Civilian Submarines

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gf0012-aus RE:Civilian Submarines 12/10/2003 7:36:21 PM

There were plans to use old soviet boomers as underwater cargo transports, but that died pretty quickly. Most of the subs were so stuffed it wasn't commercially viable. I'm not so sure how keen any power would be to have a commercial boomer hijacked mid ocean by some lunatic pi$$ed of with the way the world has treated them.. It would be a nightmare in the making

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Roman RE:Civilian Submarines 12/10/2003 7:55:04 PM

Well, it is difficult to hijack something underwater. ;) In any case, such a hijacked transport boomer would have no nukes and no weapons, so the terrorists could not do much with it that they could not do with a normal ship (ramming, etc.), except perhaps sell the technology. There was one other use I forgot to mention - I think some Russian boomer subs were being considered as launchers of satellites. The advantage was supposed to be being able to launch from the equator, where the centripetal force from Earth's rotation is the strongest and thus the least power is required to reach orbit. I don't know what became of that project, but I have got the feeling that it died... I suppose submarines must be just too expensive to use for most civilian/personal/comercial/private purposes, which can be achieved by other means. I can envision a passenger or a cruise submarine that stays surfaced during nice weather so that passengers/tourists can sunbathe and sightsee and submerges during storms to offer a smoother ride. Or there could be underwater cruises - something like the current tourist submarines, but it would actually be a long lasting cruise rather than a few hours. Alternatively I suppose submarines could transport cargo, though I see no advantage they would offer over surface ships except perhaps for the ability to transport sensitive machinery that would run the chance of breaking in a storm on a surface ship. The cost for any of these options, however, would likely be prohibitive, so that rules them out, as unlike in the defense/military sphere governments rightly have little interest in these issues.

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gf0012-aus RE:Civilian Submarines 12/11/2003 10:22:24 PM

"Colombia's Narco Submarines Details have emerged of the clandestine cocaine- and heroin-carrying miniature submarines captured by the Armada Republica de Colombia (ARC) two years ago. The Colombian press has christened them "narco submarines," and five have been captured since 1997. One appears to be a semisubmersible, crewed by only five people. It carries a commercial radar for navigation, but photographs show no sign of a periscope. The fins of its small sail are used to assist submersion and navigation while running submerged. The use of semisubmersibles for drug trafficking is reminiscent of the use of similar low-visibility craft to insert North Korean special forces into South Korea. The ARC has at least one swimmer-delivery vehicle of its own for clandestine activities against the drug cartels. "

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Roman RE:Civilian Submarines 12/12/2003 2:20:57 AM

Very interesting! So now we need submarine police (j/k)! I guess any valuable cargo that needs to be transported clandestinely or at least discreetly could use submarines as almost ideal delivery platforms.

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Thomas RE:Civilian Submarines 12/15/2003 4:30:00 AM

I've heard of a Danish plumber that build a submarine - wasn't any good though. Generally civilian submarines are military sub more or less. The ALVIN; well deep sea exploration is very - VERY - expensive, and the ones with enough at stake are military. Whenever I hear of submarine (Jaques Costeau included) I think of what military purpose it serves.

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Roman RE:Civilian Submarines 12/15/2003 11:29:18 PM

That is a cynical take on it Thomas, but it may have much truth in it. BTW: What is the Jaques Costeau submarine like?

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Thomas RE:Civilian Submarines 12/17/2003 8:28:24 AM

It was a small saucer-like thing with low speed.

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jastayme3 11/21/2006 1:05:39 AM

Prospecting? As has been said it is to expensive for the possibilities. But there is certainly something down there worth getting-oil has already been found. And sooner or later it will be possible to make a model cheap enough.
That would also by the way make for a good sci-fi series.

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rockymtnclimber Submarine Yachts 11/21/2006 1:01:52 PM

Go here and be prepared to be blown away! link

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rockymtnclimber http://www.ussubmarines.com 11/21/2006 1:03:19 PM

See above. The link did not go through.

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