Research Submarine Gets Stuck After Pilot Follows Fish Into Crevice

A $30 million research submersible became lodged in an underwater rock formation off the coast of Papua New Guinea on Monday after its pilot attempted to follow a small, unidentified fish into a crevice. 'It was maybe four centimeters long and it had unusual pectoral fin morphology,' said pilot and marine biologist Dr. Sandra Abyss, speaking via radio from inside the stuck submersible. 'I had to follow it. That could have been a new species. That could have been my species.' The submersible, operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, became wedged approximately 800 meters below the surface when Dr. Abyss maneuvered it into a gap between two basalt formations while pursuing the specimen. 'The gap was clearly too narrow,' said mission commander Dr. Patrick Benthic, watching the rescue operation from the surface vessel. 'She knew it was too narrow. The collision alarm was going off. She told us she was just going to look. She did not just look.' Dr. Abyss maintained radio contact throughout the twelve-hour extraction process, during which she alternated between apologizing and speculating about the fish's taxonomic classification. 'Based on what I saw in the 0.8 seconds before the hull scraped the rock, I believe it was a member of Pseudochromidae, possibly a new genus,' she said. 'The coloring was remarkable. Orange with blue speckling. Very distinctive.' 'It was probably a fairy basslet,' said Dr. Benthic. 'They're everywhere down there.' 'It was NOT a fairy basslet,' Dr. Abyss replied with considerable emphasis. The submersible was freed at 3 AM using a combination of ballast adjustments and what the engineering team described as 'wiggling it.' Damage is estimated at $2.4 million. Dr. Abyss has requested permission to return to the crevice with a smaller ROV. The request was denied.