Submarine attraction receives regular inspection

Eagle-eyed Cayman residents will have noticed a crane catching one of the biggest fish in Cayman waters on Friday, 9 September. 

The Atlantis submarine, said Bud Johnson, is undergoing regular scheduled checks which occur every three years. 

“The submarine is classed by the American Bureau of Shipping and we also operate under the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands under the Cayman flag so have to operate under certain guidelines,” he said. “We also operate under license by Atlantis Submarines International. That means that we have certain inspections and in the case of the American Bureau that verifies if we are classed or not. Atlantis is the license agreement under which the local company can operate. 

“Every year the bureau has to come down and do certain inspections and every three years is the special periodical survey where they have to pull the submarine out of the water and inspect certain things,” Mr. Johnson said. “Also, every three years we are required to change out our whole battery system by Atlantis Submarines International.” 

Systems test 

The sub is also undergoing its annual shipping registry inspection and will be out of the water until Monday, 19 September, Mr. Johnson said. 

“Once we have relaunched the submarine one of the things that is required by all three bodies is that a systems test dive occurs where inspectors, pilots, maintenance people run through all the systems to make sure they are performing as expected,” he said. “Once that is satisfied they will give us the go-ahead to carry passengers again. So it’s not just a paint job.”