It was a special sight in Breda on Wednesday afternoon: a submarine sails through the Nieuwe Mark. The occasion is the 15th anniversary of the Breda submarine builder U-Boat Worx. It was the company’s first launch in their hometown and probably the last. “We can’t dive here. There are all kinds of bicycles and shopping carts on the bottom,” says pilot Ridder Houtman.
Actually, the company has been around for 17 years, but because of corona they are only now celebrating their 15th anniversary.
The submarine worth three million euros attracts a lot of attention. On bridges, people spontaneously stop to see what that glass dome actually is. “It is definitely something for rich people,” begins director Erik Hasselman. “But we are already making submersibles for 600,000 euros.”
“If you don’t have one then you don’t belong anymore.”
That is a ‘bargain’ in the submarine world. “It’s a completely new market. The fact that we can offer it for this price is truly unique,” Hasselman says. In the past 17 years, 50 submarines have come out of the factory in Breda. “Most go to superyacht owners, but now also to cruise ships.”
But with the price of ‘only’ six tons, the company hopes to become more accessible. “We want 1,000 of our company’s submarines to be sailing by 2030. So if you don’t have one, you don’t belong anymore,” laughs the director.
Would you like to see how such a submarine works and what you see in the water of Breda? You can see that in the video.
