The Conversation

After decades of deep-sea dives, UH submarine becomes a part of Hawaiian history

Hawaiʻi Public Radio | By Catherine Cruz

Published October 21, 2026 at 1:32 PM HST

Submersible pilot Max Cremer stands beside the Pisces V submersible, now a part of the Bishop Museum Collection in this photo from October 2026.

There's a new addition to the Bishop Museum Collection, but it's not hidden away behind a locked door. In fact, it's quite hard to miss, as visitors will now have the chance to see a bona fide yellow submarine.

The University of Hawaiʻi has donated one of its deep-sea submarines, the Pisces V, to the Bishop Museum.

Along with the Pisces IV, the Pisces V is one of a pair of submarines that were retired almost a decade ago when the Hawaiʻi Undersea Research Laboratory closed in 2018.

The Pisces V submersible sits on the deck of a research vessel during an expedition to previously unexplored seamounts off the coast of Hawaiʻi Island on Sept. 8, 2016.

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But now, the Pisces V will take on a new role as the centerpiece of an exhibit coming in 2027. Its new home is just outside of the Science Adventure Center.

To learn more about the upcoming exhibit, HPR spoke with the Bishop Museum's Collections Manager Holly Bolick and Senior Curator of Ichthyology Richard Pyle about their history with the HURL subs.

From left to right: Max Cremer, Terry Kerby, HPR's Catherine Cruz and Steve Price. (Oct. 2026)

"What we do is maintain history and legacy, and that extends now to the submersible itself," Bolick told HPR. "We're not just holding on to specimens. We're not just holding on to information. We're trying to honor that history."

For Pyle, the Bishop Museum was the perfect resting place for the Pisces V after its long life of adventure under the sea.

"The museum is a perfect place to do this. We have this rich history with the submarine doing actual active science together. We have specimens here at the museum that were collected by the sub," he explained.

"So it's the perfect harmonious place for that sub to spend its retirement and essentially allow its stories to be told to the rest of the world."

The Pisces IV submersible sits atop the summit of Cook seamount, as seen from the Pisces V craft, during a dive to the previously unexplored underwater volcano off the coast of Hawaiʻi Island on Sept. 6, 2016.

HPR also spoke with Bishop Museum CEO Kris Helgen, who took over the institution in 2025. With his background in zoology, he shared his vision for moving the museum forward.

"It all comes back, I think, to this spirit of exploration. And the museum represents that we are a place of learning and education around the most ancient practices of voyaging and navigation," he reflected.

"And these submarines give us a glimpse into that changing technology that opened up the deeper part of the ocean to this kind of extraordinary exploratory work."

More information about the Pisces V and its new home at the Bishop Museum can be found here.

This story aired on The Conversation on Oct. 21, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.