U-Boat Worx
Dutch submersible manufacturer
U-Boat Worx is a Dutch manufacturer of crewed submersibles, which it designs and builds in-house in the Netherlands for private, scientific, and commercial use, including the superyacht and cruise-tourism sectors. The company is the only maker to series-produce private submersibles, the NEMO line. Trade publications have described it as the largest builder of private submarines in the world with over 60 submarines in operation.
Its models range from two-person recreational submersibles to the flagship model that can dive to 3,000 meters (9,845 feet)., and its Super Sub with a top speed of up to 10 knots, is marketed as the fastest private submersible.
History
In the early 2000s, Bert Houtman had a successful career in the software industry. It culminated in the stock exchange listing of his company, Exact Software.[1] After that, he began looking for a personal submarine for his own enjoyment. However, he discovered that submersibles were used almost exclusively by the military or scientific institutions.
In his quest to personalise submarines for everyday use, Bert Houtman teamed up with a Canadian inventor, Peter Mitton,[2] who had pioneered a small one person Sub (C - Quester)[3] that provided the template for what was to follow.
That partnership ended in 2005;[1] Bert Houtman founded U-Boat Worx B.V. determined to expand the audience for private submersibles.
U-Boat Worx delivered in 2015 a private submarine for a Cruise Ship, this was the first cruise ship with a submarine operation onboard.[3] Later the Crystal Esprit and Genting Dream also took delivery of a U-Boat Worx submersibles.
The public source identifies “U-Boat Worx” as dutch submersible manufacturer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around U-Boat, Worx and Dutch.
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This entry incorporates text from “U-Boat Worx” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.