Why is the VAS rated to 170 meters/525 feet?
Building a submersible for depths is not the technical challenge. Retrieving a submersible at those depths is the real challenge faced by yachts. The US NAVY diving manual lists 170m/525 feet listed as the maximum depth for a mixed-gas diver, therefore we chose to make this the operational depth limit of the VAS purely for safety reasons. The VAS has extensive design and safety features which makes it capable of dealing with almost any emergency. However, should any submersible become entangled in a fishing net on a wreck there is sometimes no other way to free it than manually from outside. The VAS is doubly equipped for this scenario by having a diver lockout capability as well as being in range of a surface mixed gas diver.
