Atlantis Submarines

Atlantis Submarines International, also known by the trade name Atlantis Adventures, is the world's largest public passenger submarine fleet designed for touring purposes, though there are smaller fleet public paasenger submarines in operation around the world. An example of single owner/vessel public passenger submarines is the DEEPSTAR submarine homeported in Saipan, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands [1].

Atlantis was founded by Dennis Hurd in 1985. The submarines are battery operated, non-polluting, air-conditioned, and pressurized. They are certified by the American Bureau of Shipping to operate to a depth of 150 feet. For safety reasons, unlike conventional Naval and research submarines which operate at or around neutral buoyancy, the Atlantis submarines maintain constant positive buoyancy, exerting constant thrust to remain submerged; thus, in the event of a power failure, they surface immediately and without human intervention.

In order for passengers to reach the submarine they board a shuttle ferry, then they enter the submarine via steep stairs. When the submarine goes down they see corals, sunken ships, treasures, and fish through large viewports. When the submarine ride is finished the passengers are returned by the ferry to shore where they are given dive certificates. Some 12 million passengers have taken the Atlantis submarine tour to date.

The corporate headquarters are in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with offices throughout the Caribbean. The Hawaiian headquarters are in Honolulu.

Fleet

Atlantis VII, near Honolulu

Typical interior view

The operating submarine fleet consists of:

Atlantis III

Atlantis IV

Atlantis V

Atlantis VI

Atlantis VII

Atlantis IX

Atlantis X

Atlantis XI

Atlantis XII

Atlantis XIV

Atlantis XV

The surface boats in the fleet are:

Discovery (tender)

Holokai (tender)

Malama Kai (tender)

Roxie (tugboat/lifeboat)

Locations

Atlantis has branches located in

Caribbean

• Barbados
• St Thomas USVI
• Saint Martin
• Grand Cayman
• Curaçao
• Aruba

Hawaii

• Honolulu
• Kona
• Maui (Lahaina)

Mexico

• Cozumel

Guam

• Piti

External links

The Atlantis corporate web site is AtlantisAdventures.com