Feature 6 | SUBMARINE RESCUE
submarine, and consists of a pressurised
NSRS completes trials
rescue module (PRM), transfer skirt,
control van, umbilical winch, launch
Shortly before Exercise Bold Monarch, the new NATO Submarine Rescue
and recovery system, deck cradle and
System (NSRS) successfully completed trials off the coast of Norway. The NSRS
support equipment. The pressurised
concluded a successful ‘mate’ with the Norwegian submarine Uredd at a
rescue module (PRM) is a tethered,
depth of 87m in Husnes Fjord, just south of Bergen, in March. In the same trials
remotely operated submarine rescue
the vehicle completed a deep dive to 610m to demonstrate its capability.
vehicle. It consists of a horizontal
While not all of the deep water acceptance trials were completed in full at
cylinder hull with hemispherical
the time, there were enough key events for the trials to be declared a success.
ends situated inside an open frame.
Trials to include testing hatch operations at depth, angled ‘mating’ at angles of
Navigation, video, propulsion, and
up to 60 degrees and the ability to recover the vehicle from rough seas, were
life-support systems are mounted
due to have taken place not long afterwards.
externally on its frame and hull. The
The system is jointly owned by France, Norway and the UK and will provide
vehicle is designed for submerged
an effective rescue capability within a whole-life cost of £157 million over 30
transit to a depth of 2,000ft, for docking
years. It will complement the SRDRS, which is based in San Diego. Both are
and mating to a disabled submarine, in
due in service this year, are capable of worldwide deployment and will be
order to evacuate disabled personnel,
available to all submarine-operating nations.
to provide a hyperbaric habitat and to
The NATO system consists of a free-swimming rescue vehicle with an
transfer personnel to the SDS.
A-frame portable launch and recovery system, a transfer under pressure
The PRM is capable of transporting up
facility to safely decompress personnel from a pressurised submarine, and
to 16 rescued personnel under pressure
an intervention system for survey and rescue preparation. At the time that the
from the DISSUB to a surface ship. It has
NSRS trials were undertaken, the system was in the fi nal stage of a three-year
a dedicated Horizontal Manway capable
design and manufacture period under a 10-year contract with Rolls-Royce
of mating with the DTL to permit
Power Engineering, including support and operation.
the direct transfer under pressure of
For the trials the system was mobilised on the mother ship Harstad, a
rescuees and attendants into the SDS
Norwegian coastguard vessel. The system comfortably survived a rough
decompression chambers on deck.
passage to Cape Wrath, which saw 74knot winds, 10m seas, and 30-degree
The SRDRS utilises a tethered,
pitching. All systems operated correctly on reaching Norway. Four full mating
remotely operated PRM deployed and
sequences were completed, with stores being passed through the hatches of
controlled from the vessel of opportunity,
the Norwegian submarine.
and is launched and recovered using
On its deepest dive the rescue vehicle, which has previously been pressure
a deck-mounted A-frame LARS crane
tested to depths of 840m, went down in 100m steps to just over 600m, with full
LARS. Once the SRDRS is installed on a
system checks at each depth.
vessel and transported to the site of the
Other trials were also planned for the NSRS, including deployment from
disabled submarine, the PRM is launched
a French vessel, Argonaute, including a two-day medical exercise to test
via a stern mounted A-frame. The
the transfer under pressure facility and develop casualty handling and
LARS utilises a cursor frame and dual
coordination of rescuees. Air portability trials, training and more exercises
heave-compensated recovery winches for
were due to continue this summer.
The project is managed by the UK Ministry of Defence Equipment & Support
team on behalf of the three countries. When in service it will be managed by
the In-Service Submarines Integrated Project Team and the UK Royal Navy’s
existing LR5 rescue submersible and Scorpio remotely operated vehicle will
leave operational service.
lift ing and handling the PRM. via an armoured cable or umbilical,
Once submerged, the PRM is which has its payout length regulated
remotely monitored and operated from by a winch. The PRM will be remotely
The pressurised rescue module is a the control van on the vessel, with the piloted to the disabled submarine where
tethered, remotely operated submarine control facility essentially acting as a it will mate to the deck of the submarine
rescue vehicle. It is designed for command-and-control station for the over its hatch.
submerged transit to a depth of 2,000ft, PRM, sending controls for piloting, Mating occurs via an articulated
for docking and mating to a disabled providing power distribution and mating skirt called the transfer skirt.
submarine, in order to evacuate disabled monitoring life support systems. The This subsystem allows the PRM to
personnel. control signals are sent to the PRM mate with a disabled submarine at
58 Warship Technology October 2008
WT_Oct08_p54+55+58+60.indd Sec2:58 10/10/08 1:19:51 PM
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