All submarines, all the time...

Keeping you all up to date in the often invisible world of submarining.

• Think rebilding old tractors is weird? How 'bout old submarines?

The vessel is an 8-foot replica of the 1776 submersible known as the Turtle, said Petty Officer Seth Johnson of the U.S. Coast Guard. It was unclear what the people were doing, but there was no indication of any connection to terrorism, he said.

The vessel "is the creative craft of three adventuresome individuals," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement, according to WABC-TV. "We can best summarize today's incident as marine mischief." [More]

• Russia claims the Arctic by planting a flag 13,000 feet below Santa Claus' workshop.

The first mini-sub dived to a spot 2.65 miles below the surface and the second sub to a nearby location 2.67 miles below the surface, Russia's NTV television reported. The subs spent about nine hours underwater.

Before beginning the descent, Chilingarov, who is also a deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament, declared that "every dive is a heroic deed — a heroic deed of those who dive for the sake of science and for Russia's presence in this region."

The expedition was part of an effort to bolster Russian claims to about 460,000 square miles of sea floor believed to hold lucrative deposits of oil and natural gas. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Russia's claim depends not on dropping the Russian flag, but on proving that its continental shelf extends to the pole. [More]

Wait - doesn't this mean the US owns the moon?

• All those video games could pay off. Our new Virginia Class subs are controlled by a pilot with a joystick, instead of traditional airplane-like controls.

The submarine is fitted with modular isolated deck structures, for example the submarine's command centre will be installed as one single unit resting on cushioned mounting points. The submarine's control suite is equipped with computer touch screens. The submarine's steering and diving control is via a four-button, two-axis joystick. [More]

Remember, there are basically two types of naval vessels: submarines and targets.