MAR DEL PLATA: The clock ticked down on Wednesday on hopes of finding alive the 44 crew members of an Argentine submarine missing for a week despite a massive search of surface and seabed, amid fears their oxygen had run out.

The ARA San Juan would have had enough oxygen for its crew to survive underwater in the South Atlantic for seven days since its last contact, according to officials. At 0730 GMT Wednesday, that time had elapsed.

“At the moment, we have no trace of the submarine,” navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told a news conference in Buenos Aires.

“The search is continuing. No type of contact has been detected. No clues. We are in the seventh day, in a critical phase for oxygen if we are in a scenario of immersion,” he said.

High seas and poor visibility in the South Atlantic have hampered the search since it began, around 320 kilometres off the Argentine coast. Waves have towered as high as six metres.

The conditions have fed hopes that the vessel may be on the surface undetected.

“There is reason to think it can be on the surface,” said Dominique Salles, a former French submarine commander. “If it’s on the surface, it’s in a situation that’s not stable but it’s safe, it’s waterproof and floating on its ballast. It cannot sink, even though it may not be able to make headway because of lack of propulsion,” said Salles.

The sub’s visibility to planes and satellites being used in the search efforts is also greatly diminished by the weather conditions, he said, “because in a bad sea, the front and the back are submerged under the waves.”

Despite the mechanical problems it reported during its last contact last Wednesday, the crew could survive indefinitely if the sub retained the ability to rise to the surface to “snort” or replenish its air.

Conditions improved Tuesday, but the forecast for Thursday is once again poor.

The 34-year-old German-built diesel-electric submarine that was refitted between 2007 and 2014 had flagged a breakdown and said it was diverting to the navy base at Mar del Plata, where most of the crew members live. It didn’t issue a distress call, however.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2017