Atlantis Submarines
Encyclopedia
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 http://saipansubmarine.com/.
Atlantis was founded by Dennis Hurd in 1985. The submarine
s 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 coral
s, sunken ship
s, 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 Hawaii
an headquarters are in Honolulu
.
The surface boats in the fleet are:
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
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 http://saipansubmarine.com/.
Atlantis was founded by Dennis Hurd in 1985. The submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s are battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
operated, non-polluting, air-conditioned, and pressurized. They are certified by the American Bureau of Shipping
American Bureau of Shipping
The American Bureau of Shipping is a classification society, with a mission to promote the security of life, property and the natural environment, primarily through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities...
to operate to a depth of 150 feet. For safety reasons, unlike conventional Naval and research submarines which operate at or around neutral buoyancy
Neutral buoyancy
Neutral buoyancy is a condition in which a physical body's mass equals the mass it displaces in a surrounding medium. This offsets the force of gravity that would otherwise cause the object to sink...
, 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
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, then they enter the submarine via steep stairs. When the submarine goes down they see coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
s, sunken ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s, treasures, and fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
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
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, with offices throughout the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. The Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an headquarters are in Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
.
Fleet
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)
Caribbean
- BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
- St ThomasSaint Thomas, U.S. Virgin IslandsSaint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
USVI - Saint MartinSaint MartinSaint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...
- Grand CaymanGrand CaymanGrand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the nation's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles southwest of Cayman Brac.-Geography:Grand Cayman encompasses 76% of...
- CuraçaoCuraçaoCuraçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
- ArubaArubaAruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...