IEC Container Transport Submarine

IEC Container Transport Submarine is a submersible introduced in Corporation Report 2020 Volume 1.

Sourcebook Description

 * As detailed in main products and intent. These are the giant, nuclear-powered cargo submarines manufactured in conjunction with All Nippon Technologies and Arasaka Manufacturing. IEC manufactures them at its giant shipyards and drydocks at Bremerhaven, Bremen, Germany. (All Nippon also manufactures the same craft at a shipyard in Pusan, South Korea.) These craft range from 200 to 250 meters long with crews of between 30 and 100 individuals. They can dive as deep as 750 meters below the surface. Periscope depth is 30 meters. Top surface speed is 70km/ hr. Top submerged speed is 60km/hr. Top silent submerged speed is 40km/hr.
 * Cargo submarines are wide, squat-looking affairs. Their cross section resembles a rounded rectangle more than a circle. Where normal military submarines might have one, or at most two screws, cargo subs can have as many as four, as well as front and rear lateral jets for harbor maneuvering. Cargo submarines have conning towers about two-thirds of the way towards the stern. The conning towers have enclosed bridges with windows. These windows are covered with pressure shields when the submarine dives below 200m. At lesser depths the windows are unshielded, permitting underwater viewing. When the sub is surfaced the windows permit accurate conning and harbor piloting as well as supervision of cargo loading and unloading from the shelter of a fully enclosed bridge. The subs boast 5000 SDP and 80 SP. The conning tower is SP 50.
 * Although the submarines seldom take more than a couple of weeks to run a transcontinental load, they can be provisioned for up to a year away from port and need nuclear refueling only once every five years. The submarines can carry 75% of the cargo weight and volume that a surface ship of similar length could carry. The extra volume is occupied by the twin pressure hull system, ballast tanks and the huge, watertight cargo hatches which make toploading of standard cargo containers possible. As a safety measure, cargo can be shipped in special watertight cargo containers. This can preserve the cargo for later salvage should the submarine lose hull integrity or sink. This hasn't happened yet.
 * Shipping by submarine is expensive, but it has several advantages. Sensitive cargoes are virtually invulnerable to attack from surface ships and aircraft. Proprietary anecdotic technology makes the submarines extremely quiet, and even if located they are equipped with mines, torpedoes and sublaunched sea to air missiles for defense. They can also take shorter or safer routes than many surface ships, travelling beneath the North Pole rather than through the Panama Canal, or underwater when passing through the disputed Dardanelles Straights or through piracy ridden Indonesian waters. For these reasons, the submarines do brisk business in sales and transport contracts.