Sub rescue vehicle trapped underwater

AuBC News ^ | Tuesday, December 5, 2006. 3:10pm (AEDT)

[james500]

A rescue effort is under way for two people trapped inside a submarine rescue vehicle off the coast of Perth.

A civilian diving contractor was testing the Australian Submarine Rescue Vehicle (ASRV) in deep water last night when its winching system failed, preventing it from being able to return to the surface.

The vessel was lowered to the sea bed and is currently sitting in 130 metres of water.

The Defence Department says the two people trapped inside are in no immediate danger, as the vehicle remains attached to the mother ship by a secondary cable which provides power and communication.

Rough weather conditions are hampering the recovery of the vessel and the frigate HMAS Anzac (FFH 150) and navy divers are on stand-by.

[Liberty Valance]

Bump and ping

[Talking_Mouse]

Prayers up

[Liberty Valance]

One of these?

[rottndog]

Hope these 2 can cheat Davy Jones.

[Liberty Valance]

the vehicle remains attached to the mother ship by a secondary cable which provides power and communication.

Does that include air?

[hosepipe]

Theres no spare ROV in ALL of Australia?.. Bad move..

[Liberty Valance]

http://www.navy.gov.au/fegs/subrescue.html
more info...

[george76]

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,20875120-952,00.html

[metmom]

Shudder

Prayers for those trapped.

[FreeInWV]

No worries. 130 metres ain't all that deep.

A diver could ferry them some tanks and they could swim out.

[Frwy]

Is that certain. I need to sleep tonight.

[BradyLS]

130 meters is (very roughly) about 400 feet? What about the bends if they try to do a straight ascent from that depth?

[William Tell]

I thought that craft like this included mechanisms for shedding weights in order to achieve bouyancy for just such circumstances. If they don't, I bet they are wishing they had.

[FreedomPoster]

I believe that's a very technical dive with special gases, but do-able.

[Brucifer]

In the Gulf of Mexico hard hat divers would dive surface supplied (air hoses) down to @420- 450 feet. I think the divers on the Russian submarine the Kursk were about that deep.

[Pylon]

as the vehicle remains attached to the mother ship by a secondary cable which provides power and communication Can't it be pulled up those? Who needs a winch, just get some guys and a case of Fosters.

[ArmstedFragg]

Hmmm... From the looks of it, they were able to lift with the one cable as long as it was underwater, but didn't want to pull it to the surface in rough seas. Nice job!

[ArmstedFragg]

Snooze away! See post 9

[george76]

" Commander of the Submarine Force Elements Group, Commodore Richard Shalders, said the men were rescued at 12.50pm (WDT), after the pod was lifted to 15 metres below the surface. "

"The two divers were brought out of the pod, assisted by some divers from the surface, at about 15 metres below the surface,'' ...

[Liberty Valance]

Excellent. Thanks.

[BIGLOOK]

Thanks for the ping, George!

Must explain on thing.....I wasn't a Bubblehead. Doohickey was though. He tolerates me on his Ping list as a joint ops appreciation thing. And he wants me to buy beer.

We do have something in common though. We both lived in a tube. His under the sea and mine in the air.

VQ-1 Danang.

[george76]

Good news for our friends.

[Westlander]

[kennyboy509]

If!!!

They abandon the vehical and use the submarine escape breathing appliance they can make it to the surface safely with No decompression sickness.

It would be shameful if the rescuers did do design in an escape for theselves.

HO HO HO all the way to the surface. (an i an't talkin bout no Sante Clause)

Steinke hood
A Steinke hood, named for its inventor, is a device designed to aid escape from a sunken submarine, essentially an inflatable life jacket with a hood that completely encloses the wearer's head, trapping a bubble of breathing air. An advancement over its predecessor, the Momsen lung, it was standard equipment in all submarines of the United States Navy throughout the Cold War period. The US Navy plans to replace Steinke hoods in all US submarines with escape suits called Submarine Escape and Immersion Equipment by 2005.

[Westlander]

Angels by their side.

[george76]

I always enjoy reading your posts.

Thanks.

[in the Arena]

Tell me how this would work. At approx 130 meters, the pressure would be around 190 lbs/inch on the body...

It's late and I've had a few so be gentle... LOL

[james500]

good news:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1804781.htm

Men rescued after 13 hours trapped in sub

Divers have rescued two men who were trapped in a submarine rescue vessel off the coast of Perth.

The Australian Submarine Rescue Vehicle (ASRV) was conducting a certification trial about 15 nautical miles west of Wanneroo when one of the cables attaching it to the mother ship snapped.

The vessel was lowered 130 metres to the sea floor, where the men remained for almost 13 hours.

The secondary cable attached to the mother ship was used to winch the vessel to just below the surface, where divers swam down and brought the men to the surface.

The two men are receiving medical treatment

[Herakles]

OK, when did Australia get a Navy and why wasn't I informed?

Give those guys some empty beer kegs and it will go to their heads.

[BradyLS]

Can anyone explain why the sub was winched to just below the surface and then the divers brought the two submariners out?

[BIGLOOK]

Always appreciate 'Good News' posts. We can't get enough of 'em.

That successful rescue is worthy of a BZ for all involved.

Post as often all the good since the MSM will print as often all the bad....with malice for all.

[BIGLOOK]

Buoyancy and weight. The crew is valued and the sub is materiel.

[Diver Dave]

Thanks for the ping. Glad to see a happy ending.

[naturalman1975]

Basically because it was safer to do that.

The most dangerous part of the extraction is when the vehicle is lifted out of the water onto the deck. It is no longer supported by the water and no longer has bouyancy to help with its weight - and so if a cable is going to break that's when it is most likely to happen. So they got them out before risking it.

[PAR35]

No worries. 130 metres ain't all that deep.

Scuba at 400 feet? That was about the maximum dive depth for a World War II sub.

[BlueMondaySkipper]

Why? What has he ever done to you?

[rottndog]

Cheer up sleepy Jean...

[Bellows]

What about the bends if they try to do a straight ascent from that depth?

They wouldn't ascend straight from that depth. They would do a staged decompression ascent, stopping at points along the way up. At what points, and for how long, would depend on their time outside the sub at depth, the gases they're breathing, etc.

[Bellows]

Scuba at 400 feet? That was about the maximum dive depth for a World War II sub.

You can't compare the two. A WWII sub was limited by its hull's ability to withstand pressures at depth. The human body is mostly liquid and is essentially non-compressible. To give you an idea, the free diving (no scuba - just hold your breath) world record in the "no limit" category (using a weighted sled to descend and inflation device to ascend) stands at 183 meters. That's on a single held breath. That record is not limited by the body's ability to withstand the pressure, only the person's ability to hold his/her breath for what must seem like an eternity. For scuba at that depth the issue is breathing gas. We've figured that out. The scuba world record is somewhere north of 300 meters. It takes only minutes to descend, but at that depth it takes several hours to ascend, due to the need to do multiple decompression stops.

[Frwy]

Thanks, that is good news.

[kennyboy509]

This is kind of complicated to explain

Or

my other excuse is I am a lousy teacher so I will refer you to this site.

http://www.galwaydiving.com/includes/training/clubdiver/Burst%20Lung%20OHP.pdf

[DuncanWaring]

Re: "Burst Lung" ... I took a brief SCUBA class in college - we were told to continue breathing while ascending.

The class was held in the school swimming pool, which had a max depth of 18 ft, as I recall.

One time I forgot the "continue to breathe" rule (briefly) and even after ascending only five or six feet it got exceedingly uncomfortable (at which point I remembered "Oh yeah - BREATHE, DUMMY - AND DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!").

[kennyboy509]

I'm glad you are safe.

I've seen 1 young man die. It was heart breaking and unpleasant.