Hope In Ocean’s Depths: Indian Navy Now Capable Of Rescuing Personnel From Submarines In Distress Underwater 

Indian Navy has formally inducted its first deep submarine rescue vehicle, Livefist has reported. This will be the first of two rescue vehicles that will be inducted into the navy. The second submarine will be inducted in 2019. The rescue vehicle has been built by James Fisher & Sons, a United Kingdom company.

“[The Indian Navy] joins a select league of nations with capability to search, locate & provide rescue to distressed submarines by induction of its first Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) & associated kit in fly away configuration which can be rapidly mobilised. The DSRV can be mobilised from the naval base at Mumbai to nearest mounting port by air/land or sea for providing rapid rescue to the submarine in distress,” said a statement released by the Indian Navy.

The navy had awarded a 193 million pound contract to James Fisher & Sons a couple of years ago. Two complete third-generation submarine rescue systems, launch and recovery systems (LARS) equipment, Transfer Under Pressure (TUP) systems, logistics and support equipment, and a 25-year all-inclusive annual maintenance contract are part of the deal.

Though the Indian Navy has not encountered a situation wherein rescue operations were required, it has seen some accidents in its submarine division. In August 2013, a catastrophic explosion occurred at the dock on board, the Kilo-class submarine INS Sindhurakshak. The mishap had resulted in the death of all 18 men on board.