U Boat Worx C-Explorer 3

Centurion had an almost out-of-this-world experience while testing the Dutch company’s latest three-person submarine at last year’s Monaco Yacht Show. On a demonstration dive in Port Hercules, it was possible to imagine just how exceptional the view might be on a journey into the deep around, say, the Maldives or in Antarctica. The craft can reach a depth of 300 metres and the iconic acrylic sphere cockpit allows for a 360-dégree vista.

Deepflight Dragon

What looks like something out of Formula One racing – or a science-fiction film – is in fact the next generation of underwater vehicle from Graham and Karen Hawkes’s inventive DeepFlight – the first to offer hovering capability. DeepFlight Dragon can not only “fly” alongside whales, dolphins and other sea creatures, it can hover over coral reefs and shipwrecks. With only minimal training needed to pilot the capsule – the DeepFlight Dive Manager proprietary technology controls critical functions – previously inaccessible areas of the oceans can now be explored. Electrically propelled, the two-passenger Dragon is equipped with a lithium-ion-phosphate battery pack – a 40V system that allows for up to six hours flight at a depth of 100m. At only 1,800kg and 5m in length it also fits on more yachts than other submarines on the market.