The NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS) is a tri-national project to develop an international

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

rescue system. The system provides a rescue capability primarily to the partner nations of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, but also to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and allied nations and to any submarine equipped with a suitable mating surface around its hatches.

History

NSRS was designed and manufactured by Forum Energy Technologies' Subsea Division (NYSE Listed:FET formerly Perry Slingsby Systems). The NSRS entered service in 2008, replacing the UK's previous rescue system, the LR5. The complete system is fully air transportable in a variety of suitable aircraft ( C17/ C5/ An124/

A400M The Airbus A400M AtlasNamed after the Greek mythological figure. is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military, now Airbus Defence and Space, as a tactical airlifter with strategic capab ...

). It is capable of launch and recovery in a significant wave height of up to 5metres ( sea state 6) and can reach any distressed submarine (DISSUB) in 72-96 hours from the alert, dependent upon location. It has limited capability in ice-covered seas.

Rescue procedure

When a 'SUBSUNK' alert, which messages that a submarine is in difficulties is received, the operator of the submarine will initiate the NSRS call-out procedure. The intervention system, which is upon a ready-made

remotely operated vehicle A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is a free-swimming submersible craft used to perform underwater observation, inspection and physical tasks such as valve operations, hydraulic functions and other g ...

(ROV) will dispatch to the location approximately 24 hours in advance of the full rescue system. Once the ROV arrives it will locate the distressed submarine, establish communications, conduct damage assessment, and prepare the submarine for rescue operations. The Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV) along with a portable launch and recovery system (PLARS), support and operating equipment and the

hyperbaric Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an increase in barometric pressure of typically air or oxygen is used. The immediate effects include reducing the size of gas emboli and raising the partial pressures of the gases present. Initial ...

treatment complex (known as the Transfer Under Pressure (TUP) equipment) will arrive approximately 24 hours later. All equipment and personnel will be flown to the mobilisation port for embarkation on a suitable mobilisation ship. The embarkation will take less than 18 hours and the mobilisation ship will then sail to the scene where the SRV will be launched. The aim is to achieve time-to-first-rescue of 72 hours, with personnel being brought to the surface in groups of 12, and transferring them to the NSRS hyperbaric treatment facility if necessary. The NSRS is based at HM Naval Base Clyde in the UK.

Intervention System and the Intervention Remotely Operated Vehicle (IROV)

The Intervention system comprises the ROV, the launch and recovery system and the control module. The vehicle is based on the Forum Energy Technologies (FET) PSSL Triton SP ROV which is in widespread commercial use and is fitted with variable vectored thrusting. It is capable of operating in depths of 1000m. It can carry a variety of tools to assist in removing debris and delivering emergency life support stores (ELSS) to the survivors through the escape/rescue hatch, in watertight pods, known as pod-posting.

Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV)

The SRV is a crewed

submersible A submersible is an underwater vehicle which needs to be transported and supported by a larger ship, watercraft or dock, platform. This distinguishes submersibles from submarines, which are self-supporting and capable of prolonged independent ope ...

and was developed from previous rescue vehicles, notably LR5, developed and built by FET's Subsea Division brand Perry Slingsby Systems Ltd in North Yorkshire. It is 10m long, weighs 30

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s and has an all-

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

(NQ1), single piece

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

. The craft is operated by a three-man crew (two pilots and a rescue chamber operator). It can operate at depths down to 610m and can mate with the rescue hatch seal at angles of up to 60 degrees in any direction. It also uses high-temperature batteries, of "Zebra" type. These enable it to stay submerged for up to 96 hours. Propulsion is provided by two 25 kW units, with a further four smaller units being used for positioning. It is the latest generation of rescue vehicle and has diverless recovery,

fibre-optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

data communications and a self-contained breathing system developed by Divex (now part of James Fisher Defence). Delivery of the complete system was achieved by October 2007. Trials and development of improved operating practices were completed in time for Exercise Bold Monarch in May 2008. Full operational capability was attained in March 2011. NSRS has operated from numerous mother ships and exercised to bottomed diesel submarines of NATO nations as well as those of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. In 2013 NSRS achieved a first by conducting a full rescue cycle with the

nuclear attack submarine An SSN is a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine. ''SSN'' is the US Navy hull classification symbol for such vessels; the ''SS'' (as 'Ship Submersible') denotes a submarine and the ''N'' denotes nuclear power. The designation SSN is u ...

HMS Astute, which was suspended mid-water below large mooring

buoy A buoy (; ) is a buoyancy, floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navig ...

s. This success was repeated in April 2015 in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

to the French nuclear submarine Rubis.

Portable Launch and Recovery System (PLARS)

The PLARS comprises a combined SRV catcher and stabilisation system and is designed for operation in high sea states (up to sea state 6). The system is air transportable in

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

and the

. It uses a constant tension winch system for maintaining hawse tension in a wide range of sea states.

Transfer Under Pressure (TUP) System

The TUP system is a fully autonomous and air transportable hyperbaric treatment facility that provides full decompression and medical support for up to 72 personnel simultaneously from 6

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

to ambient pressure. It comprises a reception chamber, two

decompression chamber A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply of ...

s and a central control position with full

life-support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basi ...

and environmental control in conditions from -30

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

to +60°C. Built and put into service by

Rolls-Royce Holdings Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and dist ...

, the NSRS will be transferred to James Fisher Defence in July 2015.

References

External links

*Ismerlo NSRS pag

*Fact shee

{{authority control Submarine rescue equipment Lifeboats NATO