Russian Naval Search & Rescue (S&R) equipment and tech

d_taddei2 wrote:

Hole wrote:It also sunk one or two times (WWI and WWII).

do you have a link to this information?

i have only read that it suffered light damage in the siege of leningrad but continued to operate. havent seen anything to state that its been sunk once or twice. The old guy i was talking to in sevastopol a few years knew a lot about the ship he was ex-soviet navy but worked on a sub. I asked him had it ever crashed, sunk or major damage in its life he replied no.  but he seemed to know a lot and had friends who served on it. he called it the unsung hero of the russian/soviet navy due to length of service, he said that the ship deserves to have a yearly celebration nd he hopes when it does finally retire that it isnt scrapped that its preserved somewhere, he was in his late 60's i still have his e-mail address he's called yuriy mishin

The rescue tug of the Black Sea Fleet (Professor) Nikolay Mura makes a transfer to the Persian Gulf, the official representative of the Black Sea Fleet Alexey Rulev said.
“The rescue tugboat (SBS) Professor Nikolai Moura” from the rescue ship squadron of the Novorossiysk naval base of the Black Sea Fleet makes the transition from Novorossiysk to the Persian Gulf. said Rulev.
He noted that the Russian tugboat is heading for the Persian Gulf to support the Russian Navy’s national team, which takes part in the Depth-2019 international all-around diving competition, which will be held in Iran in early August.

The Voyevoda vessel of project 23700 was launched

Aurora Rescue System to Find Distressed Sailors

Using machine vision, the rescue system Aurora will automatically conduct search and rescue of people caught in a shipwreck. The scientific and production company Radar MMC presented its project at the Army-2019 forum. Ivan Antsev, the company’s executive director told Mil.Press reporter about the development problems of machine vision.

The robotized boat carrying a liferaft as a payload operates in several modes. Except for remote-controlled mode, Aurora can autonomously move within assigned area and search for people in automatic mode.

"The machine vision facility that enables such search is a knowhow of our company. Except for optics detecting people, the system uses underwater sonars and other special equipment", Antsev shared. "Aurora can be delivered to the search area by, say, different kinds of aircraft: helicopters, airplanes, and even drones, as the rescue robot weighs only 30 kg. The system can also be placed onboard the ships using the special saddles. Ground-based stationing is possible as well".

Another mode is tracking of personal recue beacons. For example, if a person having such a beacon falls in the water, the rescue system will react and go to the aid. This solution is relevant, in particular, for offshore oil platforms.

After Aurora finds a distressed person at sea, the robot unfolds the liferaft and switches on detection tools. Standalone downtime is about half an hour, operation radius is about 1 km, and max speed is 20 knots. The rescue system is capable to operate at force 6 sea disturbance.

Effectiveness of the unmanned system largely depends on the machine vision capability that is responsible for the special motion.

"What is important is which bands are used, how they are combined, and how this data is processed then", said Ivan Antsev. "We’re leaders in radar image processing and designing of small-size multiband radar assets. This equipment is exactly what forms 3D image of surrounding. By uploading additional data, we can ensure safe movement of unmanned systems in any weather conditions".

Russia Presented Export Version of Project 21301 Submarine Rescuer with GVK-300 Diving System

New Russian Project 21301 submarine rescue ship will be equipped with the deep-sea diving system capable to reach 300 meters (GVK-300), says updated website of the ship’s design bureau, Almaz. In fact, it is the first official presentation of the future rescuer to wide public, two informed insiders told Mil.Press Today. An interviewee at the bureau said Almaz was preparing to mark the 70-th jubilee, and the website update was connected with the oncoming festivity.

According to the ship’s characteristics, GVK-300 system incorporates the rescue vehicle Bester with slipway and the 58-tf launch/recovery system, and the decompression chamber capable to serve 110 rescued submariners.

The system includes 4 living decompression chambers, a diving bell with launch/recovery system, a hyperbaric lifeboat, a life support and breathing mixture system, 12 sets of diving suits for operations down to 300-meter depth by saturation diving method, and underwater engineering equipment.

In addition, the ship has two electric hydraulic cranes with lifting capacity of 12.5 tf, a remotely-controlled underwater vehicle to operate down to 1-km depth, a salvage boat, a duty boat, and the equipment for occasional helicopter landing.

The presentation of the ship’s export version helps to get some insight into characteristics of the future Russian submarine rescuers, a high-ranking official in the Russian Navy’s Search & Rescue Dept told Mil.Press Today.

They are based on the Project 21300 lead ship, Igor Belousov (Dolphin class). It is planned to equip the new Dolphins with GVK-300 diving system made of Russian components to the maximum extent. According to Mil.Press Today, share of the Russian-made parts of diving systems mounted on the new serial rescuers will reach 60-85%, in contrast to GVK-450 on Igor Belousov (15-20%).

The editors failed to obtain any official comments from Almaz design bureau, the Russian Navy command, or potential domestic manufacturers of the deep-sea diving systems.

The recommendation to kick off designing of the serial Project 21300 submarine rescuer with Russian-made GVK-300 deep-sea diving system was announced by the Russian Navy’s expert board convened on December 11, 2018. Mil.Press Today published the image of the new rescue ship equipped with GVK-300 system on December 20.

The interviewed experts pointed out that lower max diving depth of the future Russian rescue system GVK-300, which is to be installed on the serial Project 21300 submarine rescuers, would not hinder the effectiveness of salvage operations.

Standard displacement of the upgraded rescue ship is 5,800 tons, length is about 117 meters, beam is somewhat 18.2 meters.

Max speed is 17 knots. Crew endurance is 45 days, rescued personnel endurance is 10 days. Cruising radius is 5,000 nautical miles.

The rescue ship is to be powered by 4 x 2,100-kW diesel generators, 2 x 1,690-kW auxiliary diesel generators, and a 1,080-kW harbor diesel generator.

In addition, the ship will be equipped with an integrated electric power system consisting of 2 x 3,500-kW propulsion motors, 2 x 3,500-kW full-azimuth thrusters, and 2 x 850-kW lateral thrusters.

Russian Navy’s Deputy Commander Announced Construction Timelines for Submarine Rescuers

Works on GVK-300 deep-sea diving system for the first serial Project 21300 submarine rescue ship will be completed as per schedule, all documents have been prepared, said Russian Navy deputy commander for armaments Vice Admiral Igor Mukhametshin being asked by Mil.Press Today late in March 2019.

According to him, it is planned to assign the R&D project, including the Russian-made GVK-300, to Admiralteyskie Verfi shipyard (as a general contractor – editor’s remark).

"Most likely, the project will be implemented by the company that has built the lead ship (Igor Belousov – editor’s remark), it was Admiralteyskie Verfi. The project will be launched at the earliest date", announced the officer.

After the R&D project’s opening, there can be a tender to select a designer particularly for the diving system.

"Construction of Project 21300 submarine rescue ships will be continued in accordance with the approved state arms procurement program. The relative documents are currently at the clearance phase", added the admiral.

"To get the first serial rescuer by the end of the arms program, I mean 2027, one should kick off the RD project for the diving system not later than in 2020, and lay the keel for the first serial ship in 2021", an informed industry insider told Mil.Press Today.

Prospects for batch production of Project 21300 salvage ships and Project 20186 rescue tugs were discussed in the Russian Navy Command on March 16. Lazurit Design Bureau offered an updated concept of the diving system. Another potential designer of GVK-300 is a company named Tetis Pro.
For reference

The recommendation to begin designing of serial Project 21300 submarine rescue ship with domestically made deep-sea diving system GVK-300 was stated by the Russian Navy’s expert panel convened on December 11, 2018.

Construction of the rescue ships series has been limited for a long time by technological and financial problems, as well as long-lasting trials of the GVK-450 diving system mounted on the lead ship, Igor Belousov. Upon their completion and the decision on import substitution, designers and shipbuilders hope for faster keel-laying of the new rescuers.

GarryB wrote:Nice... a shore based system could replace Pamela Anderson and Hasselhoff as life guards...

Very nice development of the drone concept.

The Americans talk about swarms of murder bots killing and destroying power systems, while the Russian produce swarm rescue bots to help people in the water... I could see these being popular in warmer areas where the risk of sharks means the sooner you get out of the water the better...

Russian-Made 3,000-Meter Diving ROV Presented to Naval Experts

The MSS-3000 remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) was demonstrated to the military and civil experts in St. Petersburg on March 27. The submersible is designed and batch-produced by Marine Geo Service. The presentation was attended by delegates from the dedicated naval institute and industry-related experts. The vehicle was presented onboard Project MPSV12 Bakhtemir rescue tug, informs the Mil.Press Today reporter attended the event.

The presented ROV is a light operating class vehicle. According to designers, MSS-3000 may search flight recorders of lost aircraft, examine wreckage area by sector-scan sonar and broadcast the underwater scene by several, 4 to 8, HD cameras.

The submersible was designed proactively and is produced commercially: two samples have been already built; other three are at production line. Four of them will be supplied to Project MPSV12 multirole rescue tugs developed by Marine Engineering Bureau. The four-ship series is being built by Nevsky Ship repair Plant.

The ROV is capable to operate at the depths down to 3,000 meters and carry 150-kg payload. The submersible weights 1,200 kg. Max horizontal speed is 2.5 knots, the vertical one is 1.2 knots.

Any ship equipped with the dynamic positioning system and sufficient useable deck area (frame, windlass and ROV) is suitable to operate the ROV. Also, MSS-3000 with the control system and the repair section can be placed in a 20-foot container.

Once improved with a circular saw and hydraulic rope cutter, the ROV with similar functionality and features can be used for rescue operations of distressed submarines crews, a representative of the specialized naval institute told Mil.Press Today.

The company’s technical director Alexey Shmatkov said the vehicle’s modular design enabled it to be promptly adjusted for a particular mission.

MSS-3000 can be employed by ocean scientists, oilers and rescuers. ROVs of this class are perfect in mine search and destruction by the onboard charges. Using such a submersible, experts may examine the underwater pipelines. Designers say it can also inspect the seabed cables and run instrumental diagnostics of their buried parts.

The function of this kind is helpful in the shortage of cable laying vessels. Example, late in 2016, experts of Atoll Research Institute failed to finalize inspection of the damaged cable of MGK-608M underwater sensor system, as the Inguri vessel was redeployed for other missions.

Yup, can only hope they market it correctly

It can potentially be a huge seller around the world. Not to mention its demand on the Russian civil and military market.