Jacques Rougerie’s “SeaOrbiter” was, for the longest time, just an on-again-off-again dream.
The concept—a vertical ship-submarine hybrid—was designed to help mankind probe the ocean blue, 90% of which still remains unexplored. While the craft’s design has evolved immensely over the years, tweaked innumerable times to achieve optimal seafaring form, the final version—which vaguely resembles a nose-diving shark—measures in at 58 meters (roughly 190 feet), with 27 meters (four stories) above and 31 meters (six levels) below the waterline.
Described as an “autonomous drifting underwater scientific platform,” the vessel—inspired by the legacies of naval explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, oceanographer Jacques Piccard, and sci-fi author Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)—will enable a multidisciplinary crew of researchers to live underwater for months as they study marine life, allowing them to collect samples and observe phenomena in real time.
Capable of deploying a range of exploratory vehicles and devices directly into the abyss, the ship will conduct analyses at depths of over 6,000 meters (19,685 feet). A virtual underwater laboratory, it will also act as a space simulator, providing a pressurized habitat with conditions similar to those found in space in which astronauts can train. In addition, the ship—crafted out of Sealium, a recyclable aluminum specially designed for marine environments—will generate all the electricity necessary to operate itself by harvesting wind, wave, and solar power.
Capable of deploying a range of exploratory vehicles and devices directly into the abyss, the ship... [+]
Nicknamed “The Ocean’s Sentinel,” the project—which will cost approximately €50 million—has amassed countless supporters worldwide, most notably luxury watch brand Rolex, naval industry bigwig DCNS, and numerous leading scientific organizations including NASA and National Geographic. Proponents have managed to gather 40% of the funds required to build the ship, partly via a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than enough to cover the “Eye of SeaOrbiter”—an 18-meter centerpiece integrated into the upper portion of the craft (set to house the craft’s communication systems and lookout post, it will allow researchers to share their findings and interact with the public via a live feed). Though the Eye was completed last May, construction on the rest of the ship has not yet begun.
Someday Rougerie hopes to create an entire fleet of the plumb vessels and sail one in every ocean, transforming the SeaOrbiter concept into a “network of Sentinels.”
Nicknamed “The Ocean’s Sentinel,” the pioneering project has amassed countless supporters worldwide,... [+]
Rougerie details his love for the sea in an interview with the radio station French Inter, saying, “I feel very, very good underwater. I feel different. Another type of imagination is awakened in me as soon as I am underwater.”
Recently the French architect unveiled plans for Cite des Mériens: an even more ambitious self-sustaining seacraft designed to produce no waste. Meant to accommodate 7,000 researchers, professors, and scholars, the stingray-shaped structure would house living quarters, laboratories, classrooms, as well as space for leisure activities and sports.
Note: A previous version of this article reported the total cost of the project as €35 million; it has been updated to reflect a more current estimate.
