A convention proposal envisaged nuclear-powered submarine container ships carrying 30,000-40,000 TEU, on the premise that merchant vessels would have to submerge to survive wartime attack. The proposal is treated sceptically because merchant shipping must earn a profit, and the crew requirements create another concern. The same display included a seabed-mining submarine that seemed more plausibly useful. A purpose-built underwater vessel could support work on the seabed as resource extraction moves into deeper water. That possible application remains a concept, with no claim here that the proposed machinery had been proved.
Notable Point · 1:47:02-1:53:38
Submarine container ships and the commercial purpose of shipping
A proposed submarine container ship raises questions about profitability and crewing, while seabed work offers a possible specialized use for large submarines.