Indian Navy has successfully conducted maiden trial of newly inducted Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle ( DSRV) and set a record for “deepest submergence by a manned vessel”, in the Indian waters. Indian Navy’s Western Naval Command carried out trial by transferring personnel to the rescue vehicle from a disabled submarine at a depth of over 300 feet. During the trial, the DSRV successfully dived upto 666 metres which is a record in itself.
The rescue vehicle, DSRV has the capacity to rescue 14 personnel from a disabled submarine at one time. The DSRV is operated by a crew of three members.Indian Navy is eagerly waiting for trials of DSRV to get over so that it can use it to its advantage.
The DSRV was inducted into Indian Navy late last week which is deployed to rescue downed or disaster-struck submarines at high sea. With the induction of DSRV, India has joined the league of world navies which are capable of searching, locating and rescuing ” distressed submarines”. These countries are US, China, Russia and few others.
Enhancing its operational capabilities, the Navy has inducted its first deep submergence rescue vehicle.
What can DSRVs do?
DSRVs can rescue of personnel in downed submarines. They can also be deployed for various other missions including to lay cables on the sea bed. Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma had stated that DSRV which was inducted can be mobilised from the naval base in Mumbai to nearest mounting port by air, land and sea. The second DSRV is expected to be inducted at Visakhapatnam in 2019.
Background of DSRV
The DSRVs are badly needed by Indian Navy because India’s fleet of underwater boats is vastly depleted. Built by the U.K’s James Fisher & Sons, the vessel — the first of two — finally gives the navy the ability to rapidly attempt rescue of personnel in submarines in distress.
