Russian sub accident - Priz minisub
A Russian submersible and seven crewmembers have surfaced after spending some three days trapped 650ft down off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. A British ROV cut the cables which had snagged the vessel and it surfaced shortly after.
Surface vessels had dragged the area with cables and hooked the sub. They had limited success in dragging it into shallower water before the successful rescue. The AS-28, built in 1989, is about 44 ft long and can dive to depths of 3200ft. It was ironically built as a rescue vehicle, able to dock with stranded submarines. A separate compartment can hold up to 20 people in addition to the three person crew.
The sub became entangled in a cable and possibly a fishing net on Thursday August 4th. The Russian navy stated variously that the trapped sailors had enough air for 24 hours or until sometime Monday. The cable is thought to be part of an undersea surveillance system which Russia has deployed to monitor submarine traffic in Berezovaya Bay near its military bases on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The cables were attached to an alleged 60 ton anchor which hindered the dragging operation and caused the Russian navy to hesitate in demolishing it with explosives.
Japan, Britain and the United States rushed rescue vehicles to the area. The US airlifted a Super Scorpio ROV, a Deep Drone 8000 and deep divers to Kamchatcka.
Super Scorpio
This accident brings up questions about Russia's submarine rescue abilities and deep diving capability in general. After the Kursk accident, Russian divers were apparently unable to reach the engine room hatch at a depth of 300ft. The Kursk accident eventually resulted in the deaths of all 118 sailors aboard and created an international uproar and embarrassment for Russia. Shortly after, President Putin stated that improvements would be made to Russia's deep sea rescue forces. Now with the current accident, the AS-28 was trapped at 625ft which was still within the reach of American and European military and commercial divers. An American dive team based in New Orleans, Louisiana was enroute to the accident site. This team had deep diving technologies and skills which allowed them to work at depths of 1200ft.
Novosti article with some details of the rescue...
A Small Orange
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