MUSA&T, and there is sufficient interest in it to fully 
utilize available time. Assuming approximately 150 
useful bottom days per year, the overall average 
utilization of the six platforms is approximately one- 
third. 
Many of the more valuable investigations, which 
are ideally conducted from habitats or undersea 
laboratories, involve gaining knowledge of contin- 
uous environmental processes. These investigations 
often require the ability to revisit a site periodically 
over a period of time (frequently a year or more). 
Thus, the lack of regular scheduling for access at 
investigation sites reduced the availability of the 
platforms to investigators. 
SUBMERSIBLES 
Tables 3 and 4 list 36 U.S. submersibles with 
depth capabilities of 600 feet or greater whose ex- 
istence and status could be documented. Of these, 
26 are civilian owned and operated, one is U.S. Navy 
owned and civilian operated, and nine are Navy 
owned and operated. Table 5 summarizes the vehicle 
categories by three operating depth classes. 
Those 26 civilian-owned and -operated are the sur- 
vivors of the numerous submersibles built during the 
1960’s building boom, with a few built in recent 
years that were more mission oriented in their de- 
sign. Others have been either scrapped or, as in the 
case of the BEN FRANKLIN (table 6), sold outside 
the United States. 
Table 6 lists characteristics of Canadian-oper- 
ated submersibles. Several Canadian firms have es- 
tablished U.S. subsidiaries to facilitate leasing to 
U.S. interests. 
Although there is no formally stated or legislated 
requirement for submersibles used in civil programs 
to be either Navy- or American Bureau of Shipping 
(ABS)-certified (or capable of being certified), 
certification is an accepted prerequisite because of 
Table 3. Characteristics of civilian-operated U.S. submersibles 
Name Owner Status* Maximum oper- Submerged speed Life support 
ating depth 
Cruising Maximum Endurance Normal Max. 
Ft Knots Knots Hr Man-hr Man-hr 
ASHERAHD o35cs-oo.ccdectacscssccccdiee Techoceans O,N 600 1 35 12 48 48 
SEA RANGER . ...Werne Engineering O,N 600 — 4 60 30 120 
SUBMANAUT . ... submarine Services N,S 600 5 10 100 48 48 
TECHDIVER oooeo.cccecccccccsscssveee. International Underwater O,N 600 2 4 4 12 18 
Contractors. 
PG Sie ee EN Oe eee Perry Oceans Services 0,C 800 1 s} 8 48 48 
SHELF DIVER . in do. 0,L,C 800 2 3 6 40 60 
BENTHOS V Garrison Diving & N,S 1,000 2 3} 4 96 96 
Salvage Co. 
GU PRY ieee ee Sun Shipbuilding & 0,C 1,000 3 3 56 56 56 
Drydock Co. 
NEKTON ALPHA |... General Oceanographics N,O 1,000 2 3:5 6 10 48 
NEKTON BETA & GAMMA do. 0,C 1,000 2 35 6 48 48 
SEA LINK . e ... Smithsonian Institution 0,C 1,000 1 2 8 72 72 
SEA RAY Submarine Research S,N 1,000 2 6 5 16 32 
& Development. 
SNOOPER oie csscscssscccsscshicrsians Sea Graphic O,N 1,000 1 3 6 10 10 
PCO ane eo re eae Taylor Diving & 0,C 1,200 —_— 4 12 72 72 
Salvage Co. 
STARG er en Se ee General Dynamics O,N 1,200 1 3 8 48 48 
OPSUB .......... Ocean Systems L,Cc 1,200 2 —_— —_— 24 26 
DEEP DIVER . _Perry Oceans Services N.S 1,335 2 3} 4 40 60 
BEAVER IV 28. icc2f5.005....Soscctinlio International Underwater 0O,C 2,000 2.5 5 12 48 144 
Contractors. 
DEEPSTAR 2000 .......................... Westinghouse 0,C 2,000 1 3 8 36 108 
STAR Ill . 6 Scripps Institution S,N 2,000 2 SHS) 6 120 120 
DEEPSTAR 4000 . _Westinghouse S,N 4,000 0.5 3} 8 12 48 
DOWB) 625 ccccccctnae. .Santa Barbara City S,N 6,500 0.5 25 26 195 195 
College. 
Lockheed 0,C 8,000 2 4 18 192 204 
U.S. Navy 0,C 12,000 1 2 Tae 72 
ALUMINAUT ..Reynolds International S,N * 15,000 1.5 SS) 24 336 502 
* O—Operational, whether employed or not; C—certified; 
S—in storage, either whole or partially disassembled. 
? Approximately 8,000 without new hemiheads. 
N—not certified; L—on long-term lease overseas; 
