When you’ve already hosted dozens of parties at your home, in your garden, on a rooftop, and even on a boat or yacht, it seems that there’s only one more place for you to explore: under the water! But that can’t happen, can it? Is there an entertainment space that can be safely placed underwater on demand? Actually there is, and it’s called UWEP (Under Water Entertainment Platform), from Dutch private submarine company U-Boat Worx.
What is UWEP?
Under Water Entertainment Platform, or UWEP for short, is not just a completely new kind of electric submarine, but also an entirely new way to entertain. The main idea is an autonomous submersible vehicle that can accommodate up to 120 guests and crew, and take them down to 656 feet, or 200 meters, as they enjoy a whole new category of party atmosphere.
Measuring 115 feet in length, 25 feet in width, and 23 feet in height, the UWEP submarine delivers about 1,600 square feet (150 square meters) of entertainment floor space, which can be configured to suit whatever the customer needs: sit-down dinner in a restaurant, charity casino night, underwater yoga studio — whatever grabs your fancy.
What’s Powering UWEP?
We mentioned already the sub is fully autonomous and operates safely even with a skeleton crew. It’s powered by a 1.2-mWh battery under its floor that delivers up to 18 hours of uninterrupted underwater cruising time before it would need to return for recharging. The top speed of UWEP is about 3 knots, or 3.4 mph.
When UWEP needs recharging, it can simply return to any port or floating dock to do so. Access is simple via one of the two large hatches on board. The 914 square feet (85 square meters) roof space also can be used as a sundeck for when UWEP is at the surface, allowing pre-submerging drinks to be enjoyed in the harbor before attending the main event in full view of the fishes, rays and other sea life below.
Is UWEP Safe?
Obviously, when it comes to something like an underwater entertainment space, the first question people have is about potential safety issues. What if power were to run out, for example? U-Boat Worx have built a robust contingency power system into UWEP, which can keep its critical systems active for up to 96 hours (4 days) until a rescue party comes.
The vessel is also equipped with further safeguards, such as the “Maximum Depth Protection” or MDP feature. This is a system that actively prevents the pilot from diving any deeper than UWEP’s maximum safe operating depth (656-ft/200-m). Should the maximum depth be breached, the vessel’s mechanism kicks in to start raising it back to a safe depth.
Finally, among the many safety features is also the “Deadman’s Switch” or DMS system, that will automatically resurface the submarine in the highly unlikely event that the pilot becomes incapacitated or otherwise unable to control the vessel.
Learn more about UWEP and other U-Boat Worx vessels at the company’s website, where you can download their brochure.
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