1000 Dives by the Shinkai 6500 in 18 Years

Abstract

Manned deep submersible "Shinkai 6500", which has a depth capability of 6500 m, was developed in 1989 by JAMSTEC. She is the deepest manned submersible in the world. Since the operation started in 1990, she contributed to science investigation over 18 years. The Shinkai 6500 achieved 1000th dive in March 2008. She made dives in the trench area around Japan, in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, in the Indian Ocean, in the Atlantic Ocean, and etc. Various investigations on deep sea biology and microbiology in extreme environment, earthquake or volcanic activity etc. have been carried out using the advantage of her depth capability. In this report, the history and the operation of "Shinkai 6500" will be introduced.