Royal Navy submarine rescue exercises off Scottish coast 'vital' to prevent 'catastrophic consequences'

Submarine rescue exercises conducted in Scottish waters have been described as “vital” in order to prevent “catastrophic consequences”.

Marine operations firm JFD conducted three trial operations this year, with two of them in Scotland and the third in Australian waters.

It said that in the event of a submarine in distress, any delays to a rescue operation could lead to “catastrophic consequences” – making it absolutely “vital” that regular Submarine Rescue System and Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV) exercises take place.

This enables equipment to be proven and personnel familiarised, giving the best possible chance of an efficient rescue operation in case of a real-life incident.

Submarine rescue exercises were carried out off Glasgow and Forth William.

In February, UK trials took place for the recently manufactured third generation Deep Search and Rescue Vehicle, the third built by JFD over the period of a year.

This included the Factory Acceptance tests, a local Dock Dip at the King George V Dock in Glasgow, and Harbour Acceptance trials at JFD’s site in Fort William.

In March, a team of JFD’s experienced Submarine Rescue Operators undertook a seaborne operational training exercise in Australia on board Mothership MV Stoker.

The exercise included a fully timed mobilisation of the rescue assets, ROV system, LR5 SRV certification dive and hyperbaric training with Royal Australian Navy Medics.

The mobilisation time was achieved in 57 hours, this compared with the standard 72 hours is a significant achievement and testament to the experience and dedication of the JFD team.

Ben Wright, head of capability at Submarine Escape and Rescue, JFD said: “It is the breadth and depth of our expertise to plan and safely execute exercises globally, whilst navigating various international Covid-19 Government restraints, that makes JFD a world leader in the submarine rescue domain.

“Our personnel have extremely specialised expertise and having enough resource available at one time to support exercises intercontinentally is very unique. This further reinforces our confidence to deliver an effective rescue in the event of a real-life emergency.

“We are proud to support these trials as we continuously strive to set new standards of safety and protect submariners.”