DSV Shinkai 2000

The Shinkai 2000 (しんかい) is a manned research submersible that can dive up to a depth of 2,000 m. It was completed in 1981 and until 1991 it had the greatest depth range of any manned research vehicle in the Japan. The Shinkai 2000 is owned and run by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and it is launched from the support vessel Natsushima.

Two pilots and one researcher operate within a 30 mm thick High-strength low-alloy steel pressure hull with an internal diameter of 2.2 m. Buoyancy is provided by syntactic foam.

Three methacrylate resin view ports are arranged at the front and on each side of the vehicle.