First narco sub carrying cocaine nabbed in the Caribbean

A semi-submersible drug trafficking vessel afloat in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on Jan, 7, 2009. A dozen suspected drug smugglers were apprehended in the Eastern Pacific Ocean following the interception of three semi-submersible vessels within nie days by U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships on routines patrol in the region. (U.S. Coast Guard)

An unprecedented sighting and seizure this month in Caribbean waters — a clunky submarine laden with 15,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $180 million — may mean U.S. authorities are now in a two-ocean naval campaign against drug smugglers.

The sub’s origin and destination: unknown. While many of such semi-submersible vessels — think of the Civil War ironclad Monitor — have been stopped in the eastern Pacific, the one that authorities spotted July 13 was the first to appear in the Caribbean.

The ships are called SPSSs, or self-propelled semi-submersibles. They have engines and a cruising range of 5,000 miles. What makes these boats different is that to avoid detection they lie mostly under water, with only a few feet above the surface, usually painted blue to match the sea.

The vessels are usually built in the jungles of Colombia, are less than 100 feet long and can cost $750,000 to $1 million each. They can carry up to 10 tons of drugs, as well as a crew of four to five sailors for whom claustrophobia is not a concern.

According to Coast Guard spokesman Patrick Montgomery of Miami, the approximately 30-foot-long sub was sighted by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection plane on routine patrol off the coast of Honduras near Nicaragua. The Coast Guard cutter Seneca, along with its chopper and pursuit boat, swiftly converged on the narco sub. Read more at www.sun-sentinel.com