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.
More
More
The Swiss legends that flow around Lake Lucerne
This content was published on
From the founding of Switzerland to William Tell. Lake Lucerne is the backdrop to the most iconic legends of the Swiss Confederation.
Swiss price watchdog slams excessive prices for generic medicines
This content was published on
The cheapest generic medicines available in Switzerland are more than twice as expensive as in other countries, according to a study by the Swiss price watchdog.
Nature should not figure in net zero calculations: academic study
This content was published on
The natural removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by forests or oceans should not be included in the net-zero balance of climate protection measures, argue researchers.
This content was published on
None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.
This content was published on
Nestlé's new CEO Laurent Freixe, has presented plans for the future of the world's largest food company, after his first few weeks in office.
Swiss foreign minister calls on Moscow to end Ukraine war
This content was published on
It's high time Moscow ended its war against Ukraine, Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis tells the UN Security Council.
This content was published on
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
This content was published on
Archaeologists have, for the first time, found traces of a Bronze Age lakeside village under the surface of Lake Lucerne.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.