"A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic," the USCG said just before noon. ROV stands for remotely operated vehicle. Experts were evaluating the information. The Titan lost contact with its surface vessel, the Polar Prince, around 1 hour and 45 minutes into its dive Sunday morning, about 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and around 400 miles southeast of St John's, in Canada's Newfoundland. "We understand debris has been found which may be the landing frame and a rear cover of the tail instrument compartment of The Titan lost on previous dives," Richard Garriott, the president of the Explorers Club which had members on the missing sub, wrote to the group, according to a spokesman. "We hear there may be additional debris, but no updated visuals of the submersible." This file image provided by OceanGate shows the Titan submersible descending into the ocean.

Dik Barton, the first British man to dive to the Titanic wreck, speculates what could have happened to the Titan submersible missing in the North Atlantic. The U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday that the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic deployed a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) "that has reached the sea floor and began its search" for the missing OceanGate Titan submarine. It is the first time during the search that a vessel is combing the floor of the Atlantic Ocean for the missing vessel and its five passengers. Previous search efforts have involved the use of aircraft and sonar. "The French vessel L'Atalante is preparing their ROV to enter the water," the Coast Guard also said.