Deepest-Diving Submarines in the World
When I co-founded OceanGate in 2009, my partner and I wanted to create a business that helped "expand humanity's understanding of the world's oceans" ... by using manned submersibles ("submarines") to support ocean exploration and marine research. One of the most common questions I get is "How deep can submarines go?"
Well, the deepest part of the world's oceans lies approximately 11,000 meters underwater. The Challenger Deep region of the Mariana Trench in the South Pacific is such a deep canyon that you could place Mt. Everest inside and still have 1.5 miles of water above the peak. Only two human beings have ever been to this remote location: Swiss oceanographer and engineer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh made the descent on January 23, 1960. No one has been back since (although there are currently a few individual efforts underway to do so).
In fact, the deepest diving (non-military) manned submersibles in the world reach just about half that depth (which still gives humans access to roughly 98% of the world's oceans). There are currently only 6 submarines in the world capable of reaching these extreme depths, and they are operated by 5 national governments. Hopefully, this will change in the near future (with OceanGate playing a key role), but until then here is the line-up:
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