When you hear the word “submarine” you may picture one of the Navy’s nuclear subs: Enormous vessels the length of a couple of football fields, with a crew of more than 100 people. But Triton Submarines, probably the most famous name when it comes to deep-sea exploration submersibles, has something a lot smaller in mind with its new DeepView 24 submarine.
Designed to transport 24 passengers, along with a pilot and co-pilot, to depths of 328 feet underwater, the new sub may just be the most luxurious way to explore the depths of the ocean. And, thanks to an array of ten 20,000 lumen LEDs and amazing panoramic windows (boasting 5.5-inch thick transparent acrylic), it’s almost certainly the best way to glimpse exactly what wonders those depths have to offer.
“The DeepView represents a massive leap forward in civil submarine technology,” Triton co-founder and CEO Bruce Jones told Digital Trends. “Its incredible panoramic viewing provides a fully immersive guest experience. No other subsea vehicle provides such remarkable viewing — and, after all, that’s why people go underwater in the first place.”
The DeepView 24 is the first of a new range of Triton subs that can be able to be modified to house anywhere between 12 and 66 passengers. Each modular acrylic section of the sub can accommodate six passengers, with sub owners specifying how many people they want to be able to transport. This 24-seat version is roughly 50 feet long and weighs 121,250 lbs. It has electric steering and propulsion, a 14-hour battery, and top speeds of three knots (approximately 3.5 miles per hour).
All of this costs a pretty penny, of course. The DeepView 24 will set you back a not-inconsiderable $7.7 million and comes with an 18-month waiting period. (At least that stops it from being an impulse purchase, we guess!) But while that price tag might make it affordable only to the world’s wealthiest people, Triton doesn’t view this as a private vessel.
“The DeepView series of submersibles has been developed specifically for commercial operators to provide guests with hourlong tours of wrecks, coral reefs, and other subsea features,” Jones explained.
In other words, expect this nifty sub to be coming soon to a harbor near you.
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