Tony Webb, Managing Director of Planet Ocean Underwater Hotels, LLC, today announced that a documented, patent-protected pathway to safe human living underwater now exists, enabled by U.S. Patent Design D-736947 and advanced through the USA–UAE Coral Civilization Initiative. For the first time, underwater habitation is no longer experimental or permanent in nature. The Planet Ocean Underwater Hotel design establishes a movable, non-anchored, zero-discharge underwater living platform operating at shallow, human-safe depths, while remaining fully retrievable, relocatable, and storm-evasive.
“Human beings live safely in offshore underwater platforms and space because those environments were engineered around safety first,” said Webb. “Underwater living lacked that pathway. With this patent and operational framework, that pathway now exists.”
Safety 15 Years Design, Not Experimentation
Unlike historic underwater concepts that relied on permanent seabed attachment or deep-water pressure exposure, the Planet Ocean system emphasizes:
- Shallow operational depth (~30 feet) within established human safety margins
- Multiple vertical access points with glass traction elevators and emergency egress
- Full mobility, allowing relocation away from storms or environmental risk
- No seabed penetration or anchoring, eliminating geological and ecological hazards
- Zero-discharge systems, protecting surrounding marine ecosystems
- Fabrication, assembly and training in Houma and Morgan City, Louisiana
The structure remains fully connected to surface support infrastructure and can be raised, serviced, or repositioned without permanent environmental impact.
USA–UAE Coral Civilization Initiative
This pathway to underwater living operates within the broader USA–UAE Coral Civilization Initiative, a private-sector-led framework aligning American engineering, maritime expertise, and innovation with United Arab Emirates support for sustainable tourism, marine science, and long-term coral reef restoration.
The initiative positions underwater living not as isolated development, but as part of a new category of ocean-based civilization infrastructure—one that is reversible, mobile, and environmentally restorative rather than extractive.
“Permanent construction on the seabed was the wrong model,” Webb explained. “Mobility, reversibility, and safety are the correct foundation for any future underwater civilization.”
Innovative Funding and Public Free Participation
A distinguishing feature of the Planet Ocean framework is its innovative funding programs, which allow broad public participation without requiring traditional real-estate ownership or speculative investment.
In multiple cases, these programs provide participants with earned one-night stays aboard the underwater hotel, enabling real-world experience of underwater living rather than theoretical exposure. These stays are allocated through structured participation models tied to outreach, collaboration, and coral restoration support.
“This approach allows ordinary people to experience underwater living directly,” Webb said. “Once someone spends a night underwater in a controlled, safe environment, the conversation changes permanently.”
From Novelty to Normalized Infrastructure
Despite decades of fascination with underwater living, Webb notes that adoption has been slow due to safety concerns, permanence, and regulatory uncertainty.
“This historic design removes the irreversible risks,” he said. “It can be deployed, observed, relocated, or withdrawn with no discharge. That single fact transforms underwater living from a novelty into a legitimate, manageable environment.”
