Jun24

Today, the 5th serial day of 10, five serials were conducted off of the Southern coast of Italy within the Bay of Taranto. The standard serials were conducted in excellent warm weather, flat seas and once again a 0.5 Knot Southerly current.

The following types of serial were performed, 

SURVEYEX - The approach and survey of a distressed submarine by divers.

MATEX - The mating and de-mating of a submarine rescue chamber with a distressed submarine.

RESCUEX - The rescue of personnel from a distressed submarine.

PODEX - The posting of a POD to resupply essential life support stores, by passing the POD through either an escape trunk or torpedo tube.

VENTEX - This is where the distressed submarine is ventilated from the surface through a salvage air system.

SPAGEX - The Submarine Parachute Assistance Group exercise.

ESCAPEX – Where personnel escape from a distressed submarine using Immersion Suits.

SEARCHEX – The process of searching for a missing submarine.

The Italian Ship ANTEO, Ukrainian Command and Control Ship SLAVUTYCH, Italian and Ukraine SPAG teams, as well as divers from the Netherlands, Canada and Greece, today performed both an ESCAPEX and SPAGEX on the Italian submarine PRIMO LONGOBARDO. The exercises were completed in 29m of water and took a total of seven hours. In this time period the SPAG teams rescued five submarine escapees and the Italian and Israeli divers performed a survey of the simulated sunken submarine.

A SURVEYEX and PODEX were conducted in 32m of water for four hours using the Turkish submarine PREVEZE as the disabled and sunken submarine. The exercises were controlled from the Spanish Ship NEPTUNO and Russian Ship SHAKTYOR with divers from Spain, Turkey, Greece and Russia. The divers carried out one surface supplied dive followed by seven SCUBA dives.

The UK Vessel of Opportunity MV FENNICA, Ukrainian Ship KREMENETS and HNLMS MERCUUR conducted a RESCUEX to free trapped submariners from the sunken submarine HNLMS DOLFIJN. She was bottomed in 58m of water for over twelve hours in which time a SEARCHEX was completed by MERCUUR to locate the distressed submarine. The MERCUUR and KREMENETS dive teams then worked on the submarine carrying out a SURVEYEX. The LR5 then completed two dives with two successful matings with the disabled submarine.

The Spanish submarine SIROCO then played the role of a disabled submarine in 46m of water for the six hours needed for the French ships AILETTE and PLUTON to complete a VENTEX. This VENTEX, the first time a Spanish submarine has been ventilated while submerged, was carried out using both the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and the Atmospheric Diving System (ADS).

The final serial of the day was a MATEX on a US target carried out by the USS GRASP and her Submarine Rescue Chamber (SRC) and ADS. A surface supplied mix-gas dive and three normal surface supplied air dives were conducted with two divers, each diver going to a depth of 120 feet. Joint US and Turkish diver operations were performed on two of the air diving operations with a total bottom time of 1 hour and 22 minutes. Overall it was a very successful day of diving operations.

Medical staff observed the Italian SPAGEX and triage exercise and a 3 person escape simulation.