British vessel was blocked from joining Titanic sub rescue mission because US officials wanted to use an inferior US-made vehicle, report says

• Magellan, a deep-sea surveying company, said it wants to help find the missing submersible.
• But the company said it is still waiting on permission from officials to get to the site.

A British vessel that could help find the missing Titan submersible was blocked from joining the rescue mission because US officials wanted to use an inferior US-made vehicle, The Telegraph reported.

Deep-sea surveying company Magellan said Tuesday that it has had a specialist team and vital rescue equipment waiting to leave the Channel Islands since Monday evening — but that it was still waiting on approval, according to the outlet.

Magellan is a Guernsey-based company that produced the first full-sized 3D, digital scan of the Titanic last summer and is familiar with the shipwreck, which lies at about 12,500 feet underwater.

It is in possession of a remotely operated vessel that is able to pull up submersibles from as deep as 5,000 meters, Bretton Hunchak, former president of RMS Titanic, Inc, which collaborated with Magellan in last summer's project, told The Telegraph.

But Hunchak said that US officials, who are organizing the rescue mission alongside Canada, have said they would rather use a New-York based vessel capable of exploring 3,000 meters below water.

"Why not run both vessels? The more help we can get the better and denying us means you are giving up on every option you have to save lives," Hunchak told The Telegraph Tuesday. "These are irreplaceable human beings."

Capt Jamie Frederick, from the US Coast Guard, told reporters on Tuesday that they are "not aware" of reports of blocked rescue efforts.

"We know that there is equipment out there that can be brought to the scene," Frederick said. "The unified command is working through prioritizing what equipment we need and then how we get it there."

His comments come as time is running out to find the five passengers aboard Titan, which had less than 40 hours of oxygen left as of Tuesday evening.

The submersible, which is powered by electric thrusters, can carry five people to a depth of 13,123 feet, according to the OceanGate website.

The US Coast Guard (USCG) said it was searching an area of about 20,000 sq km. A Canadian P-3 plane - using sonar buoys - heard banging sounds from an area close to where the submersible went missing, raising the prospect the trapped tourists could still be saved.

A statement on Magellan's website said that it had been contacted by OceanGate — the maker of the Titan tourist submersible — earlier in the week to help with rescue efforts.

"OceanGate instructed us to mobilize and 'use the means necessary to fly the needed equipment and crew to St. John's, Newfoundland as soon as possible, stating time is of the essence,'" the statement said.

Representatives for Magellan, USCG and OceanGate did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.