Submarine Manufacturing and Products Ltd (SMP), a leading UK based manufacturer and supplier of diving and subsea rescue equipment, will provide its new Submarine Rescue System (SRS) to the Indonesian Navy. The SRS will be hosted on a mothership designed by independent design and engineering consultancy, Houlder and delivered by its Indonesian strategic partner, BTI Defence.
The three-year build contract will include the UK design and manufacture of the SRS, centred around SMP’s new market-leading SRV-F Mk3 rescue submersible. The custom build of the mothership will take place in region, along with the associated expert training for the Indonesian Navy who will operate the system when it is in service.
The SMP SRV-F Mk3 has been developed by the new SMP management team, consisting of seven of the world’s foremost submarine rescue experts. As a hybrid system which is capable of deployment both by air and on its mothership, the SRV-F Mk3 can react to a wide range of emergency scenarios, covering larger operating areas and minimizing Time To First Rescue (TTFR).
When deployed by air, the rescue submersible can be towed to and from the distressed submarine’s location without needing to be recovered to deck. This key attribute reduces the time, risk and complexity of a rescue mobilization and also greatly increases the likelihood of a suitable support ship being available on location. This hybrid approach saves critical time for stranded crews facing diminishing life support supplies, and avoids the integration challenges and dependencies associated with flyaway-only or mothership-only rescue systems.
The SRV-F Mk3 can dive to depths of 500m and is unparalleled in its ability to carry up to 50 rescuees at a time. The adoption of a “One Out, All Out” philosophy facilitates the rapid rescue of an entire crew from a conventional submarine in a single mission, in contrast with other rescue systems which require repeated trips to the distressed submarine.
In addition to the SRV-F Mk3, the new mothership is fitted with a suite of support equipment, including a handling system, an advanced Transfer Under Pressure (TUP) system and a dedicated Decompression Chamber, enabling the immediate medical attention and treatment of rescued personnel.