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Pacific Subsea to invest $3M in new submarine
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Posted on Jan 23 2005
A local tour company bared plans to purchase a submarine from tsunami-devastated Phuket and possibly bring it to Tinian as an additional attraction for Chinese tourists.
Pacific Subsea Inc. hopes to start operating the new submarine in three to four months, according to company president Stephen Nutting.
The firm got a little closer to its goal Friday, with the Commonwealth Ports Authority approving an initial 10-year lease to Pacific Subsea for an area at the North Seaplane Ramp in Lower Base.
Nutting said the lease, whose term can be extended by up to 10 years, will help the company in its efforts to get financing to obtain the submarine.
He noted that a lease, as opposed to the firm’s current month-to-month rental arrangement with CPA, will provide financing institutions an assurance that the company will have a place to operate from over a long period of time.
Pacific Subsea has been operating on a month-to-month rental basis since 1996 at a rate of $1,928 per month.
The CPA board also granted Pacific Subsea a six-month waiver of the $1 passenger fee, upon consideration of the significant upfront cost of bringing the submarine to the Commonwealth.
Nutting said the submarine will cost between $2.5 million and $3 million, while shipping from Phuket to Saipan will cost another $220,000.
He added that Pacific Subsea is now working with the U.S.-based Overseas Financial Investment Corp. for financing, but nothing has been finalized yet. “There’s still too many pieces to the puzzle,” he said.
He disclosed, however, that the company is looking at bringing the submarine to Tinian and marketing the tour as an optional activity for Chinese visitors.
“Chinese tourists like the submarine a lot. With the CNMI getting the Approved Destination Status from China, we think there will be a market for a submarine tour on Tinian,” Nutting said.
The Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino is a popular destination among Chinese travelers visiting the Northern Marianas.
