Story highlights One attempt lasted four seconds; the longest was 36 seconds

Sub with 44 in crew was last seen Wednesday; US assets will assist search

(CNN) The crew of a missing Argentine military submarine tried contacting naval bases seven times, Argentina's Defense Ministry said.

The calls were made on Saturday to different bases between 10:52 a.m. and 3:42 p.m. and ranged from four to 36 seconds long, the ministry said in a statement to CNN en Español. No communication connection was made.

The navy said the military is working with a US-based company that specializes in satellite communication to determine the location of the submarine, which has been missing for more than three days.

The ARA San Juan submarine and the 44 crew members were traveling through the Atlantic Ocean from a base in far southern Argentina's Tierra del Fuego archipelago to its home port in Mar del Plata. The vessel had been due to arrive at its destination Sunday.

The submarine was last spotted Wednesday in the San Jorge Gulf, a few hundred kilometers off the coast of southern Argentina's Patagonia region and nearly midway between the bases.

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