What Is This

[kloudie1]

Some friends took this picture off Tampa acouple of days ago..There were Coast Guard boats escorting it. Anybody got an idea what it is?? My guess is it is a drug smuggler that got caught and his low profile stealth boat got confiscated..

 

[sailingdog]

That looks like a boat using a snorkel aspirated diesel engine.

 

[Rick D]

Semi-submersible

Used principally by the Columbian cartels to run drugs. Little radar or visual cross section. And, IMHO, a future non-drug security threat,

 

[zeehag]

looks like overloaded fueling barge lol

 

[Rick Webb]

Semi Submersible

It was up here at the Coast Guard Station for a while, they were doing tests and training with it. Not clear if the one we saw was built for the tests and training or confiscated. looked to me like it was built for the training and testing as it would have been disposible for the drug runners I would guess and this one was built pretty well.

 

[Richard Shelby]

Looks like they've been around for a while.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narco_submarine

 

[higgs]

Damn! That is my boat that I sent to Colombia on a business trip.

 

[kloudie1]

Nice link, Rich ! One of the pictures looks the same, with the manway at the stern and the long corrked exhaust pipe.. Interesting reading. I was amazed at the part about the Seri Lankan rebels using them as combat boats! I wonder who designed them?
Higgs .. how do ya put the sails on that thing ?? Loolks like a good (monkey) business boat !!

 

[shorty]

Looks like the Monitor.

 

[higgs]

kloudie: We were doing research.

 

[Dean5735]

definately a drug boat

There was a show on NatGeo (I think) showing army/cops searching and destroying them in the jungles of columbia, Very complex boats and worth about a million each. They find them way back in the swampy tidal areas miles from the main rivers and oceans. They float them out at hi tide.

Very cool show if you get a chance to see it.