Wealthy people from all over the world decided to support the fashion trend set by Russian businessman Roman Abramovich and began buying up private submarines.
The Times reported that recently the number of billionaires who plan to buy a submarine for private use in the near future has increased significantly. According to the publication, over the past two years, submarine manufacturers have sold between 15 and 25 copies to private individuals. Experts suggest that sales could double next year.
The late Microsoft founder Paul Allen and Russian billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich were the first to show interest in exploring the underwater world. In addition to the submarine, Abramovich owns two luxury yachts, which he uses as a summer residence and a place for receiving guests.
An employee of the Dutch company U-Boat, Roy Hendra, notes that today the rich are looking for not just a submarine for a pleasant pastime, but a ship specially equipped for research.
Among the 10 boats sold this year, Hendra highlights the Nemo model, which is capable of diving to a depth of more than 90 m with two crew members on board. The price of such a submarine is 875 thousand pounds (about 88.5 million rubles).
At the moment, the most expensive submarine cost its owner 2.2 million pounds (approximately 222.5 million rubles).
