MS ''Wildrake''/''Holger Danske''/NSS ''Felinto Perry'' was a motor diving vessel originally built and used by Norwegian Company. She was renamed ''Holger Dane'' after being sold to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and finally NSS ''Felinto Perry'' (K-11) in the

Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...

as a submarine relief ship from the

. It was equipped to support diving, fire fighting and rescue of

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 ...

Service in Norway

1970s

The MS ''Wildrake'' was a diving support vessel constructed for and owned by Anders Wilhelmsen AS, a Norwegian shipping company. It had a built-in

saturation diving Saturation diving is an ambient pressure diving technique which allows a diver to remain at working depth for extended periods during which the body tissues become solubility, saturated with metabolically inert gas from the breathing gas mixture ...

system designed and built by another Norwegian company, Møllerodden AS. In May 1979, Infabco began negotiations for exclusive rights to the ''Wildrake''. In June and early July, with the ''Wildrake'' moored near

Ulsteinvik is a town in Ulstein Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the commercial and administrative centre of the municipality and as such, Ulsteinvik contains 74% of the municipal population. The town has a population (2024) ...

, Infabco personnel prepared its diving system for use. The system was certified by

Det Norske Veritas Det Norske Veritas (DNV), formerly DNV GL, is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Høvik, Norway. DNV provides services for several industries, including maritime, oil and gas, renewable energy, e ...

(DNV) on 3 July 1979. In mid-July, 17 bell runs were conducted from the ''Wildrake'' to prepare the SALM base for the reattachment.

Wildrake Diving Accident

The ''Wildrake'' diving accident was an incident in Scotland in August 1979 that killed two American commercial divers. During a routine dive in the

East Shetland Basin The East Shetland Basin is a major oil-producing area of the North Sea between Scotland and Norway. It extends from 60°10′ N to 61°45′ N and 1°36′ E to 3°0′ E. It is 111.3 km north–south and at its maximum 55.8 km east–w ...

of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, the

diving bell A diving bell is a rigid chamber used to transport divers from the surface to depth and back in open water, usually for the purpose of performing underwater work. The most common types are the open-bottomed wet bell and the closed bell, which c ...

of the

diving support vessel A diving support vessel is a ship that is used as a floating base for professional diving projects. Basic requirements are the ability to keep station accurately and reliably throughout a diving operation, often in close proximity to drilling or ...

MS ''Wildrake'' became separated from its main lift wire at a depth of over 160 metres (520 ft). Although the bell was eventually recovered by ''Wildrake'', its two occupants, 32-year-old Richard Arthur Walker and 28-year-old Victor Francis "Skip" Guiel Jr., died of

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

. The accident resulted in extensive subsequent litigation and led to important safety changes in the diving industry.

Service in Denmark

MS Wildrake was renamed Holger Dane and was sold to Henning H. Faddersbøll in 1986. She was based in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. The ''Holger Dane'' was famous for the treasure hunt promoted by ''Henning H. Fadderbøll'' in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, where the hull of the English ship “Medina” was found full of Indian works of art. She was sold to the

after nearly 2 years of service.

Service in Brazilian Navy

1980s

In 1988, she was acquired by the Brazilian Navy from the ''Norwegian company A / S Sentinel Offshore'' to replace the ship NSS Gastão Moutinho (K-10) in the tasks of rescuing personnel, saving material and supporting deep diving. The ''Holger Dane'' was famous for the treasure hunt promoted by ''Henning H. Fadderbøll'' in the

, where the hull of the English ship “Medina” was found full of Indian works of art. Incorporated into the Brazilian Armada on October 19, 1988, he was named in honor of Admiral Felinto Perry, an officer with active participation in the organization of the Submarine Force, of which he was its first commander. It is affectionately called by its crew as "''Ace of Hearts''".

1990s

In the first week of July 1991, he rescued the Vessel and Material Disembarkation Vessel, number 305 (EDVM-305), with 25 tons of displacement, which had been wrecked, during exercises, 330 meters from Itaóca Beach, in

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

. Anchoring at four irons on the EDVM, after 12 hours of intense work by divers and the entire crew, the vessel was moved by the towing cable and brought to the surface by the ship's crane. Using portable pumps, the EDVM compartments were depleted and the vessel was placed at the stern of the ship. On their return to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, ''Felinto Perry'' delivered the vessel to the Landing Vessel Group for repairs.

Operation TORPEDEX II

On August 18, it provided support for the actual test of the MFC-01/100 Anchorage and Contact Mine, which took place off Rio de Janeiro. Between August 30 and September 2, he was in Santos-SP, during the interval of underwater rescue exercises with S Bahia (G-40). Between October 22 and 24, he participated in Operation TORPEDEX II, to evaluate the launch of the torpedo, together with the S Tupi (S-30) and the

F União (F-45) F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounc ...

. Between November 22 and 25, he was in Santos-SP during the interval of Underwater Rescue exercises with S Humaitá (S-20). This was ''Felinto Perry'''s 7th stopover in the port of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. Between December 12 and 16, he was in Santos together with the S Amazonas (S-16) and Humaitá (S-20), during the interval of Submarine Rescue exercises. The Amazonas entered and left the same day after refueling remaining in the bar. On July 14, 1994, she received the "Contact" Award, granted by ''COMCONTRAM''. On April 26, 1995, at anchor in a cove to the north of Ilha Grande, it served as a target in an exercise when a MEC Group, which had been collected on the high seas by S Humaitá (S-20), after being launched by parachute of a C-115 Bufalo aircraft of the 1st GTT carried out a simulated attack. Between April 28 and May 1, he was at the port of Santos. On April 9, 1996, she suspended from Rio de Janeiro for the refueling commission of the POIT - Oceanographic Post of the Island of Trindade. On June 25, 1998, ''Felinto Perry'' received from the ''Command of Naval Control of Maritime Traffic'' - ''COMCONTRAM'', the "Contact-CNTM / Squadron" Award, for the year 1997. On October 3, he completed 10 years of service to the Brazilian Navy, having reached the mark of 740 days at sea and 86,000 miles sailed.

2000s

In March, 2000, she was submitted to an ''Aviation Safety inspection by the Navy Aviation Investigation and Prevention Service'' (SIPAAerM).

Operation SARSUB-I / 03

Between 29 June and 3 July 2003, she participated, in the Angra dos Reis area, in Operation SARSUB-I / 03, carried out by ForS in conjunction with S Tupi (S-30) and AvApCo Almirante Hess (BACS-01), and told, also, with the participation of divers from BACS and CIAMA. This operation took on historical characteristics, since for the first time in our Navy the Submarine Rescue Bell (SRS) was coupled with the opening of the lower and upper hatches of the Tupi battery compartment, where a "doll" was transferred for the SRS. The port of Santos-SP was visited. At the end of June, 2004, she performed rescue exercises in conjunction with the S Tupi (S-30) and the AvApCos Almirante Hess (BACS-01). She visited the port of Santos-SP from 17 to 20 September. Between December 10 and 14, during the interval of diving exercises carried out on the north coast of São Paulo, he was visiting the port of Santos-SP, together with AvApCos Almirante Hess (BACS-01). On that occasion he participated in the celebrations of the Sailor's Day. ''Felinto Perry'' carried out a ''General Maintenance Period'' (PMG), restarting diving training in sequence, preparing for the Efficiency Check, in the requalification of the ship and its crew in carrying out submarine rescue operations in 2005.

Operation TROPICALEX-I / 06

On January 25, it was submitted to VSA by SIPAA-ForSup (''Surface Force Command Accident Prevention Investigation Section''). Participated in Operation TROPICALEX-I / 06, carried out from May 1 to June 1 along the coast of the Northeast and Southeast regions, integrating Task Group 705.1 composed of F Bosisio (F-48), Greenhalgh (F-46), Rademaker (F-49), Niterói (F-40) and Independência (F-44); Cv Jaceguai (V-31) and

Frontin (V-33) "Frontin'" is the debut single by American musician Pharrell Williams featuring American rapper Jay-Z. It was written by the artists alongside Chad Hugo, who produced it with Williams as the Neptunes. At the time of its release, Williams insist ...

; CT Pará (D-27); NT Marajó (G-27) and

Almirante Gastão Motta (G-23) Almirante is the Spanish and Portuguese word for admiral. It may also refer to: Places * Almirante, original name of Laurel Hill, Florida, a city in U.S. * Almirante, Bocas del Toro, a city in Panama * Almirante District, a district of Bocas del T ...

;

NDD Rio de Janeiro (G-31) NDD may refer to: * non-DAC donor, that is, a donor outside the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) * National Direct Dialing, local area code of a phone number * Nature deficit disorder Nature-deficit disorder is the idea that human beings, ...

;

NDCC Mattoso Maia (G-28) USS ''Cayuga'' (LST-1186) was a of the United States Navy which replaced the traditional Bow (ship), bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). The vessel was constructed by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California ...

and the S Tamoio (S-31) and Tapajó (S-33). The operation also had the participation of the following district ships: RbAM Tridente (R-22) and NPa Gurupi (P-47) of the 1st DN;

Cv Caboclo (V-19) CV, Cv, or cv may refer to: *Curriculum vitae, a summary of academic and professional history and achievements CV, Cv, or cv may also refer to: Businesses and organisations * Cargolux (IATA designator CV), a Luxembourg cargo airline * , a German ...

NPa Guaratuba (P-50) NPA may refer to: Organizations and companies Companies * National Prescription Administrators, a former pharmaceutical company in the United States * Network Printing Alliance, a group of printer manufacturers * Northern Pacific Airways, a ...

and

Gravataí (P-51) Gravataí is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, located north of the state capital, approximately 23 km away. It is one of the 32 municipalities within the Porto Alegre Metropolitan Region (RMPA). The municipality cov ...

and NV Atalaia (M-17),

Araçatuba (M-18) Araçatuba is a city located in the northwest of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state, Brazil. The city has 198,129 inhabitants (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE/2020) and spans . The city name comes from the Tupi language an ...

, Abrolhos (M-19) and Albardão (M-20), of the 2nd DN and the RbAM Trindade (R-26) and the NPa Grajaú (P-40), Goiana (P-43) and Graúna (P-42) of the 3rd DN. Aircraft from ForAerNav and FAB also participated.

Operation ADEREX-II / 06

Between July 31 and August 17, participated in Operation ADEREX-II / 06, which took place in the maritime area between São Paulo and Espírito Santo, integrating Task Group also composed of F Niterói (F-40), Constitution (F-42), Independência (F-44), Rademaker (F-49), CT Pará (D-27),

Cv Frontin (V-33) CV, Cv, or cv may refer to: *Curriculum vitae, a summary of academic and professional history and achievements CV, Cv, or cv may also refer to: Businesses and organisations * Cargolux (IATA designator CV), a Luxembourg cargo airline * , a German ...

and S Tapajó (S-33). The commission was accompanied by the Commander-in-Chief of the Squadron, Vice Admiral Álvaro Luiz Pinto, the Chief of Staff of the Squadron, Rear Admiral ''João Arthur do Carmo Hildebrandt'', Commander of the 1st Division of the Squadron, Rear Admiral ''Francisco Antônio de Magalhães Laranjeira'' and Commander of the 2nd Division of the Squadron, Rear Admiral ''Rodrigo Otávio Fernandes de Hônkis'', also Commander of the Task Group.

Operation SARSUB-II / 2008

From March 24 to 28, he participated in Operation SARSUB-II / 2008, held in the Bay of

Ilha Grande Ilha Grande (), or "big island", is a forested island located around 12 km (7.5 mi) off of the Atlantic coast of Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and about 243 km (151 mi) from São Paulo. The highest point on Ilha Grande is the tall Pic ...

, in

Angra dos Reis Angra dos Reis (; Portuguese language, Portuguese for ''cove'' or ''bay of the Kings'') is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality located in the southern part of the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. Th ...

, and which also included the participation of S Tupi (S-31) and AvApCos Almirante Hess (BACS-01). The operation consisted of a simulation of the rescue of an injured submarine, with high-pressure air passage exercises, material passage and collection and medical assistance for the crew members who escaped through the rescue box.

SARSUB-TIKUNA 2009

Between February 9 and 12, the SARSUB-TIKUNA 2009 commission was held in

, together with the NSS ''Felinto Perry''. On the 12th, under the coordination of the ''Submarine Force Command'' (ComForS), the rescue of four Tikuna crew, two of whom are observer officers of the North American Navy and the Chilean Navy. In this exercise, after opening the hatch, a doctor went into the submarine and four crew members went to the rescue bell. Then, the crew members were brought to the surface and disembarked at Felinto Perry, where they passed, simultaneously, to the care of the team of hyperbaric doctors and nurses. This was the first time that Felinto Perry made the coupling of his rescue bell in Tikuna, after having done it in all submarines of the "Tupi" Class.

2010s

On August 25, she was visited by Rear Admiral ''Khawaja Ghazanfar Hussain'', Director of Operational Plans for the

Pakistani Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Commi ...

, accompanied by an entourage also formed by Commodore ''Asif Khaliq'', ''Captain-de-Mar-e-Guerra Zain Zulfiqar'' and Brigadier ''Mazahar Hussain'', Naval Attaché of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Operation ANTARTICA XXXI

In 2012, ''Felinto Perry'' in Operation ANTARTICA XXXI, which started on October 6, together with NOc Almirante Maximiano (H-41) and NApOc Ary Rongel (H-44), and which also had the support of the merchant ship "

MV Germania MV may refer to: Businesses and organizations In transportation * Motor vessel, a motorized ship; used as a prefix for ship names * MV Agusta, a motorcycle manufacturer based in Cascina Costa, Italy * Armenian International Airways (IATA code MV ...

" and the ''Transport Ship of Personnel and Cargo of the Armada Argentina'' ARA Bahia de San Blas (B-4). In this commission ''Felinto Perry'' was employed in tasks of logistical support to the dismantling services of the ''Antarctic Comandante Ferraz Station'', and also, in tasks related to the installation of emergency

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

modules, carrying out fieldwork in refuges and camps, and as a platform for conducting research. On April 8, 2013, she arrived in

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

, returning from Antartica.

Decommissioned

The "Ace of Hearts" was decommissioned in 14 December 2020, in an event that saw her flag be delivered to the CO of . During her 32-year tenure with the Brazilian Navy, ''Felinto Perry'' reached the milestone of 1,797 days at sea and sailed 189,483 nautical miles.

Equipments

The vessel is equipped with decompression chambers, an atmospheric bell (allows rescues to be carried out at depths greater than 300 meters), whaling with a hyperbaric chamber and an unmanned vehicle remotely controlled for operations up to 600 meters ("ROV" ). It also has a dynamic positioning system ("DPS", which allows the ship to remain stationary in relation to a certain point), a platform for helicopters and cranes.

Gallery

File:Felinto Perry2.jpg, NSS ''Felinto Perry'' in 2009. File:Sino de Resgate Submarino NSS Felinto Perry.jpg, One of NSS ''Felinto Perry''’s ROV in 2009. File:K 11 - Felinto Perry (7203521472).jpg, NSS ''Flinto Perry'' underway on 15 May 2012. File:Felinto Perry in Arraial do Cabo 3.JPG, NSS ''Felinto Perry'' at the coast off Arraial do Carbo on 26 May 2015. File:Felinto Perry in Arraial do Cabo 2.JPG, NSS ''Felinto Perry'' at the coast off Arraial do Carbo on 26 May 2015. File:K-11 Navio de socorro Submarino Felinto Perry (26074614804).jpg, A helicopter coming into NSS ''Felinto Perry''’s helipad on 4 April 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wildrake Submarine rescue ships Submarine tenders Ships of Norway Ships of Denmark Auxiliary ships of the Brazilian Navy Ships built in Norway 1978 ships