India sets up Submarine Rescue Vehicle Complex

The Indian Navy inaugurated Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) Complex in Visakhapatnam city on Wednesday.

“Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) complex inaugurated at Visakhapatnam by Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command (ENC). The Complex accommodates newly inducted DSRV in a Rescue-Ready state,” the Indian defense ministry tweeted.

The complex is designed to accommodate the newly inducted submarine rescue system and store the DSRV assets.

The DSRV system consists of a submarine rescue vessel, a remote operations vehicle (ROV) and side scan sonar and associated equipment. The system can help recover submarine crew from depths of up to 650m. It has diver decompression chambers and hyperbaric medical equipment to decompress submariners after being rescued from sunken submarines.

The side scan sonar locates the position of the submarine in distress at sea while the ROV assists the rescue operations by clearing debris and other obstructions underwater. It can be mobilised by air, sea or road to facilitate submarine rescue operations.

The Indian Navy has inducted two such systems which will provide rescue cover to submarines on the east and west coast of India. India’s first DSRV procured from the United Kingdom completed Navy’s sea acceptance trials in June 2019. The trials involved an underwater ‘mating’ of the DSRV with a hatch of a submerged submarine to carry out a personal transfer.

The third generation submarine rescue capability of Indian Navy can be sought by the other navies for assistance during contingencies in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).