DSV Shinkai 6500

The Shinkai 6500 (しんかい) is a crewed research submersible that can dive up to a depth of 6,500 metres (21,300 ft). It was completed in 1990. The Shinkai 6500 is owned and run by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and it is launched from the support vessel Yokosuka.^[1]

History
Japan
Name	Shinkai 6500
Builder	Mitsubishi
In service	1989
General characteristics
Type	Deep-submergence vehicle
Length	9.5 m (31 ft)
Beam	2.7 m (8.9 ft)
Draft	3.2 m (10 ft)
Installed power	Electric motor
Speed	2.5 knots (4.6 km/h; 2.9 mph)
Endurance	129h
Test depth	6,500 m (21,300 ft)
Complement	3

Shinkai 6500 front view

Two pilots and one researcher operate within a 73.5 mm-thick (2.89 in) titanium pressure hull with an internal diameter of 2.0 metres (6 ft 7 in).^[2] Buoyancy is provided by syntactic foam.^[3]

Three 14 cm (5.5 in) methacrylate resin view ports are arranged at the front and on each side of the vehicle.^[3]

A Lego set based on the submersible was created through the Lego Cuusoo website.^[4]

References

1. Ogura, S.; Kawama, I.; Sakurai, T.; Yoshiume, T.; lijima, K.; Imai, Y.; Ikuta, A.; Iwata, M. (2004). "Development of oil filled pressure compensated lithium-ion secondary battery for DSV Shinkai 6500". Oceans '04 MTS/IEEE Techno-Ocean '04 (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37600). Vol. 3. pp. 1720–1726. doi:10.1109/oceans.2004.1406384. ISBN 0-7803-8669-8. S2CID 40281912. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
2. Komuku, Tetsuya; Matsumoto, Keita; Imai, Yoshiji; Sakurai, Toshiaki; Ito, Kazuhisa (April 2007). "1000 Dives by the Shinkai 6500 in 18 Years". 2007 Symposium on Underwater Technology and Workshop on Scientific Use of Submarine Cables and Related Technologies. pp. 21–27. doi:10.1109/ut.2007.370833. ISBN 978-1-4244-1207-5. S2CID 22304940. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
3. "SHINKAI 6500". Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
4. Becraft, Andrew (12 March 2012). "DSV Beluga dives into the uncharted abyss". The Brothers Brick. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

External links

• Media related to Shinkai 6500 (submarine, 1989) at Wikimedia Commons
• JAMSTEC Shinkai 6500 page
• On June 23, 2013, the world's first live broadcast from 5,000 metres deep was carried out by the Shinkai 6500