ONE of the world’s most advanced rescue submersibles has just been put through its paces in water depths to 15m, including simulated rescues, at The Underwater Centre in Fort William.
The Nato Submarine Rescue System (NSRS), which has been designed and built by a consortium lead by Rolls-Royce, was tested at The Underwater Centre as part of a seven-day training schedule.
A free-swimming rescue vehicle which can be deployed worldwide to reach stricken submarines, the submersible has a crew of three and can rescue 12 people at a time. It is capable of diving to 610m (2,000ft) and coping with pressures of five bar and incorporates a novel fibre-optics-based communications package for talking with the mother vessel.
During the simulation of real-life rescues, a “target” acting as a representation of a sunken submersible was positioned underwater at 50m (164ft).
The NSRS was then launched in a bid to test the “mating process” – ensuring that the soft seal of the rescue vehicle properly sticks to the hatch of a stricken submarine.
The NSRS was previously tested at The Underwater Centre as part of acceptance and proving trials. Last year, the facility also hosted trials for the LR7 rescue submarine commissioned by the Chinese navy.
Designed and built to replace the ageing LR5 in 2006, the NSRS is a joint British, Norwegian and French project.
All three countries now possess a massive subsea capability thanks to the offshore oil&gas industry, and it is understood that this heritage has been put to good use in the NSRS project.