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Rescue sub gets trial run in Burrard Inlet
It carries a crew of two and is designed to bring 16 submariners to surface at a time
Peter Wilson, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, May 04, 2007
United States navy crewmembers trapped on board a disabled submarine could find themselves being brought safely to the surface thanks to technology from North Vancouver.
This week an innovative submarine rescue vehicle, designed and built by OceanWorks International Corp. for the U.S. Navy (at a cost of about $100 million, which also includes development and delivery costs), got its first taste of undersea conditions as it began trials off a Burnaby dock.
In just 15 metres of water the remotely operated pressurized rescue module (PRM) -- which has a maximum operating depth of 610 metres, carries a crew of two, and is designed to bring 16 submariners to the surface at a time -- is carrying out some basic manoeuvres. OceanWorks submarine rescue vehicle built for the U.S. navy gets a field test in Burrard Inlet on Thursday. Operator Vincenzo Galati sits in the control area and squeezes out the hatch (above).
"What we're doing is shallow-water testing," said OceanWorks International's general manager Glen Viau, whose firm has been working on the PRM for the past six years. "We put the vehicle in the water, we fly it around, we test all the functions."
A key element in this is what's called an articulating transfer skirt, an open-bottomed structure attached to the underside of the PRM that mates with a seal on the hatches of submarines.
"The skirt has two rotary joints which allow it to adjust the mating angle anywhere from zero to 45 degrees," said Viau.
In Burnaby, the PRM is being tested with both a zero-degree and a 45-degree mock-up of a submarine hatch.
When the pressure seal is achieved, a pump removes trapped water and a passageway is created for escaping submariners.
"Our rescue vehicle equalizes pressure with the submarine and then transfers people out under pressure," said Viau. "When it comes to the surface, the PRM can then mate to a decompression chamber and transfer people out . . . where they can decompress on the safety of the surface."
Viau said that, depending on the size and class of the target submarine, there could be anywhere from 30 to more than 100 crew members awaiting rescue.
"So you could be looking at seven or eight trips if you're talking about a big nuclear submarine."
The PRM is designed to work in rough seas and in areas with strong underwater currents.
The two attendants on board the PRM -- which otherwise is controlled from a van on board a base ship that carries it to the rescue site -- run the life-support systems, open and close the hatches, run the pumps, and help crew members out of the sub.
"They're also trained to help with stretcher cases," said Viau. "There's a hoist so we can actually transfer a stretcher to the rescue vehicle."
Cost of the contract for the PRM -- and the accompanying control van, launch and recovery system, umbilical winch and dock cradle -- has not been disclosed by OceanWorks, a subsidiary of privately held Oceanworks International Inc. of Houston, Texas.
A key part of the U.S. Navy's Submarine Rescue and Decompression Recompression System (SRDRS) program, the OceanWorks unit is designed to be flown within 72 to hours from its home base at the Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego to any port in the world.
Then it's placed aboard either a naval or commercial vessel and heads out to rescue a submarine.
In the next two or three weeks, the PRM will be towed to Indian Arm, where it will be anchored in about 150 meters of water.
"And we'll do it all over again," said Viau. "Once those trials are complete, we'll be towed around to Egmont on Jervis Inlet, and we'll do it all again in 2,000 feet [about 610 meters]."
When that final trial is complete and any problems fixed, the system will be sent to San Diego, where OceanWorks will begin the process of putting it into service for the U.S. Navy.
Initially, the Navy has ordered just one of the PRM systems.
"We remain confident over the next few years that they will order a second one, so they can take one of them out of service for maintenance and overhaul without losing the capability."
In the 1990s, OceanWorks built a similar system for the Australian Navy.
"It's actually on its way back here for an overhaul and an upgrade," said Viau. "That's the the next thing we'll be working on."
Viau said that the creation of the PRM and its eventual deployment is "quite a big deal", not just for Canada and his company but for the entire sub-sea industry in the Lower Mainland.
"It really showcases Canadian technology, and certainly there's been a lot of support from the Lower Mainland sub-sea industry, which is alive and well.
"That's companies like International Submarine Engineering, Kongsberg Mesotech and many, many subcontractors."
networks@png.canwest.com
A PRM FOR THE USN
North Vancouver-based OceanWorks International Corp. built the pressurized rescue module (PRM) for the U.S. navy.
Here's what the USN is getting.
Crew: Two operators
Rescue capacity: 16 submariners per trip
Lifesupport (air supply): 24 hours for 18 people -- normal mission is five hours
Maximum operating depth: 610 metres
Length: 25 feet
Width: Eight feet
Weight: 45,000 pounds
Cost (including design, development, manufacture and delivery): about $100 million
It carries a crew of two and is designed to bring 16 submariners to surface at a time
Peter Wilson, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, May 04, 2007
United States navy crewmembers trapped on board a disabled submarine could find themselves being brought safely to the surface thanks to technology from North Vancouver.
This week an innovative submarine rescue vehicle, designed and built by OceanWorks International Corp. for the U.S. Navy (at a cost of about $100 million, which also includes development and delivery costs), got its first taste of undersea conditions as it began trials off a Burnaby dock.
In just 15 metres of water the remotely operated pressurized rescue module (PRM) -- which has a maximum operating depth of 610 metres, carries a crew of two, and is designed to bring 16 submariners to the surface at a time -- is carrying out some basic manoeuvres. OceanWorks submarine rescue vehicle built for the U.S. navy gets a field test in Burrard Inlet on Thursday. Operator Vincenzo Galati sits in the control area and squeezes out the hatch (above).
"What we're doing is shallow-water testing," said OceanWorks International's general manager Glen Viau, whose firm has been working on the PRM for the past six years. "We put the vehicle in the water, we fly it around, we test all the functions."
A key element in this is what's called an articulating transfer skirt, an open-bottomed structure attached to the underside of the PRM that mates with a seal on the hatches of submarines.
"The skirt has two rotary joints which allow it to adjust the mating angle anywhere from zero to 45 degrees," said Viau.
In Burnaby, the PRM is being tested with both a zero-degree and a 45-degree mock-up of a submarine hatch.
When the pressure seal is achieved, a pump removes trapped water and a passageway is created for escaping submariners.
"Our rescue vehicle equalizes pressure with the submarine and then transfers people out under pressure," said Viau. "When it comes to the surface, the PRM can then mate to a decompression chamber and transfer people out . . . where they can decompress on the safety of the surface."
Viau said that, depending on the size and class of the target submarine, there could be anywhere from 30 to more than 100 crew members awaiting rescue.
"So you could be looking at seven or eight trips if you're talking about a big nuclear submarine."
The PRM is designed to work in rough seas and in areas with strong underwater currents.
The two attendants on board the PRM -- which otherwise is controlled from a van on board a base ship that carries it to the rescue site -- run the life-support systems, open and close the hatches, run the pumps, and help crew members out of the sub.
"They're also trained to help with stretcher cases," said Viau. "There's a hoist so we can actually transfer a stretcher to the rescue vehicle."
Cost of the contract for the PRM -- and the accompanying control van, launch and recovery system, umbilical winch and dock cradle -- has not been disclosed by OceanWorks, a subsidiary of privately held Oceanworks International Inc. of Houston, Texas.
A key part of the U.S. Navy's Submarine Rescue and Decompression Recompression System (SRDRS) program, the OceanWorks unit is designed to be flown within 72 to hours from its home base at the Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego to any port in the world.
Then it's placed aboard either a naval or commercial vessel and heads out to rescue a submarine.
In the next two or three weeks, the PRM will be towed to Indian Arm, where it will be anchored in about 150 meters of water.
"And we'll do it all over again," said Viau. "Once those trials are complete, we'll be towed around to Egmont on Jervis Inlet, and we'll do it all again in 2,000 feet [about 610 meters]."
When that final trial is complete and any problems fixed, the system will be sent to San Diego, where OceanWorks will begin the process of putting it into service for the U.S. Navy.
Initially, the Navy has ordered just one of the PRM systems.
"We remain confident over the next few years that they will order a second one, so they can take one of them out of service for maintenance and overhaul without losing the capability."
In the 1990s, OceanWorks built a similar system for the Australian Navy.
"It's actually on its way back here for an overhaul and an upgrade," said Viau. "That's the the next thing we'll be working on."
Viau said that the creation of the PRM and its eventual deployment is "quite a big deal", not just for Canada and his company but for the entire sub-sea industry in the Lower Mainland.
"It really showcases Canadian technology, and certainly there's been a lot of support from the Lower Mainland sub-sea industry, which is alive and well.
"That's companies like International Submarine Engineering, Kongsberg Mesotech and many, many subcontractors."
networks@png.canwest.com
A PRM FOR THE USN
North Vancouver-based OceanWorks International Corp. built the pressurized rescue module (PRM) for the U.S. navy.
Here's what the USN is getting.
Crew: Two operators
Rescue capacity: 16 submariners per trip
Lifesupport (air supply): 24 hours for 18 people -- normal mission is five hours
Maximum operating depth: 610 metres
Length: 25 feet
Width: Eight feet
Weight: 45,000 pounds
Cost (including design, development, manufacture and delivery): about $100 million