Indian Navy's submarine rescue capability gets a boost

Mumbai: The Indian Navy’s submarine rescue capabilities have got a boost with the successful maiden trials of its newly inducted deep submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV), the Navy has said.

The Western Naval Command here conducted the trials of the DSRV, which also set a record for “deepest submergence by a manned vessel” in the Indian waters, the Navy said in an official release issued Tuesday late night.

The DSRV, operated by a crew of three, can rescue 14 personnel from a disabled submarine at one time, it said.

“On October 15, the DSRV carried out under water mating with a bottomed submarine at a depth of over 300 feet and transferred personnel from the submarine to the rescue vehicle,” the release said.

These trials have proven the DSRV’s ability to undertake rescue operations from disabled submarines at sea and have provided the Indian Navy with a “critical capability”, it said.

“During the trials, the DSRV also dived successfully up to 666 metres. This is a record for deepest submergence by a ‘manned vessel’ in the Indian waters,” the release said.

The DSRV crew also carried out ROV (remotely operated vehicle) operations at a depth of over 750 metres and side scan sonar operations at over 650 metres, which are all “firsts” for the Indian Navy, it said.

Once the trials are completed, it will put the Indian Navy into a small league of world navies that have an integral submarine rescue capability, the release added.