Triton Submarines: Luxury in the deep sea
In the US state of Florida, deep sea submersibles are being developed for researchers and the super rich. The most important components are the diving domes made from PLEXIGLAS®, which still allow for a 360° view even at depths of 1,000 meters.
Triton Submarines LLC builds luxury submersibles for people and institutes with the corresponding seven-figure budgets. Accordingly, Triton’s customers are placing very high demands on quality and punctuality. In addition, the submersibles need to be capable of withstanding deep-sea dives – requirements that prompted Patrick Lahey, President of Triton Submarines LLC, to turn to Röhm and the PLEXIGLAS® processor Heinz Fritz GmbH in Herbrechtingen, Baden-Württemberg.
“These two companies saved us,” says Lahey frankly. “We needed perfect spheres and reliable service, otherwise we might have had to close down.” The ‘spheres’ are the crystal clear, round diving domes that are the typical feature of Triton submersibles.
Dives up to 1,000 meters deep
“These two companies have saved us.”
- Patrick Lahey
President of Triton Submarines LLC
The wishes of the company were fulfilled. At a price of about USD 4 million for a submersible with a maximum diving depth of 1,000 meters, it goes without saying that the clients’ expectations are very high. “But our customers never actually ask about the price of a submersible,” says Michael Haley, Director Sales and Marketing at Triton Submarines LLC. “They just want to know what extras there are and whether the submersible will fit on their superyacht tender.”
The super rich are an important target group for the submersible manufacturer. Haley: “15 years ago nobody had a helicopter, and now nearly everyone owns one. Deep sea submersibles are the next big thing.”
That’s why Triton is in contact with the shipyards where superyachts are built, so that either a garage for the submersible is included right from the start or the submersible is offered alongside as special equipment. This may sound very expensive, but Triton’s response to this is astounding. They say that a space flight would swallow up millions of dollars just for one single trip, whereas owners of a submersible could dive into the deep sea again and again – and 95 percent remains unchartered territory.
Two hemispheres
Pooled expertise
Triton Submarines is proud of the fact that they have the most experienced team in the industry, with a total of 350 years’ worth of collective experience in deep sea work. The captains, who are referred to as “pilots”, all have between 1,500 and 10,000 dives under their belt.
The super rich are not the only group that Triton Subs has in mind as potential buyers. Biologists, archaeologists and film crews also appreciate the panoramic view from the submersibles. And the company also offers special equipment and custom submersible designs for particular applications. The fact that Röhm and Heinz Fritz came to the attention of Triton Subs was all thanks to filmmakers Joachim and Kirsten Jakobsen, who operate a submersible in the Azores, where among other things they found a missing German submarine.
In 2012, the two companies developed a method for producing optically perfect and high-pressure resistant PLEXIGLAS® hemispheres for them. Triton’s spheres consist of two hemispheres that are invisibly joined together using an adhesive developed by Röhm. When it comes to quality, word gets around quickly in the small world of deep sea diving.
Diving to depths of up to 2,300 meters
For Wolfgang Stuber, the special glazing expert at PLEXIGLAS®, the spheres are a leap forward for Triton in terms of quality. “Our first hemisphere had a thickness of 14 centimeters, with Triton we have reached 22 centimeters.” In their current project, Röhm, Heinz Fritz and Triton aim to build a sphere with a wall thickness of 30 centimeters – the thickest transparent wall of acrylic glass that has ever been manufactured. This will make it possible to dive to depths of up to around 2,300 meters. Another project focuses on submersibles with seven seats that are to carry passengers on cruise ships to depths of 300 meters.
