Turkey's first touristic submarine "Nemo" has recently launched in the Mediterranean Sea and is ready for tourist tours as well as cultural events. Built in Finland by a private company, the submarine is 18.5 meters long and costs $4 million. The submarine was brought over on a Belgian-flagged ship and was first launched in the Antalya Harbor before being taken to Setur Marina.
Weighing 106 tons with a length of 65 feet, a width of 13 feet and a height of 21 feet, the submarine can dive to a depth of 110 meters and will start tourist tours from April in Antalya's Alanya district. With a capacity of 48 passengers, The fully equipped submarine will be in service 11 months of the year and will set off six times a day. Voyagers can stay underwater for between 60 and 90 minutes.
The submarine's owner, Yunus Emre Yavuzyiğit, also the CEO of IHS Travel and Touristfly, told Doğan News Agency that tourism in Antalya is mainly stuck between the sea, sand and the sun and they tried to bring something different. The company researched touristic submarines and found one in the Canary Islands. "The model we found in Lanzarote was merely comprised of plates and needed to be modernized entirely. The renovation took two years and the submarine was brought to Antalya in 10 days." Yavuzyiğit also said that another order has been made for the second submarine.
The submarine has all the necessary equipment to fulfill the necessities of voyagers and staff. The submarine also contains enough oxygen masks and supplies for 48 people onboard.
Nemo can reach depths of up to 360 feet (110 meters) and the ship can stay submerged for more than 80 hours in a single voyage.
