India’s sub rescue facilities primitive and inadequate

The Times of India: India’s sub rescue facilities primitive and inadequate

NEW DELHI: If an Indian submarine gets disabled deep underwater, the sailors on board are virtually sunk. India may be spending big bucks on importing fighters, warsh ips and tanks but the Navy is still stuck with woefully-inadequate submarine rescue facilities.

For one, there has been no progress on the well over a decade-old project to buy two DSRVs (deep submergence rescue vessels). More like 'mini submarines', DSRVs can rescue 24 sailors at a time after 'mating' with the hatch of the stricken submarine, equipped as they are with pressurised chambers, sonars, cameras and other hi-tech facilities.

For another, as the latest CAG report states, the contract inked with the US Navy's "global submarine rescue fly-away kit service" is "yet to be fully operationalized" despite being finalized way back in 1997.

"Lack of adequate need assessment, poor planning and absence of a conclusive time-bound agreement with the US Navy led to extensive delays in the timely commissioning of the essential and life-saving submarine rescue facility," observed CAG. When India had first inked the contract for the US rescue service in 1997, paying a total of $734,443, it was meant to be more of an interim measure till the Navy got its own DSRVs.

While the DSRVs still remain a pipedream, even the implementation of the US submarine rescue programme has been plagued by delays. The CAG report holds its utility is "questionable" since 75% of the submarines in the Indian fleet have already completed three-fourths of their estimated operational life.

The reported stated that "Padeyes", which are holding devices welded into the escape hatches of submarines to secure the DSRV, had been fitted on to only 11 of the 15 Indian submarines till date. Of the 11, only four Kilo-class submarines have, so far, been certified by US navy for mating with its DSRVs, and that, too, for a period of three years effective from December 20, 2007.

Chinese sub dives to record sea depths

Shanghai Daily News: Chinese sub dives to record sea depths

CHINA has used a small, manned submarine to plant the national flag deep beneath the South China Sea.

The underwater craft achieved the feat during 17 dives from May to July, when it went as deep as 3,759 meters below the South China Sea, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology and State Oceanic Administration.

It was the first time a Chinese submersible vehicle has gone that far below the surface, the ministry said. The submersible also set a record by operating underwater for 9 hours and 3 minutes, the ministry said.

It makes China the fifth country, following the United States, France, Russia and Japan, to have the technology for a manned dive farther than 3,500 meters below sea level.

The submersible, dubbed "Jiaolong," had three crew on board. "We went through strict selection and training procedures before we managed to get on board the submersible," said crew member Ye Cong. "The submersible is very convenient to maneuver and we operated it quite well under the water."

Initial success

Ye added: "I think we've only achieved initial success in the test. The future application of the vessel will be more remarkable than this test."

A submersible differs from a submarine because it typically depends on another vessel or facility for support.

"As the first manned vehicle designed to reach 7,000 meters below sea level in the world, the submersible can be used in 99.8 percent of the world's sea areas," said its chief designer, Xu Qinan.

"It represents the most advanced technology in deep-sea exploration."

Until now, manned submersibles could descend only to 6,500 meters below.

The submersible's "performance will be tested again in the future as we'll carry out 5,000-meter and 7,000-meter tests," Xu said.

China began to work on the ambitious ocean exploration program in 2002. About 100 research institutes and companies were involved in the program.

The submersible can play an important role in the deep-sea exploration of natural resources and polar research. It can be equipped for deep-sea natural resources inspections, as well as research and tests of equipment designed for deep-sea use, the ministry said.

The average ocean depth is 3,682 meters below sea level.

Salvagers to pull rare World War II plane from Calif. reservoir 6 decades after it crashed

Canadian Business.com: Salvagers to pull rare World War II plane from Calif. reservoir 6 decades after it crashed
SAN DIEGO (AP) - It was a surprising image for the fisherman hoping to find bass on his electronic fish finder: The outline of an airplane submerged 85 feet below the surface of a San Diego reservoir.

Navy divers later confirmed it was a rare World War II dive bomber that crashed after its engine failed during a training exercise on May 28, 1945.

The pilot and gunner aboard managed to ditch the craft and swim ashore to safety. But the plane remained at the bottom of the lake, forgotten for six decades until it turned up last year on the angler's device.

Now private salvage divers have been slowly and gently clearing away the silt and mud covering the SB2C Helldiver. They hope to pull the craft out Thursday — 65 years after it plunged into the cool waters.

If it can be restored, the National Naval Aviation Museum hopes the Helldiver fills a void in its collection, considered to be one of the world's largest displays of naval aviation history with more than 150 planes.

"We've been looking for a Helldiver for quite some time," said Navy Capt. Ed Ellis, of the museum in Pensacola, Fla.

Only a handful of the 5,100 dive bombers manufactured during World War II still exist.

"At the end of the war, they were obsolete and so they just chopped them down, melted them and made most of them into tin cans," Ellis said. "It wasn't a particularly good airplane."

One of the Helldiver's nicknames was the "Beast," because of its reputation for being difficult to handle.

The aircraft was plagued by problems from the start with the first prototype crashing in February 1941. The second went down as well when it was pulling out of a dive.

The British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force canceled their orders.

The U.S. military sent untried planes to recently commissioned carriers, some of which saw disastrous results with wing folding mechanisms failing, bouncing tailhooks, leaky hydraulic lines and collapsing tail wheels.

Over the years, the Curtiss-Wright Corp. implemented a total of 96,675 engineering changes during the war to correct the problems and meet Navy requests to make it more combat-worthy. By the war's end, the aircraft overcame most of its woes and had proven itself in action, experts said.

San Diego shut down the Lower Otay Reservoir to the public during this week's salvage operation.

Taras Lysenko, a former Army ranger who has rescued 33 planes for the museum, said divers found the Helldiver covered in mud and silt that kicked up in the reservoir, which slowed their efforts to extract it.

Divers have been working with zero visibility while they prepare the plane to be lifted carefully out of the water without further damaging it. Lysenko said he expected the plane would emerge from the water Thursday.

Crews also have been keeping an eye out for anything bubbling to the surface that could indicate oil or fuel was leaking out and contaminating the city's drinking water.

One of the people expected to be on hand to witness the event will be the son of pilot E.D. Frazar, who crashed into the reservoir with the gunner, Lysenko said.

"Wouldn't it be amazing to watch it being pulled up, or to actually have it restored to flying condition, and I could sit in my father's pilot seat and take the plane up?" Richard Ansel Frazar of Texas, son of the pilot, told the San Diego Union-Tribune last year.

A former volunteer at the museum left money to cover the cost of the plane's extraction, Ellis said. The museum only salvages planes in which the crew survived. If anyone died, the site is considered to be a grave and is not touched, he said.

The museum has located hundreds of submerged aircraft, mostly in Lake Michigan and some oceans.

"This is always an exciting event. Some aircraft have been pulled up and we've found the batteries still hold a charge, or there is still water in the canteen left by the pilots in the cockpit, or some of the lights still work," Ellis said. "We're always amazed by what still works and is in good condition."

Soviet Sub to Be Sunk off San Diego

The Log: California's Boating & Fishing News: Soviet Sub to Be Sunk off San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- A Cold-War-era Soviet submarine will soon submerge for the last time, joining the Canadian warship Yukon to become part of a growing artificial reef system off San Diego called “Wreck Alley.”



Soon to Be Sunk—This massive former Soviet Sub dubbed Foxtrot will soon find a new home as part of a growing artificial reef system off the coast of San Diego.



The submarine B-39 Foxtrot, currently on display at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, will end its days by being transferred to California Ships to Reefs, an organization that scuttles surplus ships to become artificial diving and fishing reefs, if all goes according to plan.

The B-39 submarine has been part of the museum’s fleet since 2004.

“The Maritime Museum appreciates the opportunity to show the San Diego community that the submarine’s history does not end at the ocean’s surface,” said Dr. Ray Ashley, museum director. “We’re looking forward to working on this project with California Ships to Reefs.”

B-39 was commissioned in the early 1970s and served on active duty for more than 20 years. The 300-foot-long, 2,000-ton vessel is among the largest conventionally powered submarines ever built. The sub was designed to track U.S. and NATO warships throughout the world’s oceans.

No immediate timeline was established for the sub’s transfer to California Ships to Reefs. Vessels sunk as reefs typically undergo intensive preparation to prevent environmental contamination caused by hazardous materials routinely found on seagoing vessels. Acquiring permits for sinking wrecks can be time consuming and expensive.

“We anticipate sinking the sub in San Diego’s Wreck Alley, where HMCS Yukon is already a popular attraction and a beautiful artificial reef,” said Joel Geldin, California Ships to Reefs chairman and chief executive officer.

The 366-foot retired Canadian destroyer Yukon was scuttled in 2002 about a mile off Pacific Beach in about 100 feet of water.

Gold bar from the Atocha stolen from Mel Fisher's museum

Gold bullion stolen from Florida treasure museum

MIAMI (Reuters) - Thieves stole a $550,000 gold bar from a treasure museum where it went on display after a Florida salvager recovered it from the wreck of a Spanish galleon that lay on the ocean floor for centuries, the museum's executive director said.

The 74.85-ounce gold bar was stolen on Wednesday from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida, in what executive director Melissa Kendrick called "a very quiet smash and grab."

The 11-inch (28-centimeter) gold bar was inside a glass case with a small opening where visitors could stick a hand inside and lift the bar to examine it.

Footage from the museum's security camera clearly showed two culprits who made off with it, and the FBI and local police were investigating. The museum's insurer offered a $10,000 reward for its safe return, Kendrick said on Thursday.

Gold has hovered near historic highs after hitting a record $1,266.50 an ounce in June, but the stolen bar's $550,000 valuation reflects historic value far beyond its melt-down worth.

Mel Fisher, a Key West treasure hunter who died in 1998, recovered the bar in 1980 from the wreck of the Santa Margarita, a Spanish galleon that sank off the Florida Keys during a hurricane in 1622.

Kendall said the bar had several distinctive markings, including Roman numerals signifying it was 16-karat gold, a symbol identifying its owner, and a series of dots indicating what taxes the owner had paid to the Spanish crown.

"It's a one-of-a-kind piece," Kendall said.

The theft was the talk of Key West, an island town of 25,000 people at the southern tip of the Florida Keys.

Fisher and his crew found the wreck of the Santa Margarita while searching for its sister ship, the Nuestra Senora de Atocha.

The ships were part of a flotilla carrying gold, silver, emeralds and pearls from the colonial New World back to Spain.

Fisher and his crew found the Atocha's motherlode in 1985, hauling up one of the world's greatest sunken treasures of gold, silver bars and coins, as well as jewelry, gems and housewares owned by the sailors, soldiers, noblemen and clergy who perished when the ship sank.

This could be a tragedy. As far as I'm concerned, the wealth in that gold bar are the engravings on it, the history of it. If the thieves have the wherewithal to melt it down, they'll destroy all those memories, all that wealth...

Hopefully the musuem's cameras were top of the line, and they can find these crooks before they do something tragic to that bar.

Malta: Divers call for better enforcement, protection measures at dive sites

Divers call for better enforcement, protection measures at dive sites

Greater protection measures and better enforcement are needed to safeguard marine life at local diving sites, particularly Ċirkewwa, according to two prominent divers.

On a recent trip to Malta, Peter Lemon, an experienced British diver and author of several guides to diving in Maltese waters, said the setting up of conservation areas around wrecks, including one off Ċirkewwa, has benefitted Malta’s already lucrative dive tourism industry, which attracts up to 60,000 dive tourists annually.

Describing Ċirkewwa as “Malta’s main diving gem,” Mr Lemon said since November he had seen many large groupers and huge shoals of barracudas and amberjacks in the area, so current restrictions seemed to be having an effect, but more needed to be done to create awareness and enforce regulations.

“The authorities could start by making an extra effort with Ċirkewwa, either through the presence of onsite wardens or police.

“The police do respond to reports of infringements, but often not quickly enough to apprehend perpetrators. An onsite presence would deter infringements in the first place,” he said.

In the long term, this would benefit both fishermen and divers, since fish would breed and move out of the protected areas, according to Mr Lemon.

Seven conservation areas were set around popular diving wrecks by the Veterinary and Fisheries Affairs Division (VFAD) in 2008, creating zones where vessels cannot stop and spear fishing and fishing using nets is forbidden.

But current restrictions are not enough according to one prominent local diver, who is so concerned about the “almost daily” infringement of regulations at Ċirkewwa – which he describes as “an underwater palace covered with beautiful frescoes”. He has started a Facebook campaign to ‘Declare Ċirkewwa a Marine Sanctuary’, which yesterday had over 900 followers.

Through the campaign, Antonio Anastasi would like to see the prohibition of all types of fishing from boats, a permanent onsite Administrative Law Enforcement (ALE) presence, clear signs at and approaching Ċirkewwa declaring it a protected area, a ban on the removal of both live and dead marine creatures from the area, and punishments for breaking the law reviewed to act as a deterrent.

“The problem at the moment is that law enforcement is reactive rather than preventative. As far as I’m aware, other countries have management onsite at protected areas,” he said.

Mr Anastasi believes an onsite ALE presence at Ċirkewwa would benefit ALE, helping officers to respond quicker to wildlife crimes reported around Ċirkewwa, Comino and the Marine Protected Area (MPA) between Rdum Majjiesa and Ras ir-Raħeb.

He would like to see fines increased to reflect the costs of apprehending perpetrators and processing crimes through the courts, with some of the revenue used to pay for monitoring Ċirkewwa’s protected area. Mr Anastasi believes the current restrictions in Ċirkewwa leave huge gaps for other types of infringements, like the taking of sea urchins, octopus and lobster by hand.

Recently, the campaign published an online petition imploring the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) to declare Ċirkewwa an MPA ( http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/view?pid=912416793&ref=mf . The petition is sponsored by Nature Trust Malta, which has promoted the cause of MPAs over the years.

Last month, Mepa announced the designation of four new MPAs, but Ċirkewwa was not one of them.

Nature Trust Malta has expressed disappointment that Ċirkewwa, Delimara and the whole of Comino were not included for protection.

As well as drawing attention to the areas’ rich biodiversity and Neptune Grass (Posidonia ocea­nic) meadows, NTM pointed out that Ċirkewwa offers economic value through dive tourism.

Over recent months, the environmental NGO said it has been receiving reports that Ċirkewwa is a venue for illegal fishing methods including fishing with nets and harpoons.

When contacted, the police denied enforcement is purely reactive, saying regular patrols are carried out at protected sites, particularly during summer. In case the police are not in a position to attend to reports, some are referred to the AFM Maritime Squadron.

Hundreds of divers needed for turbines work

Hundreds of divers needed for turbines work

More than 2,200 commercial divers will need to be recruited over the next six years to work on marine renewable energy devices, it has been suggested.

A report commissioned by subsea training provider The Underwater Centre looked at the installation and maintenance of offshore wind turbines.

Divers could be required to work at depths of 40m (131ft).

The Fort William-based centre said government funding would be needed to train enough divers to meet the demand.