DSV Shinkai 6500

Shinkai 6500 (しんかい) is a crewed research submersible that can dive up to a depth of 6,500 metres (21,300 ft). It was completed in 1990. The Shinkai 6500 is owned and run by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and it is launched from the support vessel Yokosuka.^[1]

History
Japan
Name	Shinkai 6500
Builder	Mitsubishi
In service	1989
General characteristics
Type	Deep-submergence vehicle
Length	9.5 m (31 ft 2 in)
Beam	2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)
Draft	3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Installed power	Electric motor
Speed	2.5 knots (4.6 km/h; 2.9 mph)
Endurance	129 hrs
Test depth	6,500 m (21,300 ft)
Complement	3

Shinkai 6500 front view

Two pilots and one researcher operate within a 73.5 mm-thick (2.89 in) titanium pressure hull with an internal diameter of 2.0 metres (6 ft 7 in).^[2] Buoyancy is provided by syntactic foam.^[3]

Three 14 cm (5.5 in) methacrylate resin view ports are arranged at the front and on each side of the vehicle.^[3]

A Lego set based on the submersible was created through the Lego Cuusoo website.^[4]