U-Boat Worx has unveiled a new take on tourist submarines, designed to show lucky passengers more of the underwater world around them. The Cruise Sub can take 5, 7 or 9 people to 1,140 m (3,740 ft), which the company says makes them the deepest-diving 5 and 7-person tourist submarines on the market.
Whereas traditional tourist submarines are laid out like a bus with small windows on the side, U-Boat Worx places passengers behind two large acrylic spheres for a panoramic view of what's going on around them. The driver sits within the cylindrical pressure hull in the middle, and the interior seating can rotate to give everyone a good look at what's going on.
This layout is based on the design used on the luxury-yacht and research-friendly units U-Boat Worx has created in past.
The interior has been designed with luxury in mind, which means there are comfortable leather seats, a bespoke audio system and air conditioning - more than can be said for your average SCUBA expedition. Speaking of SCUBA diving, passengers need no qualifications to explore the Little Mermaid's environment.
Pilots do need training, but it only takes two weeks to become certified and U-Boat Worx says pilots can even hand the controls to passengers in a safe environment. The Cruise Subs are battery powered and can dive for up to twelve hours.
Pricing for the five-seat Cruise Sub starts at €2,530,000 (US$2,886,224), but there are optional extras available. U-Boat Worx is hoping to sell the 5, 7 and 9 seat subs to cruise ship operators and resorts.
Source: U-Boat Worx
