Triton 36000/2 Submarine

Fasteners for a trip to the deepest part of any ocean in the world.

Specialist Fasteners For a Special Trip

The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world’s oceans. The first recordings of the depth, date back to 1875, when the British Royal Navy Challenger expedition made the attempt using a weighted rope. 76 years later in 1951, Challenger II surveyed the trench using echo sounding, giving a more precise measurement.

The first crewed vessel to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep (the deepest part of the Mariana Trench) was in 1960, one of 22 crewed decents, as of 2024.

Little did we know that West Special Fasteners would be part of a historic event when an enquiry was received in 2017……

Background:

Late 2017, we were approached by one of our subsea clients for fasteners in Titanium Grade 5, which is nothing unusual. However, as discussions progressed and designs altered, it quickly became clear that these were no ordinary fasteners. We were told that the intended end use would be for a submarine, being used for a trip to the Mariana Trench.

Requirements for the fasteners included raw material being independently tested prior to manufacture, 100% inspection, fit up tests of the finished components and full traceability from starting material to finished product. The order was placed in Q1 2018, manufactured on site in Dronfield, shipped to customer within a 4 week period.

1 Year later, Victor Vescovo manned DSV Limiting Factor (a Triton 36000/2 model manufactured by Triton Submarines) to a depth of 10,928 metres or 35,853 feet – a new record. He went on to complete 5 dives in the following week, becoming the only person to have dove to Challenger Deep more than once.

Part of history that West Special Fasteners are proud to be associated with! From Dronfield to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Extreme Conditions

The Triton 36,000/2 was described as “possibly the most impressive tool for human exploration and scientific endeavor since Apollo 11”. Reaching the deepest point in the ocean in less than 2 and a half hours, weighing in at 11.7 tonnes and using 10 powerful electric thrusters, it’s modern engineering at it’s finest.

Third party certified by DNV-GL, gives confidence that the build is of the highest quality and it continues to be in use today. Although the vessel itself would set you back over $48 million, there is a cheaper option of a 3 day break to Challenger Deep. Coming in at $750,000 per person, per dive, it’s certainly more cost-effective than owning one yourself!