"Capt. Nemo": Ghettotech designer of homemade Colombian drug subs / Malicia indígena: "Capt. Nemo," diseñador de los narcosumersibles

Tengo que confesar una pequeña obsesión con el tema de los narcosumersibles, de los cuales he tratado antes en este blog. Pues ahora sí cayó su diseñador, un tumaqueño con el muy apropiado nombre de pila de Capt. Nemo. En un artículo del Los Angeles Times (aquí traducido al español por Google), explican el diseño:

una elegante forma de "V" del casco; una robusta quilla, que es la espina dorsal del barco, y un sistema de escape que hace que el barco parece un monstruo de las profundidades...los buques que miden hasta 60 pies de largo y equipado con complejos sistemas de lastre, comunicaciones y sistemas de energía. Ellos normalmente tenían motores de diesel de 350-caballos de fuerza, y los cuatro tripulantes tenían lo último en radio, GPS y teléfono satelital.Los subs tienen una extensión de 2000 millas, más que suficiente para ir de aquí para la Bahía de Tehuantepec en México, un destino favorecido...

Sé que es por mal y todo, pero vacana la astucia de Capt. Nemo.

Fernando Vergara / Associated Press (from http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-captainnemo14-2008dec14,0,1166020.story)

I have to confess a slight obsession with homemade Colombian drug subs, which I've mentioned before on this blog. Well, they finally got the designer, a commerical shrimper for Tumaco known by the appropriate sobriquet of Captain Nemo. The LA Times has a full acount, including some of the design principles:

"He had a marvelous criminal vision," Colombian navy Capt. Luis German Borrero said. "He introduced innovations such as a bow that produced very little wake, a conning tower that rises only a foot above the water and a valve system that enables the crew to scuttle the sub in 10 minutes. He is very ingenious."

Portocarrero's craft are difficult for counter-narcotics officials to detect on the open seas because their tiny wake creates a negligible radar "footprint." Also, authorities say, the exhaust is released through tubing below the surface, frustrating patrol aircraft's heat-sensing equipment....

Portocarrero's vessels measured up to 60 feet long and were outfitted with complex ballast, communications and power systems, officials said. They were typically powered by 350-horsepower diesel engines, and the four-man crew had state-of-the-art radio, GPS and satellite telephone communications. The subs have a range of 2,000 miles, more than enough to get from here to Mexico's Bay of Tehuantepec, a favored destination, Borrero said.