Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

mahatmakanejeeves

(66,959 posts)
Thu Jun 22, 2023, 02:10 PM Jun 2023

Search for sub could cost taxpayers millions of dollars

LIVE UPDATES

Titanic submersible search yields ‘debris field,’ Coast Guard says

Updated 15 min ago
By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Adela Suliman, Maham Javaid, Timothy Bella, Eve Sampson and Victoria Bisset

{snip}

1 hour ago

Search for sub could cost taxpayers millions of dollars

By Dan Lamothe, Alex Horton and Eve Sampson

The U.S. Coast Guard, which has led the search for the Titan, has not detailed the expense involved. But an operation of this magnitude could run well into the millions of dollars between costs for fuel, personnel and maintenance. ... Taxpayers will probably foot the bill, experts say. ... “We have no idea what a response like this will cost,” Mikki Hastings, president of the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR), told The Washington Post. “It is still ongoing, so we will likely not hear any totals for a while.” ... Most search-and-rescue operations are funded by the “responding agency,” Hastings said, which usually ultimately means the taxpayer.

The company involved will not be responsible for reimbursing the government, said Paul Zukunft, who led the Coast Guard from 2014 to 2018. ... “It’s no different than if a private citizen goes out, and his boat sinks,” he said. “We go out and recover him. We don’t stick them with the bill after the fact.” ... NASAR recommends against agencies charging for rescue operations, as it may discourage people from seeking help in emergency situations.

Jessica Lamirande, a spokeswoman for Canada’s Defense Ministry, said Canadian officials will have a total cost calculated 60 to 90 days after the mission is complete. It will include all incremental costs, which are operation-specific for extra equipment, maintenance and personnel, Lamirande said. ... That total will not include regular salaries or the cost of equipment already in use, a factor that Michael Byers, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia, says mitigates costs.

Byers, a Canadian defense expert, said for U.S. Coast Guard and Navy rescuers, operations like this can double as training time required to maintain essential skills. ... “There is extra fuel involved in any search-and-rescue mission, and perhaps some extra wear and tear on equipment, but the actual additional costs to taxpayers are not as high as one might expect,” Byers said.

{snip}
11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Search for sub could cost taxpayers millions of dollars (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Jun 2023 OP
Just think of it as a training exercise. Hassin Bin Sober Jun 2023 #1
Wait - cilla4progress Jun 2023 #2
Preliminary reports suggest that they won't be in a position to write any checks. nt Buns_of_Fire Jun 2023 #4
Send an invoice to the estates of the two dead billionaires. With interest. JohnQFunk Jun 2023 #3
If company is negligent (which they likely were), they should have to pay JT45242 Jun 2023 #5
I Tend To Agree With Byers ProfessorGAC Jun 2023 #6
Maybe I'm a little naive, but aren't rescue missions like this one of the reasons we pay taxes Arkansas Granny Jun 2023 #7
That's my thought as well. thucythucy Jun 2023 #8
Yeah, WE pay taxes. Billionaires don't. Aristus Jun 2023 #10
its one thing if its in US waters moonshinegnomie Jun 2023 #11
"Billionaires' junket costs taxpayers millions" misanthrope Jun 2023 #9

JT45242

(3,651 posts)
5. If company is negligent (which they likely were), they should have to pay
Thu Jun 22, 2023, 02:22 PM
Jun 2023

There is a difference between the coast guard rescuing an individual caught in a storm and a company that was willfully negligent and skated US laws and regulations by operating in international waters.

Logically, there should be a evaluation if the company was negligent and then the company should have to pay for the rescue.

Otherwise this is just another sickening case of privatizing profits and socializing losses, again.

ProfessorGAC

(74,703 posts)
6. I Tend To Agree With Byers
Thu Jun 22, 2023, 02:26 PM
Jun 2023

It's mostly a sunk cost, because all those people & equipment are there "just in case".
I don't want to think like TFG who dismantled the virology monitoring team in China because "We can't be paying people just in case something happens."
That said, if it's anything other than a freak, unforeseeable accident, the company should be culpable for some portion of the cost.

thucythucy

(8,996 posts)
8. That's my thought as well.
Thu Jun 22, 2023, 03:24 PM
Jun 2023

On the other hand, I do see a need for regulating some the more outlandish "bucket list" nonsense as practiced by the billionaire class.

Many years ago I spent time in Iceland during the winter. During that time I was told it was prohibited to wander into certain portions of the interior because of the risk and the cost of any rescue mission that would have to be mounted in the event of an emergency. Winter there is of course taken very seriously. So, maybe we should impose a ban on undersea tourism of this sort?

Aside from everything else, the Titanic wreckage is a sort of mass grave, and excursions like this do seem to me to be a mite ghoulish.

moonshinegnomie

(3,683 posts)
11. its one thing if its in US waters
Thu Jun 22, 2023, 03:44 PM
Jun 2023

in this case its hundreds of miles off us waters,and other than the ceo of the company the passengers wernt even americans.
the amount of money being spend it ludicrous. meanwhile hundreds died when a ship of migrants capsized in the Mediterranean

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Search for sub could cost...