OceanGate, Inc.
OceanGate Inc. is a privately held company operating out of Everett, Washington that provides subsea manned submersible solutions for industry, research and exploration.
Cyclops (500 meters)
In collaboration with the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory, OceanGate developed the submersible Cyclops 1, a revolutionary 5-person submersible that is capable of reaching depths up to a maximum of 500 meters (1,640 ft).[1] Launched in March 2015, the Cyclops 1 submersible is the first Cyclops Class submersible developed by OceanGate.
Titan (4000 meters)
Titan’s pressure vessel is made of carbon fiber and titanium. The filament wound cylinder that forms the center section of the pressure vessel is 5 in (130 mm) thick and made from over 800 layers of carbon fiber material. The entire pressure vessel consists of two titanium hemispheres, two matching titanium interface rings, and the 142 cm (56 in) internal diameter, 2.4 meters (7 ft 10 in) long carbon fiber wound cylinder – the largest such device ever built for use in a manned submersible.
The use of carbon fiber drastically reduces the overall weight compared to other deep-sea submersibles and the integrated launch and recovery platform increases flexibility during deployment and transportation. As a result, Titan is incredibly mobile compared to other manned submersibles, making it more financially efficient for research and exploration.
References
- "An ambassador to Neptune's kingdom | The Economist". Archived from the original on 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2015-10-05.