Editing Submarine (section)

===Civilian===
Although the majority of the world's submarines are military, there are some civilian submarines, which are used for tourism, exploration, oil and gas platform inspections, and pipeline surveys. Some are also used in illegal activities.

The [[Submarine Voyage]] ride opened at [[Disneyland]] in 1959, but although it ran under water, it was not a true submarine, as it ran on tracks and was open to the atmosphere.<ref name=perry>{{cite web|url=http://www.perry.com/disney/subs/subs.html|access-date=24 April 2010|title=Sail Away - The Last Voyages of the Disneyland Submarines}}</ref> The first tourist submarine was {{Ship||Auguste Piccard|PX-8|2}}, which went into service in 1964 at [[Expo64]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.verkehrshaus.ch/en/members-donations/donations/mesoscaph|title=Mesoscaph "August Piccard"|work=Verkehrshaus der Schweiz|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307035900/https://www.verkehrshaus.ch/en/members-donations/donations/mesoscaph|archive-date=7 March 2016}}</ref> By 1997, there were 45 tourist submarines operating around the world.<ref>{{cite book|publisher=CABI|title=The Encyclopedia of Ecotourism|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaecot00weav|url-access=limited|author=David Bruce Weaver|year=2001|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaecot00weav/page/n289 276]|isbn=978-0-85199-368-3}}</ref> Submarines with a [[Submarine depth ratings#Crush depth|crush depth]] in the range of {{convert|400|-|500|ft}} are operated in several areas worldwide, typically with bottom depths around {{convert|100|to|120|ft}}, with a carrying capacity of 50 to 100 passengers.

In a typical operation a surface vessel carries passengers to an offshore operating area and loads them into the submarine. The submarine then visits underwater points of interest such as natural or artificial reef structures. To surface safely without danger of collision the location of the submarine is marked with an air release and movement to the surface is coordinated by an observer in a support craft.

A recent development is the deployment of so-called [[narco-submarine]]s by South American drug smugglers to evade law enforcement detection.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/05/AR2009060503718_3.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|first1=William|last1=Booth|first2=Juan|last2=Forero|title=Plying the Pacific, Subs Surface as Key Tool of Drug Cartels|date=6 June 2009}}</ref> Although they occasionally deploy [[narco-submarine#True submarines|true submarines]], most are self-propelled [[semi-submersible]]s, where a portion of the craft remains above water at all times. In September 2011, Colombian authorities seized a 16-meter-long submersible that could hold a crew of 5, costing about $2 million. The vessel belonged to [[FARC]] rebels and had the capacity to carry at least 7 tonnes of drugs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15051108|title=FARC's drug submarine seized in Colombia|date=5 September 2011|work=BBC News}}</ref>
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<gallery mode="packed" heights="150" caption="Civilian submarines">
File:PX-8 Mésoscaphe - Swiss Submarine (15722856966).jpg|Model of the [[Auguste Piccard (PX-8)|Mésoscaphe ''Auguste Piccard'']]
File:AtlantisSubInterior3497.JPG|Interior of the tourist [[Atlantis submarine|submarine ''Atlantis'']] whilst submerged
File:AtlantisVIISubmarineClip3494.jpg|Tourist submarine ''Atlantis''
</gallery>