5 New Reasons to Get a Submarine
Triton Submarines, which makes personal submersibles that are used as water toys aboard some superyachts, is preparing to unveil five new models — one of which can take users as deep as 36,000 feet below sea level.
Triton already offers a model called the 3300/3, which is rated for a depth of 3,300 feet and carries three passengers. Among other things, the 3300/3 so far has been used to get the first-ever film of a giant squid. The next generation of Tritons will include versions of the 3300/3 designed for four, six and eight passengers, as well as a two-passenger version that is rated for 5,500 feet. We can only imagine what’s lurking down there, waiting to be captured with a camera.
The fifth new model that Triton is introducing is called the 36000/3 Full Ocean Depth. It will be the mother lode in private, deep-water exploration.
What is even 36,000 feet down, you ask? The Challenger Deep section of the Mariana Trench, for one thing (that’s the deepest known point in Earth’s seabed hydrosphere). Only four descents have ever been successful there — and only two of those were inside submersibles that held people. One was in 1960 with two Navy seamen onboard. The other was in 2012 by Hollywood director James Cameron, who descended solo.
There’s no word from Triton on pricing for its new submersibles, which will be unveiled at September’s Monaco Yacht Show. Suffice it to say that if you’re going where only three men have gone before, then you’d better be ready to pay to the moon and back.
Learn more at www.tritonsubs.com.
