reported in the
vessel's battery system
The vessel's captain
reported a "failure" in the vessel's battery system shortly before it
disappeared last week, Navy spokesman Gabriel Galeazzi said.
After he reported the sub
had experienced a "short circuit," he was told to "change course
and return to Mar del Plata," said Galeazzi.
This type of problem is
considered routine, and the vessel's crew was reported safe, he added.
The Argentine navy had one
more communication with the captain before the sub went missing, said Galeazzi.
The Navy did not give details of the content of that final communication.
On Saturday, seven reported
communication attempts were initially believed to originate from the San Juan
-- but on Monday officials said the radio calls had not come from the missing
sub.
The last confirmed contact
with the submarine was Wednesday, the Argentine navy said.
The US official said that
the waters of the Atlantic Ocean where the sounds originated are extremely
deep. The official stressed that search efforts thus far have yet to locate the
submarine.
The Argentine military has
also been working with a US company that specializes in satellite communication
to determine the location of the submarine.
The search area, off the
Patagonia coast, is notorious for strong storms.
Clock is ticking
In the "worst-case
scenario," the missing sub could run out of oxygen in two days, Balbi
said.
Under normal circumstances,
the vessel has sufficient fuel, water, oil and oxygen to operate for 90 days
without external help, Balbi said, and the vessel could "snorkel" --
or raise a tube to the surface -- "to charge batteries and draw fresh air
for the crew."
If the sub is bobbing
adrift on the surface and the hatch is open, it will have an available air
supply and enough food for about 30 days, he said.
If it is immersed and
cannot raise a snorkel, oxygen may last about seven days. When the sub last
made contact on Wednesday, five days ago, it was immersed, Balbi said.
"This phase of search
and rescue is critical," Balbi said. "This is why we are deploying all
resources with high-tech sensors. We welcome the help we have received to find
them."
A large number of international ships
and airplanes, including a British polar exploration vessel, are braving strong
winds and six-meter high waves in the area off the coast of Patagonia where the
submarine was lost.
The rough conditions were shown in
footage posted online by the Argentinian navy on Monday. “These were the
meteorological conditions and the state of the sea yesterday in the search and
rescue operations zone,” the navy tweeted.
The US Navy has also joined the search,
deploying unmanned submersibles and airplanes to the South
Atlantic.
Two US air force planes landed in the
southern coastal city of Comodoro Rivadavia on Sunday carrying a US Navy
submarine rescue team, including a mini-sub, a submersible rescue vehicle and a
remote control unmanned submersible equipped with video cameras.
A British Royal Navy Hercules C-130
plane and the HMS Protector, ice patrol ship, are also participating in the
rescue effort.
Mauricio Macri met relatives of the crew
at the Mar del Plata naval base on Monday morning. The president said on
Twitter that the government was “deploying all possible national and
international resources to find [the crewmembers] as soon as possible.”
But the wait is taking its toll on the
relatives of the missing submariners. “Every day is leading us closer to a sad
ending, regrettably,” Carlos Mendoza, brother of crew member Fernando Ariel
Mendoza told the Infobae website. “It’s sad, but we have to be realistic.”
Karina Vargas, the wife of crew member
Cayetano Vargas, told the local newspaper San Juan 8 that she had seen her
husband in a dream after the submarine had left Ushuaia.
“I’ve never had a bad feeling before,
but this time I saw him arriving at home before time. He said hello, and I made
a joke about asking him to look after the boys so I could go out.”
Other family members have used social
media to ask for support during the search.
“Pray so that my husband Fernando Santilli can return home,”
Jesica Gopar said on Twitter. “He’s on the San Juan submarine.”
In another message, she tweeted a
picture of her missing husband, with the message: “Your son and I are waiting
for you. I love you.”
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