Latest news with #submarines
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
It's caused the most unimaginable deaths. But bizarre hobby gripping America is also a secret source of deep sexual arousal
There is a growing subculture of amateur explorers building homemade submarines in their backyards and garages. But it might be driven by something more insidious than a quirky passion for engineering or a curiosity about the deep sea. A new book suggests that the bizarre hobby of plunging hundreds of meters in makeshift submersibles could, for some, be linked to unusual sexual desires and Freudian fantasies of returning to a 'womb-like' state - impulses that, in extreme cases, overlap with violence. In Submersed: Wonder, Obsession and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines, author Matthew Gavin Frank asks what really draws certain individuals - overwhelmingly men and self-described 'loners' - into the deep. The answers, he suggests, might have less to do with adventure and more to do with power, isolation and escape. Central to Frank's exploration is the concept of claustrophilia - a niche phenomenon that, according to Psychology Today, can manifest as a sexual fetish or 'extreme form of bondage'. Claustrophilia, the arousal or comfort from being trapped, is the opposite of claustrophobia, which is the fear of small spaces. Danish inventor Peter Madsen (pictured) murdered and dismembered Swedish journalist Kim Wall aboard his homemade submersible in 2017 Stockton Rush (pictured) was the creator and pilot of OceanGate's Titan submersible, which suffered a catastrophic implosion two years ago, killing all five on board Matthew Gavin Frank's new book, Submersed: Wonder, Obsession and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines, includes insights into the disaster from those who knew Rush People with the condition describe feeling safe, euphoric or emotionally detached when confined in tight spaces such as boxes, cages or caskets. For some, it's incorporated into sexual practices, where the loss of physical freedom intensifies feelings of helplessness, control or submission. Frank suggests that submarines can act as a 'steel spheroid' version of this fantasy - an airtight, pressurized capsule sealed off from the world. Psychologists also link claustrophilia to 'regression fantasies', the desire to return to a pre-birth state, with the enclosed space replicating the maternal womb. In this framework, the submarine becomes a symbolic, suspended refuge in which the self disappears or is reborn. This mental retreat can be intensified by the physical effects of deep-sea diving, Frank writes. According to experts cited in his book, breathing compressed air under water can lead to nitrogen narcosis, a condition that alters brain function in ways similar to alcohol or drugs. Diving medicine expert Dr David Sawatzky says in Submersed that symptoms can include euphoria, impaired judgment and hallucinations. For those already drawn to confinement, the sensation can be addictive. Plus, Frank writes, 'Many have seen the sub as a safe haven from surface mores and government strictures.' He says it's 'a place of ultimate control, where they can exact a brief lordship over their womb-like world - a womb created by them, for them, that gives back by incubating only them. 'In here, they don't have to share their resources. In here, what they say and do goes.' Madsen's submarine UC3 Nautilus was the largest homemade vessel of its kind at the time The Titan submersible disaster shocked the world in June 2023 The debris from Titan was discovered approximately 1,600 feet from the Titanic's bow More disturbingly, experts believe that this urge to escape the self mirrors 'regenerative dissociation', a pattern observed in certain acts of violence, including fantasy-driven homicide. Psychologist Andrew K. Moskowitz has found links between long-term dissociation and extreme behavior. Violence committed at depth can feel distant and unreal, disconnected from everyday consequences, Frank writes. The submarine becomes a space where someone can act on their darkest urges, free from scrutiny from those on the surface. When that private space is breached by another person, the results can be catastrophic, according to Frank. The most notorious case involves Swedish journalist Kim Wall and Danish inventor Peter Madsen, which is a through line for Submersed. In August 2017, Wall, 30, boarded Madsen's famed UC3 Nautilus, then the world's largest homemade sub, to interview him. Madsen, then 46, returned alone. First, he would claim that Wall had died in an accident and he had buried her at sea. However, days later, Wall's dismembered torso washed up on a beach, and other remains were found in Køge Bay. Madsen, who had no history of violence, was accused of torture, having 'sexual relations other than intercourse of a particularly dangerous nature', according to court records, and murder. Stab wounds were discovered in and around her genitals. He was sentenced to life in prison. News of his crimes shocked the world but, as Frank argues, a passion for submarines can ruin a person for the surface', and sometimes the compulsion to sink to great depths can 'dovetail with darker, more threatening traits'. Kim Wall, a 30-year-old journalist, was murdered by Madsen while profiling him for a story Madsen is seen alone as he emerged from the Nautilus on Aug. 11, 2017. He first claimed that Wall died in an accident and he had buried her at sea According to Frank, Madsen fits the psychological profile he explores in Submersed. Raised in an abusive home and abandoned by his mother at a young age, he later immersed himself in bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism practices, and private fetish parties. In 2007, Madsen blogged that he wanted to build submarines to make himself 'ungovernable and uncontrollable'. He described the sub as a place of comfort 'away from the judgmental eyes of the surface dwellers'. During the trial, Madsen repeatedly compared himself to the Terminator, 'hinting at his latent desire to become part of the machines he built', Frank writes. Madsen believed he and Nautilus 'shared a brain and a vision.' He never admitted to murdering Wall but confessed to dismembering her body while in a state of 'suicidal psychosis'. The night before the fatal voyage, Madsen searched the internet for information on 'executions and dismemberment', 'beheading', 'girl' and 'agony', testimony showed. Madsen was raised in an abusive home, abandoned by his mother at a young age, and later immersed himself in BDSM and private fetish parties Frank also infiltrated what he calls the 'eccentric micro-community of DIY submersible enthusiasts', largely comprised of white men between the ages of 20 and 70. Many, he writes, are self-described 'misfits' living off the grid, are self-taught in the art of sub building, and 'have a distrust of government ranging from healthy to conspiratorial'. Most are also blasé about the threat of possible death inherent to their hobby. In Alaska, Frank met Albrecht Jotten, a German-born builder, who dives in Kachemak Bay and believes that he will one day be considered among history's greatest minds. Jotten, who lives in a one-bedroom cabin in the woods of Homer, confessed to Frank - after asking the author to confirm he was Jewish - his belief that Adolf Hitler was the greatest genius who ever lived. Madsen also had a preoccupation with Hitler, role-playing as a Nazi and pretending his sub was a German U-boat. Frank has tracked down one of the few women in the field, Shanee Stopnitzky, who says she has spent more than a year cumulatively under water. Stopnitzky has aspirations to build an under water home, where she'd live full-time, telling Frank she never felt quite at home on the surface. In Submersed, those who knew Rush paint a portrait of a man not dissimilar to Madsen - driven by obsession and ego, whose recklessness and dissociation from reality led to destruction Submersed was released on June 3, two weeks before the second anniversary of the Titan submersible disaster that killed five people during a dive to the Titanic wreck. OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was piloting the vessel when it imploded. Frank draws parallels between Rush and Madsen: both obsessive, ego-driven and dangerously dissociated from risk below the surface. Karl Stanley, an expert in commercial submersibles, tells Frank he believed Rush was suicidal and hellbent on writing himself into the mythology of the world's most infamous shipwreck, even if it meant taking four other lives with him. Twelve days after the disaster, Stanley messaged Frank on WhatsApp, offering a grim appraisal: Rush had known exactly what was going to happen - and designed the plunge as a one-way trip to cement his legacy. 'He was, in fact, a good engineer,' Stanley says. 'He set a new standard for going out with a bang.' In 2019, Stanley joined Rush for a test dive in the Titan in the Bahamas, where they descended to a record-breaking, Titanic-level depth of 12,336 feet. The following day, Stanley warned Rush that the gunshot-like sounds heard every few minutes during the dive were the sub's hull breaking under the pressure. He concluded that Titan would meet with catastrophe if changes weren't made. Rush (left) was related by marriage to Isidor and Ida Straus, who died on the Titanic Victims: British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, (left) and French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, (right) died alongside Rush, 61 Shahzada Dawood, 48, (left) his son Suleman, 19, (right) also died on board the Titan Karl Stanley, an expert in commercial submersibles, believes that his long-term friend Rush was suicidal and planned to die at the Titanic wreck On June 18, 2023, Rush, 61, and four passengers - British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, businessman Shahzada Dawood,48, his son Suleman Dawood, 19, and French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77 - descended thousands of feet through the dark North Atlantic to catch a glimpse of the Titanic. One hour and 45 minutes into their journey, the sub lost contact. For four days, the world held its breath as a dramatic international search and rescue mission unfolded in the waters several hundred miles southeast of Newfoundland. Then, on June 22, the US Coast Guard confirmed the Titan imploded 1,600 feet from the Titanic's bow and killed all five on board. Initially hailed as a pioneer by OceanGate colleagues, Rush was later exposed as having ignored glaring safety warnings - and advice that a disaster of this magnitude was predictable. 'He knew that eventually it was going to end like this and he wasn't going to be held accountable,' Stanley told a panel investigating the disaster. 'But he was going to be the most famous of all his famous relatives,' he said. Rush claimed descent from Declaration of Independence signers Richard Stockton and Benjamin Rush, and was related by marriage to Isidor and Ida Straus, who died on the Titanic. Submersed: Wonder, Obsession, and Murder In The World of Amateur Submarines, by Matthew Gavin Frank (Pantheon), is available now.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Ditching Aukus would harm US, close ally tells Trump
A close ally of Donald Trump has urged the US president not to ditch the Aukus programme after the Pentagon said it was reviewing collaboration on submarines with the UK and Australia. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican governor of Virginia, said he hoped shipbuilders in his state would 'have a chance' to continue to 'build for our allies' and played down the chance of the project being scrapped. The Pentagon is currently reviewing Aukus, a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US, involving collaboration on submarines, AI and quantum technology that is worth £176 billion over 30 years. The programme was previously considered a pillar of Washington security policy, but came under review shortly after Mr Trump took office in January. The US government was examining it as 'part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the president's 'America first' agenda', a Pentagon official confirmed last week. But Sir Keir Starmer said at the G7 summit in Canada earlier this week that he did not have 'any doubt' that Aukus would 'progress'. Mr Youngkin, who visited London on Wednesday for a ceremony to unveil a restored statue of George Washington in Trafalgar Square, acknowledged that ending the programme would harm shipbuilders in his state. 'Our militaries have not only integrated and executed very well together over centuries, but I also believe that the sharing of technology has been really important,' he told The Telegraph. Newport News Shipbuilding, a company in Virginia, is involved in manufacturing submarines for the project, while Lockheed Martin, which builds the missiles used by the submarines, has a major site in the state's city of Manassas. 'We build a lot of submarines and, in fact, build a part of every submarine in the US military,' he said. 'We, of course, would like to be able to build more submarines, and so I hope we have a chance to do so.' He added that while 'long-standing policies occasionally have to be reviewed', the latest assessment of Aukus was 'just a matter of stepping back and looking at shipbuilding capacity'. Mr Youngkin, tipped as a future presidential contender, shocked political observers when he won the 2021 gubernatorial race in Virginia - a state Joe Biden won in the previous year's presidential election. In the 2024 presidential race, he acted as a surrogate for the Trump campaign in the state, although it was won by a 5.8 per cent margin by Kamala Harris. The Aukus programme has become a major part of the 'special relationship' between the UK and US since it was announced by Mr Biden and Boris Johnson in 2021. It is designed to boost Western power in the Indo-Pacific region and contains two 'pillars', the first of which is to help Australia obtain nuclear-powered attack submarines. The three countries announced in 2023 that a new nuclear-powered submarine class would be built in the UK and Australia, while the US will sell Australia three second-hand Virginia-class submarines in the early 2030s. The second pillar of the agreement allows for collaboration between the three countries on six technologies, including AI, quantum computing, hypersonic missiles and electronic warfare. However, the idea has previously been opposed by Elbridge Colby, a senior Pentagon official appointed by Mr Trump, who said that the US should not give away 'crown jewel assets' like nuclear submarines. Mr Colby is leading the review to ensure that all Pentagon-backed programmes are aligned with Mr Trump's 'America First' policy. Mr Youngkin also told The Telegraph that the UK's unwillingness to directly defend Israel from Iranian attacks would not damage its relationship with the US. 'There is a recognition that the actions that right now are resulting in real violence around the world need to be resolved, and the way they're going to be resolved is through strength,' he said. 'I'm hopeful that President Trump's urging of everyone coming to the table and settling this is clear, but also the fact that the UK…while it has taken a different tone, is still very much one of our closest allies.'
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Is the Aukus submarine deal dead in the water under Trump?
The flagship project of Australia's future maritime defence architecture, Aukus , has been placed under review in Washington. For some time, muted speculation about the status of Aukus Pillar I, an A$368 billion (US$238.5 billion) deal between Canberra, Washington and London to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs), has been circulating among analysts and policymakers in Australia amid the upheaval of the Trump administration. Advertisement In Canberra, the government has maintained an anxious silence, most likely in an attempt to limit any noise that may land unfavourably on US President Donald Trump's desk. Now it is clear that a review by the Australian government of Aukus Pillar I must be forthcoming. A starting point will be a potential conditional rise in Australia's defence spending on further cooperation with the Pentagon. Elbridge Colby, US undersecretary of defence for policy, is advocating a 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) minimum defence spending threshold among allies, 'not only in Europe but in Asia as well'. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has stated that 'Australia should increase its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of its GDP as soon as possible'. Australia now spends 2 per cent of GDP on defence. But even with a strengthening of funding for Aukus platforms, projections for 2029 indicate only a modest increase to 2.25 per cent. This spending hike is certain to rub up against existing agreements under the Aukus 'Optimal Pathway', which will see the United States sell three used Virginia-class SSNs to Australia in 2032, 2035 and 2038. Advertisement The feasibility of the Optimal Pathway is quickly diminishing amid the hype around escalating costs and the limited capacity of the US defence industrial base to meet ambitious delivery timelines.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Why Australia should welcome collapse of lopsided Aukus deal
The Aukus partnership, the 2021 deal whereby the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to provide Australia with at least eight nuclear-propelled submarines over the next three decades, has come under review by the US Defence Department. Advertisement The prospect of its collapse has generated predictable hand-wringing among those who welcomed the deepening alliance, and especially among those interested in seeing Australia inject billions of dollars into underfunded, underperforming American and British naval shipyards. But in Australia, an Aukus breakdown should be a cause for celebration. After all, there has never been any certainty that the promised subs would arrive on time. The US is supposed to supply three, or possibly five, Virginia-class submarines from 2032, with another five newly designed SSN-Aukus-class subs (built mainly in the UK) coming into service from the early 2040s. But the US and the UK's industrial capacities are already strained, owing to their own national submarine-building targets, and both have explicit opt-out rights. Some analysts assume that the Defence Department review is just another Trumpian extortion exercise , designed to extract an even bigger financial commitment from Australia. But while comforting to some Australians (though not anyone in the Treasury), this interpretation is misconceived. There are very real concerns in Washington that even with more Australian dollars devoted to expanding shipyard capacity, the US will not be able to increase production to the extent required to make available three – let alone five – Virginia-class subs by the early 2030s. Moreover, Elbridge Colby, the US undersecretary of defence for policy who is leading the review, has long been a sceptic of the project, and he will not hesitate to put America's own new-boat target first. Advertisement Even in the unlikely event that everything falls smoothly into place – from the transfers of Virginia-class subs to the construction of new British boats, with no human-resource bottlenecks or cost overruns – Australia will be waiting decades for the last boat to arrive. But given that our existing geriatric Collins-class fleet is already on life support , this timeline poses a serious challenge. How will we address our capability gap in the meantime?
ABC News
5 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Why America's review of AUKUS matters to Asia
Defence will be at the front of discussions between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump when they meet at the G7 in Canada this week. The AUKUS deal, in which the US would supply nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, will be discussed after the Pentagon last week announced a review of the deal to ensure it reflected Mr Trump's 'America first' policy. Mr Albanese said he'll pitch the benefits of the submarine deal to the US in the meeting. 'I will indicate that very clearly going forward.'' What is AUKUS? AUKUS is the name for the security deal Australia, the UK and the US (A-UK-US) agreed to at the end of 2021. The first, and biggest, aspect of the pact is the submarine deal, called Pillar One. The UK and the US — which have nuclear-powered submarines — agreed to work with Australia and share plans for their subs so Australia could build its own. The second AUKUS pillar will involve enhancing Australia's defence capabilities with the help of the UK and US more broadly. Joe Biden thanked his "pal" Scott Morrison during the announcement of the AUKUS pact. ( Reuters: Tom Brenner ) Does Australia have other deals within Asia? The QUAD is a strategic alliance between Australia, India, Japan and the US designed to counter the influence of China in the region. So far, it doesn't involve submarines. Lavina Lee, an associate professor in security studies at Macquarie University and senior fellow at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, said the QUAD so far has been almost trying to camouflage itself. 'What they've been doing is more focused on the kind of non-military aspects and they've kept the military part on the down low,' Dr Lee said. Why is AUKUS in the headlines? The Trump administration last week announced it wanted to review the agreement, which was signed off by Joe Biden. It said it wanted to make sure it aligns with Mr Trump's 'America first' policy. That set off alarm bells in Australia, although Defence Minister Richard Marles downplayed the news, as "natural and understandable" for the new administration to "look under the hood" of the submarine pact. The Trump Administration has announced it is reviewing the AUKUS partnership. ( ABC News: Keane Bourke ) Why should Asia be concerned? Dr Lee said Australia needs the US alliance. 'We've effectively ordered all of our defence relations around the US alliance ... but without the United States, we're actually not that capable,' she said. 'The problem really is we have relied on the United States for so long, so ... it's actually important that we become more self reliant. 'South Korea and Japan are exactly the same, so we all might be worried about this and all trying to be more self reliant. Lavina Lee says Australia must rely on the US for defence security. ( Supplied ) "I think that that's an actual important objective, but from the short to medium term it's not possible. 'And if you think about the window of time where we're really all worried about the risk of conflict, I think most analysts would agree it's actually around the end of this decade, maybe in 10 years' time. We don't really have that much time to find an alternative.'' What does China think? Whatever happens Beijing would be reassured, said Jie Chen, associate professor in political science and international relations at the University of Western Australia. 'In a very broad strategic sense, whatever the review of AUKUS is, it seems Beijing has reasons to feel reassured. That is because the overall environment, the overall trend is that White House under Trump is quickly abandoning the Biden style coordinated globalised strategy to contain China. 'The Chinese no longer believe, if they ever had a doubt, that the current Trump administration actually has a coordinated China policy at all. Let alone a concerted China containment strategy.'' Jie Chen says China would be reassured by the US's plan to review AUKUS while Taiwan would be concerned. ( ABC News: Eliza Borello ) What about Taiwan? Mr Chen said news of the AUKUS review would be concerning for Taiwan. 'Considering the broad background has been that Donald Trump [and] his officials are always giving fragmented and confusing signals to Taiwan, and that [those signals were] deeply concerning to the Taiwanese,' he said. 'In the middle of such a confusing atmosphere [if] suddenly they hear Americans announcing that they would review AUKUS with America first ... I can hypothesise ... that right as I speak, Taiwan's presidential office and [foreign affairs] are really concerned, if not also annoyed. 'Because unlike people in Beijing, those officials and decision makers in Taipei, to this very moment, still couldn't figure out what Donald Trump really wants.'' What about the QUAD? Dr Lee said there were likely to be implications for the QUAD. "I think the message would be that the Trump administration really cares about hard power,'' she said. "So it's all about hard power and how does hard power contribute to deterrence and the QUAD so far has been almost trying to camouflage its reason for existence.'' The reason Australia, India, Japan and the US joined forces was they all have a heightened threat perception of China and are trying to work together to effectively compete and counter Chinese influence in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. "What they've been doing is more focused on the kind of non military aspects and they've kept the military part on the down low. They've been focused on things like ... maritime domain awareness but ... using civilian infrastructure,' Dr Lee said. "I think the United States under the Trump administration would be looking for what opportunities there are to actually militarise the QUAD, [to] un-camouflage it. "[But] the the real problem is that not all four countries might have a threat perception of China.'' The Quad is a summit that is not about China, but really is about China. ( Supplied: Prime Minister's Office ) Should other countries be concerned? Dr Lee said nations in Southeast Asia had already taken themselves out of the equation. 'They're all hedging to various degrees. They're hedging the risk of who's going to win out in the end. They don't want to take a side,' she said. 'Their primary objective is to get as much out of both sides as possible, so it's a bit like a Cold War situation where they're really trying to squeeze as much economic benefits out of both sides.''
