It’s 18 months since US ex-saturation diver Dr Joseph Dituri smashed a world record by living in an underwater habitat for 100 days – and inevitably his record has now been challenged by a rival, though with less emphasis on the medical science and more on the habitat itself.
German aerospace engineer Rudiger Koch celebrated completing 120 days of underwater living with champagne and a cigar as he emerged from his 30sq m submerged capsule off Panama’s Caribbean coast yesterday (24 January). A Guinness World Records judge was on hand to verify the new record for “underwater human habitation at ambient pressure“ on the spot.
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Koch is co-founder of Ocean Builders, which designed and constructed the fully functional underwater room in which he had spent the past four months watching fish.
Based in Panama City, the company builds solar-powered homes called SeaPods, which float 3m above the ocean surface and can also support an additional pod beneath the surface.
Suspended 11m down (2m deeper than Dituri) from a tube containing a spiral staircase were Koch’s living quarters, comfortably furnished and complete with TV, computer, Internet and exercise bike. The only facility he said he had missed was the ability to take a shower.
His family and doctor were able to drop in easily via the stairs, and he was monitored constantly by a set of cameras located to prove that he had remained at depth throughout his self-imposed stay.
Viable environment
Koch, who had said his aim was to demonstrate that the underwater world could provide a viable environment for human living, professed to have enjoyed the time spent relaxing in his temporary home. He had captured more than 1,000 hours of marine-life footage through the porthole.
The length of his stay surpassed even that of the crew of the longest submerged and unsupported submarine patrol (that we know about), which was 111 days by HM Submarine Warspite in the South Atlantic in 1982/83.
Dituri had reported that his 100-day undersea experience had caused his body to shrink slightly but his sleep patterns, cholesterol levels and other health markers to improve – but no such information has yet been released concerning Koch’s physiology.
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