# World's first luxury submarines being made in Dubai



## Dubai_Steve (Jan 11, 2005)

*World's first luxury submarines being made in Dubai* 










Tucked away in Dubai's Ports Freezone is Exomos, a factory warehouse where the world's first luxury consumer submersibles are being assembled. 

These sci-fi looking crafts come in nine different models and can be custom designed to the whims of a buyer's imagination, with some submarines designed to look like stingrays and gobies. 

Exomos was established over a year ago by Herve Jaubert, a Frenchman and a former mechanical engineer for the French Naval Academy. He came to Dubai after failing to make his underwater dreams a reality by setting up shop in the United States and France. 

Jaubert says that although he sells submarines around the world, it is in the Middle East that they are most popular. Jaubert puts this down to government restrictions in the west that make it difficult for people to own submarines. 

"When you have a submarine and when you want to operate a submarine in the Western world, it is not easy. Government agencies do not like submarines," he explains. 

What makes Exomos submersibles unique is a technology called 'Ambient Pressure Design' which means that Jaubert's submarines are not claustrophobic but offer panoramic views underwater from their large windows making them ideal for tourist and leisure use. 

The "Proteus" - a submersible Yacht - has become by far most popular product manufactured by Exomos. Although it has not been officially released yet, the 'Proteus' already has an international waiting list. The boat/submarine can hold up to 14 people and can reach a maximum depth of 18 metres. It sells for more than 5 million dollars (USD). 

Jaubert says that his submarines are also popular with the police and coast guards, and that Indonesia has ordered submarines from his company for military purposes. 

"My submarines are the only ones that can be operated in shallow waters, the big subs they can't go there because it's too close and not deep enough. So I'm the only one to be able to go into the water in shallow waters which makes it easier for the police to hide and make surveillance of the coastal waters, it's very effective. And on top of that my submarines don't even look like a submarine, they look like a boat. So it's deceptive," says Jaubert. 

*Deals with tourist operators in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are already in the works * and Exomos is now looking to branch out to the Red Sea.


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