7 minute read
Into the deep - Submarines
Our world’s life is concentrated in its water. The Southern, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans hold 94 per cent of our planet’s fauna and flora. And while superyachts float across the surface of that vast pool of existence, slipping down amongst it is a different story. Drop beneath the waves and more than 80 per cent of the world’s ocean is unexplored. Unmapped, never viewed by human eyes; it’s the last frontier. A final bastion of adventure.
INTO By Isla McKechnie THE DEEP
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No surprise then, yachts capable of submersible operations are increasingly in demand and the luxury submersible market is reaching new levels of sophistication.
At the 2022 Monaco Yacht Show, U-Boat Worx released the Nautilus, a 37.5 metre design for an underwater superyacht which will be as at ease under the waves as on top, and extend the superyacht experience to a depth of 200 metres.
At the same show, submersible heavyweight Triton Submarines launched Project Hercules. Weaving the design pedigree of Espen Øino into a first of its kind luxury submarine, Project Hercules introduces speed and luxury to a submersible capable of diving to 200 metres and reaching speeds of eight knots. While we’ve mapped 90 per cent of Mars’ surface and people have walked on the moon, being one of the first people to explore the blue mysteries of the oceans around us has become something to pursue.
Triton Submarines knows about pursuit. The Floridaheadquartered company pumps out record-breaking technology at a blistering pace as it helps push forward the limits of human exploration. Triton’s submersibles have taken David Attenborough to the Great Barrier Reef, been eye level with penguins on the world’s first private Antarctica submersible dive, been to the bottom of five oceans, and undertaken a dive to the deepest point in the Southern Hemisphere; the Tonga Trench’s Horizon Deep.
UBoat Worx Nemo2 discovers an elephants ear
@ Gavin Newman
Engaging with the ocean
It’s also determined to change the way we encounter the sea around us. The company which saw early adopters use its products for adventures, foundation research, and underwater archaeology, is now seeing yacht owners and resorts use them as an extension of luxury vessels. They can be launched quickly and used purely for enjoyment.
“It’s about changing the way people engage with the ocean,” says Triton Submarine’s Craig Barnett. “If there’s one on your yacht it should be extension of your lifestyle. Take down your easel to paint, take down your massage table or take down your mixologist for sundowner time. It’s about changing the way people use submersibles and how they experience the ocean.”
An astronaut-esque experience is what Roy Heijdra, marketing manager of U-Boat Worx likens it to. The Netherlands-based company has built an enviable reputation designing submarines which are compact and luxurious, and designed specifically to fit the needs of superyachts. It’s in response to a superyacht market where hard-to-find experiences have become the final word in luxury.
“The most breathtaking experience is to find a shipwreck, find a nice patch of sand next to that wreck, set the submarine down, and turn everything off, taking in the beauty of the marine life surrounding it in total silence. I can literally do this for hours on end. And when you leave that submarine again, you leave it as a changed man,” says Heijdra. “I have never been to space, but astronauts returning from space share a similar story.”
Technology and limitations
These aren’t token machines, taking a peek underneath the waves. While they will usually back out, or dive below areas of high current, there’s no operating limitations in terms of temperature.
Triton submersibles have been used everywhere from Antarctica to Tahiti, and have reached 11 kilometres deep; the first vessel in the history of mankind that can access all parts of the world’s oceans.
Two Triton 33003 MKII diving in the Bahamas
©Triton Submarines
UBoat Worx Nemo2 can be boarded on the beach
@ Tom van Oossanen
UBoat Worx Nemo2
@Tom Van Oossanen
Heijdra reinforces the limitless approach to submersible use, saying U-Boat Worx subs are in use in more than 60 locations around the world, from the warm waters of the Caribbean, to the Arctic, to the Antarctic.
But what about the platform to carry them. Does technology of this type necessitate a larger yacht to accommodate it? Not necessarily. There’s a range of options available to the prospective submersible owner, and custom solutions to boot. U-Boat Worx has created the NEMO. A two seater, compact submersible with the same footprint as two jet skis and weighing 2,500 kilograms. It’s a production model; built in large volumes, it’s competitively priced, reaches depths of 100 metres, can be delivered to a new owner within a few months of ordering, and can be launched from a marina or towed via SUV.
Triton specialises in building submersibles which reach the depths, with the most popular sold by the company capable of reaching up to 1000 metres, and comfortably seating three people. With every submersible delivered, Triton provides pilot training and maintenance for up to six people, so that an owner’s existing yacht crew can develop familiarity with the craft. Crew join Triton in its facility for the last three weeks of assembly, in the same way a yacht build captain would, and once the submersible is delivered, complete 20-30 dives before being signed off.
It’s a thorough way to ensure the submersible is handed over with complete training. The submersibles are in survey, and Triton offers 24/7 support, flying in a technical support team before each annual survey.
Likewise, U-Boat Worx has its own training facility on the island of Curaçao where it send its submarines for testing and certification.
“This is one of the locations where we can do pilot training for either the owner or his crew,” says Heijdra. “Training to become a chief submersible pilot takes around two weeks of intense practise.”
Future market
The popularity of submersibles is growing exponentially, with estimates that the market for them has doubled in the last three years. Part of this is down to the way the use of yachts is changing. They’re now being used for discovery and adventure; for going further afield. Yachts are being built to carry the assets to remote locations, with the mothership or support vessel often purchased to fit the needs of the submersible.
“And there’s a broader context to this,” says Barnett. “There’s been a change in social currency. While luxury used to be possession-led, now it’s about creating unique experiences.”
Heijdra agrees. “We have seen a growing interest in submersibles over the last couple of years. Just look at the vast amount of explorer vessels being put out into the market. It’s safe to say that the typical owner of a superyacht is changing from the more conventional owner that we used to know, to a more adventurous type of owner.”
“With more and more explorer type vessels being built, the market for submersibles is as large as it has ever been,” says Heijdra. “In the coming years a submersible is going to be as common as having a tender aboard a yacht.”
In essence, the submersible provides the platform to see incredible things. Barnett lists a roll call of achievements that sound like an adventurer’s handbook. Triton Submarines has provided the platform for 60 new species of marine life to be registered, for the discovery of a giant squid, provided a live broadcast for three hours a day, over five days from the waters of the Seychelles, and created the vessel for the Five Deeps Expedition to the deepest points of each ocean, amongst other things.
No wonder then, that submersibles have become such a desirable commodity.
Barnett has concise advice for yacht owners when it comes to the question of installing a submersible. Without it they’re only getting half the experience of yachting. Getting underneath the waves, and into that vast pool of life that exists just out of sight from the deck of the yacht, is what it’s all about.
“Do it and for the same reason you have landing gear on your private jet. Once you dive in a sub, you realise that owning a yacht without a submersible is like owning a plane without ever landing.”
Yachts are being built to carry submarines to
remote locations @ Triton Submarines © Nick Verola
UBoat Worx Nautilus Blue with back tender
