"The Commander of the Abyss": Submariner Kostas Katsaros and the deep sea exploration projects

The German submarine U-133, cut into two pieces, lying at a depth of 78 meters near Aegina Island (Credit: Kostas Katsaros)

Submarine Commander Kostas Katsaros has spent hundreds of hours underwater with "Thetis", a Remora 2000 submersible and shares some of the unique images he has shot with pierrekosmidis.blogspot.com

Submarine Commander Kostas Katsaros

Thetis in Greek mythology is a sea nymph or a goddess of water, one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. 

Thetis in action

The sea goddess gave her name to a REMORA 2000 submersible, which was built in France in 1999-2000 for the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) 

"The Explorer of the Abyss"

The submarine carries two people, the pilot and a scientist, who sit in a... bubble and can reach a maximum dive depth of up to 610 meters below the surface of the sea. 

On 29 May 1945 “Mars”, outside Patra’s port, crashed into a mine. Due to the explosion and the fire that were caused by the load of the ship (it contained bottles with alcohol), the ship sank and five members of its crew died. (CREDIT: Kostas Katsaros)

The submarine's dives are conducted at HCMR's oceanographic vessel "AEGEO" (Aegean Sea), which features all necessary infrastructure for dive support.

Thetis, with a total weight of approx. 5 tons, is equipped with modern navigation technology, communication with the surface and seabed survey. 

On 29 May 1945 “Mars”, outside Patra’s port, crashed into a mine. Due to the explosion and the fire that were caused by the load of the ship (it contained bottles with alcohol), the ship sank and five members of its crew died. (CREDIT: Kostas Katsaros)

Two robotic arms, sensors, samplers, projectors and cameras compose the equipment which allow the submersible to perform a wide range of operations on the seabed. 

The German submarine U-133, lying at a depth of 78 meters near Aegina Island, Greece (Credit: Kostas Katsaros)

The maximum dive time can reach 7-8 hours, depending on the work and energy consumption. 

From 2000 Thetis has been used in dozens of research trips and with different research subjects: Underwater archeology, ancient and modern wrecks, underwater volcanoes (Santorini, Columbo, Nisyros, Milos and elsewhere), the seabed ecosystems (deep corals) and many more.

"I work with HCMR since 2003, my main  task is operating Thetis", says submarine Commander Kostas Katsaros and adds: "Diving with Thetis is always a unique experience and each dive has its own beauty". 

Kostas Katsaros is also a keen Scuba Diver, seen here at the propeller of EUROBULKER shipwreck

Read the Greek version