Business: Smuggling
Drug Smuggling by Ocean Cruise   (+2, -4)  [vote for, against]
Attachement of an airtight box to the rear end of a cruiseliner.

Wanna take a vacation and make a boatload of money doing it? Here's a simple idea. Spend a few weeks learning how to SCUBA dive. Take an ocean cruise vacation - go somewhere nice, say, Jamaica. While there, stock up on drugs that are expensive, but not bulky. Like hash oil. Purchase or have made (in advance, of course) an airtight compartment for storage that can be attached, perhaps magnetically, to the back end of the boat, near the bottom. On a large enough ship this wouldn't have any real effect, or cause it to list to one side. Rent some SCUBA gear. Make the attachement to the boat and go back to your vacation. Relax, have fun. Once you get back into port, either rent some SCUBA gear or use your own and go get your stash. No customs, no customs agents, and no hassels.
-- theimpatientone, Jan 22 2003

agree, we won't get away with it. [reensure] did you pay for the cruise or [thumb] or me?
-- po, Jan 22 2003


Notes *we*
-- thumbwax, Jan 22 2003


Can you cruise around Colombia?
-- skinflaps, Jan 22 2003


Not in a ship.
-- egbert, Jan 22 2003


In these days of heightened security, I doubt that the sight of a SCUBA diver swimming toward a cruise ship in port would be taken well.
-- krelnik, Jan 22 2003


baked (incidentally in Jamaica) there are individuals who used to weld air-tight containers on the bottom of ships to transport weed to the USA and the UK
-- senatorjam, Jan 23 2003


[krelnik] Self-Contiained-UNDERWATER-Breathing-Apparatus. You wouldn't see a SCUBA diver swimming toward a cuise ship, since he'd be underwater. Unless of course, he's an idiot.
-- Flex, Jan 23 2003


wondering why idiots are more noticeable in the water. is it the day-glo socks or something?
-- po, Jan 23 2003


no, it's just that occashonly they think something and their brain lights up.
-- ScincePerson, May 26 2003


sp: your.
-- po, May 26 2003


Hmm... I'll try it out and let you know how it goes!
-- the_jxc, Oct 05 2003


//You wouldn't see a SCUBA diver swimming toward a cuise ship...//
But you would see the line of bubbles as the diver exhales.
-- krelnik, Oct 05 2003


Well, living in a port city, and even with lots of odd people around, I still don't know how a person in scuba gear would walk down the street until he/she could jump into the water, and not draw attention to themselves. Not to mention when said scuba diver resurfaces with the goods and has to transport it somehow.

*now spending lunch hours watching for scuba divers walking down the street & tell-tale air bubbles in the water at the cruise terminal*
-- BayRatt, Oct 06 2003


How about a small radio control sub with cargo hold that attaches itself magnetically to hull? When ship arrives, send signal to sub on standby to reactivate, detach and steer it to shore. Less chance of detection compared to diver in scuba gear. Sub would have camera to help navigate.
-- wombat, Oct 06 2003


I believe there are special bubbleless rebreathers made for Special Ops teams...get ahold of those.
-- Eugene, Jan 02 2005


Looking for trails of bubbles is indeed a popular passtime in naval circles. There's also occasional rumors of dolphins trained to attack swimmers, sonar, etc. which can be used in efforts to locate underwater threats, as attaching things to the side of a ship has been considered rather impolite ever since the invention of limpet mines in the late 1700s.

Even with a bubble-less rebreather, there's still the issue of staying down for however long it takes to get to the cruise ship.

The average human supposedly is capable of swimming at about three miles per hour.

As water remains level, most average ships will have an unobstructed view of the horizon out to about 12 nautical miles...

So it sounds like you're looking for at least eight consecutive hours of scuba time in expensive rebreathers to go get the drugs and head back unnoticed, unless you can find a good excuse to be hopping around near the pier with bubble-less special ops rebreathing equippment, which is normally used by civilians only for extreme deep sea diving... not to mention the return trip with this fancy gear, and a chest full of goodies the cops would be interested in.
-- ye_river_xiv, Mar 17 2008


Why overcomplicate things? Wouldn't it be less risky if you had a miniature, radio controlled submarine or somesuch that could carry your stash and attach itself to the bottom of the hull magnetically. Steer it into position before the ship leaves and then detach and steer it to your unobtrusive dockside location when the ship docks.
-- DrBob, Mar 17 2008


Rebreathers are available over the counter, no special ops or prescription required.
Not cheap though.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Mar 17 2008



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