Submarine to take passengers through depths of Lake Lucerne

Philippe Epelbaum in his P-63 submarine, "Subspirit", in Lucerne on Tuesday Keystone / Philipp Schmidli

Non-claustrophobic passengers will soon be able to dive up to 100 metres into Lake Lucerne in a submarine.

Two shipwrecks will be visited during the dives, which will start at the end of the year, explained Philippe Epelbaum, founder of the company SubspiritExternal link, at the Museum of Transport in Lucerne on Tuesday. “But there’s also rubbish,” he added.

The P-63 “Subspirit” is the only submarine in Switzerland with a licence for passenger travel. The grey, 5.5-metre-long, 2.5-metre-wide and 6.5-tonne capsule has room for three passengers and a pilot and will be put into the water on October 16.

The 6.5-tonne capsule has room for three passengers and a pilot Keystone / Philipp Schmidli

The exclusive ride will cost CHF490 ($530) per person. There are plans to extend the dives to other bodies of water.

Constant pressure

The P-63 was built on Lake Constance in 1987 and was mainly used for inspections and underwater work, for example on dam walls.

It has four battery-operated electric motors, one of which is responsible for the descent. The devices on board can also be controlled mechanically; brown wooden levers inside the submarine are responsible for inflating the ballast tank, for example.

The survival time on board is 96 hours, and there is a dry toilet for emergencies. The Nidwalden Navigation Office has approved the submarine for a diving depth of up to 300 metres. Behind the five-centimetre-thick steel hull there is constant pressure; unlike conventional diving, no decompression is necessary.

Epelbaum also wants to make the submarine available for technical trips, such as search and rescue missions.