Guinness World Record This man lived underwater in a steel capsule for 120 days

Rüdiger Koch spent months in a capsule underwater off the coast of Panama. He talks about wine, whiskey and monsters. He also has an appeal to the global community.

He was finally allowed to surface: German aerospace engineer Rüdiger Koch has broken the Guinness World Record for the most days under water. For 120 days, he lived in a steel capsule measuring just under 30 square meters, eleven meters deep off the coast of Panama.

"It's like waking up from a dream," said Koch at the ceremony. Koch spoke of a "great adventure" and explained that he had really enjoyed his time underwater. The view from the portholes of the capsule is beautiful, "when everything calms down and it gets dark and the sea lights up," said Koch. "It's impossible to describe, you have to experience it for yourself." To celebrate, Koch drank a glass of champagne and smoked a cigar before jumping into the Caribbean Sea for his first swim in 120 days.

The German set a world record for the longest time spent underwater without equalizing pressure. The 59-year-old emerged from his 30-square-meter home in the ocean on Friday under the watchful eye of Guinness Book of World Records adjudicator Susana Reyes. Reyes confirmed that Koch had broken the previous record of 100 days under water held by US citizen Joseph Dituri.

Everyday life under water: "Mustn't be claustrophobic here"

Everyday life under water was anything but easy for the Karlsruhe native in the cramped, non-air-conditioned capsule at 28 degrees. "You can't have claustrophobia here," says the engineer, who only washed himself with washcloths and worked "like in a home office". Despite the heat, cramped conditions and everyday challenges, the 59-year-old took every difficulty in his stride to break the world record. His secret? "Projects, good wine and good whiskey".

Koch watched the sea through the porthole windows, including "Gustavo" - a 50-kilo cubera snapper that he had become friends with; he even captured the fish in a drawing on the wall. Did the night underwater give him the creeps? "I had monsters under the bed," he jokes.

The bigger goal: protecting the oceans

But some sea creatures do indeed cause the engineer great concern, such as the invasive lionfish. "These fish with poisonous spines" and no local hunters "are a huge problem throughout the Caribbean," he says. To celebrate his return to the mainland, the fish will therefore be on the plate. "Hopefully people will get a taste for it."

Koch is also pursuing a bigger goal with the record. "The sea is used as a logistics center, a battlefield and a dumping ground. If we saw it as a home, its condition would be unacceptable." His mission: to raise awareness of marine conservation, to see the sea as a habitat. And it shouldn't be long before he dives in again. "I'll be back here after the ceremony. I won't be away for long," he says.