United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)

Self-Propelled Semi-Submersibles (SPSS) represent the emerging sophistication and innovation of drug traffickers to adapt to U.S. and regional counter drug capabilities. The vessels are designed and built by narco-terrorists in Colombia to smuggle large volumes of cocaine over long distances in a manner that is difficult to detect. Since the vessels have a low profile – the hulls only rise about a foot above the waterline -- they are hard to see from a distance, leave little wake and produce a small radar signature. U.S. counterdrug officials estimate that SPSS are responsible for 32% of all cocaine movement in the transit zone. U.S. Southern Command, the U.S. Coast Guard and regional officials consider SPSS a serious threat to U.S. and regional security.

Overview of typical SPSS:

Fast Fact:

In addition to their stealthy design, SPSS are built to be easily sunk when detected by counter drug forces, making contraband recovery impossible and criminal prosecution more difficult.

Related external links of interest:

Office of Nat’l Drug Control Policy links

»    President’s Nat’l Drug Control Strategy

»    Cocaine sources

»    Heroin sources

»    Interdiction operations

State Department

»    2008 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR)

VIDEO:

U.S. Coast Guard footage of SPSS interdiction:

Dimensions: 40-80 feet in length with a freeboard (exposed area above the waterline) of approximately 18 inches.

Composition: Fiberglass/wood or steel. Usually takes upwards of 1 yr to build.

Propulsion: Self-propelled; single or twin diesel engines; 1500 or more gallon fuel capacity

Speed: 6+ knots

Range: Approx 2,000 miles

Capacity: 4 persons, 4 to 12 metric tons of cocaine.

Control: Human or Remote Control

Cost: Approx $2 million (USD)

Prevalence: We assess the use of SPSS vessels has grown in recent years as a means to counter effective U.S. drug interdiction efforts. Since 2006, there have been multiple known SPSS events. Drug traffickers continue to adapt to law enforcement successes. The SPSS, once perceived as an impractical and risky smuggling tool, has proven successful as an innovative and highly mobile, asymmetrical method of conveyance.

History: Traffickers have experimented with primitive semi-submersibles since the early 1990s. First constructed of fiberglass and wood, the first generation of SPSS vessels were limited in range and capacity. However, as DTOs advanced their techniques, newer generations of the SPSS, built from steel, can carry larger loads and can travel much further than previous assessed. The SPSS is not a true submersible, it is a surface vessel with a very low freeboard.

Routes: To date, the SPSS has been confined as an Eastern Pacific problem set; operating equatorially from South and Central America.

Perspectives on SPSS:

“What worries me [about the SPSS] is if you can move that much cocaine, what else can you put in that semi-submersible. Can you put a weapon of mass destruction in it?” Navy Adm. Jim Stavridis, Commander, U.S. Southern Command

"Every time we turn around, the smugglers are extraordinarily creative, extraordinarily adaptive" Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joseph L. Nimmich, Commander, JIATF-South

“I worry a little bit about how we as a government are able to focus on this (CD) mission,” Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

"This enemy is supremely intelligent and has lots of money. It shows that the narco-traffickers are betting on this method.” Edgar Cely, Colombian Navy Admiral

“What’s most striking is the logistical capacity of these criminals to take all this material into the heart of the jungle, including heavy equipment like propulsion gear and generators,” Colombian Navy Capt. Gustavo Angel, Commander, COLNAV 18th Vessel Flotilla

More Photos of SPSS (from U.S. Coast Guard site)