Seafaring Super-Rich Dive to Ocean Bottom in Luxury Submarines

[donsu]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601093&refer=home&sid=a9s.rOyb3IaU

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Luxury-submarine makers and salesmen from the Pacific Ocean to the Persian Gulf say fantasy and secrecy are the foundations of this nautical niche industry built on madcap multibillionaires.

``Everyone down there is a wealthy eccentric,'' says Jean- Claude Carme, vice president of marketing for U.S. Submarines Inc., a Portland, Oregon-based bespoke submarine builder. ``They're all intensely secretive.''

Who owns the estimated 100 luxury subs carousing the Seven Seas mostly remains a mystery.

Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., warned his boat builder that loose lips sink ships.


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``If I told you, I'd have to shoot you,'' says Bruce Jones, president and founder of U.S. Submarines, about the names in his client book.

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``This is a nasty cut-throat business,'' Jones says.

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``Luxury submarines are the future vision for Tahiti,'' Temaru says. ``We call it our life-saving plan. Developing a luxury-submarine market and the tourism that would come from it is on target with visitors enjoying our beaches and marine life.''

As for that marine life, the local dolphin population can be a problem for some submariners.

Jaubert says he has clients who wrestle with how to conduct a deep-sea love affair in front of an observation window without creating an underwater paparazzi.

``Dolphins are easily excited when they sense people making love,'' Jones says. ``They get jealous and bang their noses against the window.''

The best solution? Curtains, says Jones.
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why the secrets?

[DS1]

1. moving around gold tax free?

[donsu]

4. moving something around for sure - all kinds of people need subs

nt

[Richard Steele]

5. I believe they siezed a 100-foot sub from one of the Medellin Cartel members...

Yup, found a link:
"Traffickers today have enough capital
under their control to build sophisticated
smuggling equipment, such as a high tech submarine
that was recently discovered by the Colombian
National Police.
Colombian cocaine traffickers had hired engineering
experts from Russia and the United States to help
with the design of the submarine, which apparently
would have been used to secretly ship large quantities
of cocaine to the United States."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/business/inside/colombian.html

[donsu]

6. yes, I remember that and didn't a So. Amer. country? want a sub

in the last year there has been a number of mentions of non military subs

is something up? more then just the rich playing with subs?

[Richard Steele]

7. Yes, I'd say it's more than just "playing with subs".

I'll betcha Ken Lay or one of his friends owned one, for starters...:tinfoilhat:

But mostly I'd suspect good old-fashioned smuggling. It's not just about getting
drugs INTO the USA- it's about getting all the cash back OUT to those
friendly banks in the caymans.

At the height of the market, a ton of pure coke was worth
over TWO tons of $20 bills. Somebody was moving LOTS of those
bales of money, somehow....and still are.

[Solly Mack]

2. The dolphins are only trying to give the people pointers

Tap-Tap-Tap...Dude, you're so doing that wrong! No wonder she's yawning.

[johnaries]

3. The mile-high club and now the mile-deep club. nt