Russian deep submergence rescue vehicle AS-28
{{short description|Priz-class deep-submergence rescue vehicle of the Russian Navy}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=AS-28 Priz.png |Ship caption=AS-28 surfacing in the Bering Sea }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Russia |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Soviet Union|naval}} {{Shipboxflag|Russia|naval}} |Ship name= AS-28 |Ship namesake= |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Krasnoye Sormovo |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number=1 |Ship way number= |Ship laid down=January 1982 |Ship launched=10 December 1985 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed=12 August 1986 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=12 August 1986 |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship fate= |Ship status={{Ship in active service}} |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= {{sclass2|Priz|deep-submergence rescue vehicle}} |Ship displacement= {{Cvt|55|t|LT|0}} |Ship length={{Convert|13.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{Convert|3.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship height= {{Convert|4.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship draught= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion= |Ship speed=*{{Convert|3.3|kn|km/h|lk=in}} maximum
|Ship range={{Convert|21|nmi|km|abbr=on|lk=in}} |Ship endurance=*120 hours with 4 aboard
|Ship test depth={{Convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship capacity=20 passengers |Ship crew=5 |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament= |Ship armour= |Ship notes= }} |
AS-28 is a {{sclass2|Priz|deep-submergence rescue vehicle}} of the Russian Navy, which entered service in 1986.{{Cite web
|url = http://russian-ships.info/eng/submarines/project_1855.htm
|title = Deep-diving autonomous underwater vehicle - Project 1855
|work = russian-ships.info
|access-date = 13 September 2010
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101130062533/http://russian-ships.info/eng/submarines/project_1855.htm
|archive-date = 30 November 2010
}} It was designed for submarine rescue operations by the Lazurit Design Bureau in Nizhny Novgorod. It is {{Convert|13.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} long, {{Convert|5.7|m|ft|abbr=on}} high, and can operate up to a depth of {{Convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.
Training accident
On 5 August 2005 AS-28, under the command of Lieutenant Vyacheslav Milashevskiy, became entangled with the aerial of a hydrophone array off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Berezovaya Bay, {{convert|70|km}} southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Kamchatka Oblast. The aerial, anchored by 60-tonne concrete blocks, snared the propeller of the submarine, and the submarine then sank to the seafloor at a depth of {{convert|190|m}}. This was too deep for the ship's complement of seven to leave the submarine and swim to the surface. British rescuers and Russian officials stated that fishing nets also had entangled the vessel.
=International appeal=
File:Super Scorpio C-5 Loading.jpg being loaded with people and equipment from the Deep Submergence Unit, Naval Air Station North Island, Coronado, California. The C-5 took one Super Scorpio robotic rescue vehicle to Russia to assist in the rescue.]]
Immediate support was offered by the Royal Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the United States Navy. The United Kingdom sent a Scorpio 45 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) via C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft and a team to operate it. The United States sent one unmanned Super Scorpio ROV from San Diego, airlifted via C-5 Galaxy transport. Each unmanned vehicle was also accompanied by a team to operate it. It was intended that these unmanned rescue vessels, with their robotic arms, would be able to cut the nets or cables that anchored the submarine. The American ROV was assembled on the support ship Priz although they were not required to get underway as the British Scorpio was able to execute the rescue. A tactical decision by the United States Pacific Fleet command team at Pearl Harbor, allowed the British crew to use the limited local resources toward one rescue asset. The British team's efforts resulted in a successful rescue.
= Rescue =
On 6 August, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Ivanov to fly to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to oversee the rescue operation, which was under the command of the Commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet, Admiral Viktor Fedorov.
Russian Admiral Fedorov (Fyodorov) first discussed using explosives to cut the antenna but those tactics were never employed. The Russian oceangoing tugs {{ship||MB-105}} and {{ship||KIL-168}} instead attempted to lift the stricken craft to the surface using underslung cables. This attempt proved futile. Meanwhile, to conserve energy and oxygen, the crew of AS-28 shut down the submarine's non-essential systems (including the heater), donned thermal suits, and rested.
The British Scorpio was the only foreign ROV to arrive and be deployed.{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Tom |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-22/titantic-submersible-titan-rescue-search-missions-difficulties/102504058 |title=Searches continue for Titanic tourist submersible the Titan. Here's why it's so hard to find, and how previous rescues have fared |work=ABC |date=June 21, 2023 |access-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230621233936/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-22/titantic-submersible-titan-rescue-search-missions-difficulties/102504058}} It successfully cut away the cables which had snagged the submarine while surface ships had retreated a safe distance.
On 7 August, all seven sailors were rescued after the cables snaring their submarine were cut by a British ROV. The submarine surfaced at 4:26 p.m. local time and all seven crewmen exited the vessel without assistance with four to six hours of air remaining.{{cite news |last=Ankel |first=Sophia |url=https://www.insider.com/titanic-submersible-not-many-people-history-ever-been-rescued-alive-2023-6 |title=Hardly anyone has been rescued from a submarine or submersible. None of them were remotely as deep as the Titanic. |work=Insider |date=June 20, 2023 |access-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230621234534/https://www.insider.com/titanic-submersible-not-many-people-history-ever-been-rescued-alive-2023-6}}
=Repercussions=
The Guardian reports questions have been raised over how long Russian officials waited to request help.{{Cite web|title = Rescued sub crew tell of 76-hour ordeal|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/aug/09/russia.military|access-date = 2015-07-31|first = Nick Paton|last = Walsh|publication-place = Moscow|work = The Guardian|date = 9 August 2005}} The first exposure of the accident came when the wife of a crewman called a radio station 24 hours later, and the wife of commander Milashevsky claims they were actually stranded Wednesday. Kommersant reported that the head of the Navy Vladimir Kuroyedov, may be relieved over this, the Kursk, and other incidents.{{cite news|title=Article| url=https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-russia-submarine.html | work=The New York Times}}{{Dead link|date=May 2015}} Another nuclear submarine, the {{Ship|Soviet submarine|K-159||2}}, being towed to the junkyard, sank in 2003{{Cite news|title = Russia's rusting navy|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/880220.stm|newspaper = BBC News|date = 2004-03-23|access-date = 2015-07-31|first = Stephen|last = Mulvey}} when the pontoon broke loose, with the loss of nine lives. The BBC also reported that in July, an inter-continental ballistic missile test firing witnessed by Putin failed to launch twice; then exploded soon after launch the next day. Although officials claimed the crew of AS-28 had food and water for five days, they were actually desperately short of water.{{cite news|title=Article| url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Waiting-in-the-Deep.html | work=The New York Times}}{{Dead link|date=May 2015}}
The story of the submarine's rescue was featured on the BBC One documentary Submarine Rescue. The documentary was subsequently awarded the accolade of "best documentary" by the British Maritime Society. The rescue of AS-28 by Scorpio was also featured as the subject of the tenth episode of the 2007–2008 documentary series Critical Situation, entitled "Running Out of Air".
See also
- {{annotated link|Russian submarine Kursk (K-141)|Russian submarine Kursk}}
- Russian submarine {{Ship|Soviet submarine|K-159||2}}
- {{annotated link|Deep-submergence vehicle}}
- {{annotated link|Deep Drone}}
- {{annotated link|List of submarine incidents since 2000}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|AS-28 (submarine, 1986)}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070714183628/http://www.phnx-international.com/Aug%2011,%202005.htm US NAVY CALLS UPON PHOENIX FOR SUBMARINE RESCUE SUPPORT]
- [http://hammernews.blogspot.com/2005/08/blackbass-down-rescueing-rescue-sub.html Rescuing the Rescue Submarine] - Hammernews
- [https://www.theguardian.com/international/story/0,,1545198,00.html Rescued submarine crew tell of 76-hour ordeal]- Guardian
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4127196.stm Press haunted by Kursk memories] (Russian reports via BBC)
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4127586.stm#graphic Where the submarine was stranded] (BBC)
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4747783.stm Russians race to rescue sailors] (BBC) August 6, 2005
- [http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/world-unites-to-save-young-skipper-and-6-crew/2005/08/06/1123125945255.html?oneclick=true World unites to save young skipper and 6 crew] (The Age, Australia) August 6, 2005
- [https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=arYkSqJXW8HA&refer=us Submarine Rescue Teams Prepare to Use Explosives to Free Vessel] (Bloomberg News) August 6, 2005
- [http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/08/06/russia.sea/index.html Official: Russian rescuers lifting disabled sub] (CNN) August 6, 2005
- {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20060525094903/http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/08/06/liftsub.shtml Rescuers Attempt to Lift Russian Mini-Sub to Let Divers Work — Navy Official]}} (MosNews.com) 6 August 2005
- [http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/08/06/russia.sea/index.html Trapped sub surfaces, crew safe] (CNN) August 7, 2005
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080205064859/http://onnachrichten.t-online.de/c/51/17/32/5117326.html Russische Marine wollte U-Boot nicht bergen]
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Category:Submarines of the Russian Navy
Category:Priz-class deep-submergence rescue vehicles
Category:Russian submarine accidents
Category:Maritime incidents in 2005
Category:Ships built in the Soviet Union
Category:Submarines of the Soviet Navy