The MIR Submersibles & The North Pole

The first ever dives to the real North Pole employ MIR 1 and MIR 2, Russian submersibles capable of reaching ocean depths of 20,000 feet (6,000m). They are capable of reaching 97 percent of the world seafloor.

On this expedition the MIRs will be carried aboard a second support ship since they are to big to be carried on our icebreaker. The MIRs ("peace" in Russian) are part of a group of only four manned deep-diving submersibles capable of diving to 20,000 feet. Their nickel-steel personnel spheres are designed to withstand the enormous pressures found at great depths (more than three tons per square inch at 14,000 feet).

The MIRs have a length of 25 feet (8 meters), and the pressure hull interior is 7 feet (2.1 meters) in diameter, accommodating one pilot and two passengers. The submersibles lack traditional toilet facilities, but a special pre-dive diet will help keep you comfortable during your dive. Air pressure inside the cabin remains at a constant one atmosphere with the air being recycled in a manner similar to that used on board spacecraft. During the dive there will be a temperature drop inside to approximately 54°F or 12°C and some slight internal condensation.

The MIRs are safe and relatively spacious submersibles, equipped with three viewports, exterior lights and an impressive array of instrumentation. They are well engineered, immensely strong and impeccably maintained, and together the MIRs have made many hundreds of deep dives.

The MIR submersibles were used by American director James Cameron for his Hollywood epic 'Titanic' as well as for many other major documentary productions. Because they dive as a pair, the MIRs can employ filmmaking techniques that cannot be accomplished by a submersible working alone.

The MIRs were built in Finland in 1987, and are owned and operated by the renowned Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They are inspected yearly by German Lloyd, a leading ship and submersible classification bureau. The classification rules require periodic reconstruction of these submersibles, the last one being in 2004.