by Carys Williams
Over 50 military personnel from the Royal Navy, French Navy, and Norwegian Navy have successfully completed a two weeklong NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS) Rescue Exercise (RESCUEX).
The exercise started on Monday, November 10 at King George V Docks in Glasgow where mobilisation of equipment, jetty services, and the deck of the Serco Denholm vessel SD Northern River were used to set-up.
The bulk of the exercise was then carried out at sea close to Glen Mallan in Loch Long.
The NSRS, which is operated by the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA), is a tri-nationally resourced capability that involves over 150 trained personnel and is equipped to rescue a distressed submarine (DISSUB).
Collectively known as the NSRS Operations Group, it comprises of divers and medics from the UK, French, and Norwegian Navies, as well as medics and contractors from JFD Ltd. This year, personnel were joined by an observer from the Chilean Navy.
This RESCUEX was conducted in waters close to the Clyde and was carried out so tri-national personnel could revalidate their competencies and demonstrate all NSRS equipment is safe to use and is fully operational.
NSRS Operations Officer and Senior Rescue Element Commander, Commander Chris Baldwin said: “These exercises are key to assuring the Fleet Commander that NSRS is operationally poised and available as a global submarine rescue capability; ready to respond and support the rescue of submariners wherever it may be needed.”
This year’s focus was aimed at the team required to launch, dive and recover the system’s submarine rescue vehicle (SRV), named Nemo. Nemo can carry up to 12 people on exercise and carried out diving operations for ten days, allowing the whole team to practice their operational readiness.
During those ten days, Nemo conducted “mating” procedures. Effectively, Nemo manoeuvres carefully to an underwater target, simulating a submarine casing, onto which the pilot will position the “mating skirt” to achieve a watertight seal between Nemo and the target.
This mimics the seal that will be created when locking onto, or “mating” with a DISSUB. Then, the rescue chamber operator – working in the back of Nemo – can open the hatch just as if it was a distressed submarine on the seabed. In the event of a real incident with a submarine, this is how the submarine’s crew could be rescued in an operational emergency. For this exercise, two Norwegian Naval personnel were acting as rescue chamber operators.
NSRS Engineering & Logistics Support Manager and Authority Deployment Officer, Rob Penfold commented, “In addition to demonstrating the rescue operational capability, these exercises provide real evidence of how multiple engineering safety standards are interfaced. From logistic delivery and mobilisation to the ship, to installation, test and commissioning of equipment, providing confidence that the system is safe to operate even in operational emergency situations at sea”.
Additionally, senior officers from the French Navy completed their qualification as Rescue Element Commanders (REC) during the Exercise, demonstrating the multi-national nature of submarine rescue operations.
HM Naval Base Clyde’s Diving Threat and Exploitation Group (DTXG), Charlie Squadron, provided unique diving and recompression chamber expertise to the exercise. The exercise also provided the opportunity for Charlie Squadron’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander (Lt Cdr) Ross Balfour to qualify as a REC. After the successful completion of the exercise and with DTXG’s participation, Lt Cdr Balfour is now qualified to be at readiness to respond as the REC to any DISSUB incident globally.
NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS):
The NATO Submarine Rescue System is a government owned, contractor operated capability and is managed by the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA). The system is at constant readiness to respond in the event of a submarine emergency globally. A small team of Royal Navy personnel and MoD civil servants based in the SDA oversees the continuous availability of the system by the NSRS Contractor.
Based in Westway, the system weighs over 350t when assembled, and its constituent parts are air mobile, designed to be embarked onto many vessels in the event of its activation by Commander Task Force 311 in Northwood. The rescue system can operate in sea state five and in winds up to 30 knots.
Owned jointly by France, Norway and the UK, it relies on diving and medical personnel from all three nations’ navies and a team of contractors and sub-contractors from JFD Ltd., Shearwater Marine Services, Bowen Fluid Engineering, Clyde Commercial Diving, Dumbarton-based Galt Haulage Ltd., plus local welding and logistics firms to mobilise and operate it.