Crisis in the deep: submarine search and rescue

Transcript

--UPSOT (ENGLISH)— Member of Distressed Sub Group (DSG) in RHIB (rigid-hulled inflatable boat) --VOICEOVER— Having a strong presence in our seas is crucial for all NATO Allied navies. --UPSOT (ENGLISH)— Member of Distressed Sub Group (DSG) in RHIB “Woah.” --VOICEOVER— But unpredictable circumstances mean it can be dangerous work. --PIECE TO CAMERA-- Jake Tupman, video producer for NATO “Any search and rescue operation at sea is fraught with risks and difficulties and requires a lot of cooperation and coordination. But what happens when a crisis strikes under the water? --VOICEOVER— At any given time, hundreds of submarines are in operation worldwide. For NATO, they deter nuclear threats, gather intelligence, conduct anti-submarine warfare and support Special Operations, all while remaining stealthy and effective in different seas and oceans. But what if something goes wrong? GRAPHIC JAKE TUPMAN Video producer for NATO --PIECE TO CAMERA— Jake Tupman, video producer for NATO “We’re off the coast of Norway in the North Sea, a great grey expanse stretching out in front of us, and we’re here to do a deep dive on submarine search and rescue.” --VOICEOVER— I’d be going down into the depths of the North Sea to find out just what it takes to respond to submarine in distress. --UPSOT (ENGLISH)— Jake Tupman climbs through submarine hatch “Wow, it is a tough squeeze, isn’t it?” “I should have eaten fewer cakes.” --TEXT ON SCREEN— CRISIS IN THE DEEP SUBMARINE SEARCH AND RESCUE --TEXT ON SCREEN— ARENDAL NORWAY --VOICEOVER— NATO conducts the world’s largest submarine search and rescue exercise every three years, gathering sailors from various Allied navies to practise one of the most technically challenging operations that can happen at sea. GRAPHIC LCDR JOAKIM CLASSON Submarine Escape and Rescue Officer, Swedish Navy --SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH— Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Joakim Classon, Submarine Escape and Rescue Officer, Swedish Navy “Normally a submarine is something you want to keep very classified, you don’t share what you have. But regarding rescue, you share everything with everyone that’s a part of this cooperation.” --VOICEOVER— Submarine crises are rare but often deadly, as seen with the Kursk, a Russian nuclear submarine that sank in 2000, killing all 118 aboard. After the Kursk disaster, NATO Allies and partners formed the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office, or ISMERLO, a global coordination centre that monitors submarines and mobilises multinational rescue efforts. It ensures specialised rescue ships and equipment are on standby whenever submarines are at sea. --SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH— Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Joakim Classon, Submarine Escape and Rescue Officer, Swedish Navy “If you go out in a car and there is a traffic accident, you want an ambulance to come and help you if something happens. It’s the same thing with submarine rescue, because we’ve got people out there, our submariners. We have to take care of them.” --VOICEOVER— When a submarine gets into trouble, or disappears, the first step is finding it. I boarded the Turkish rescue ship, the TCG Alemdar, to speak with its commanding officer about how that's done. GRAPHIC CAPT OKAN ERDEM Commanding Officer, TCG Alemdar, Turkish Naval Forces --SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH— Captain (CAPT) Okan Erdem, Commanding Officer TCG Alemdar, Turkish Naval Forces “We can see the image of the missing submarine. The sonar beams strike to the submarine and come back to our transmitter. We can provide the image of the submarine and we can decide, is it stable or is it inclining, declining? We can see in what kind of situation is the submarine also.” --VOICEOVER— Once the submarine is located, the next step is communication. That’s where these guys come in. The Distressed Sub Group is a team of submarine rescue specialists from the UK who, in a crisis, would quickly deploy to the scene of a submarine in trouble, establish an operating platform and attempt to communicate with the crew inside. GRAPHIC CMDR NICK SAMUELS Submarine Escape, Rescue, Abandonment and Survival (SMERAS), UK Royal Navy --SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH— Commander (CMDR) Nick Samuels - Submarine Escape, Rescue, Abandonment and Survival (SMERAS), UK Royal Navy “Once we’ve done that, a nation can then tailor the response that is taking place and is being planned. Our role then is to remain on station and to provide subject matter expertise to the situation and control it until the larger units turn up.” --VOICEOVER— But communicating with a potentially damaged submarine, hundreds of metres below the ocean’s surface, is no easy task. --UPSOT (ENGLISH)— Member of the DSG listening to radio on board the HNLMS Mercuur Radio: “Sierra Delta Yankee” --INTERVIEW— Between video producer Jake Tupman and CMDR. Nick Samuels - UK Commander, Submarine Escape, Rescue, Abandonment and Survival (SMERAS) Jake Tupman: “Right now, obviously, I’m hearing quite a strange-sounding voice. So what is that? And where’s it coming from? Nick Samuels: “What is happening at the moment is that we’re hearing the underwater communications coming from the DISSUB (distressed submarine) and that distortion is because of the sound path coming through the water, it is the water causing that distortion. You’ll also hear some radio communications as well, and that’s us talking to our RIBs (rigid-hulled inflatable boats), which are deployed on top of the DISSUB site.” --UPSOT (ENGLISH)— Member of DSG in RHIB boat “Sierra Delta Yankee” --VOICEOVER— International cooperation is crucial in submarine rescue. During the exercise, the Distressed Sub Group operates from a Dutch support ship. In a real emergency, combining resources like this could be key to an effective response. --PIECE TO CAMERA— Jake Tupman, video producer for NATO “What we’ve got here is British submariners from the Distressed Sub Group responding to a submarine that is potentially in crisis, from a Dutch ship. And that is a clear example of NATO Allies working together in what could be a crisis scenario.” --VOICEOVER— Once the submarine is found and communication is established, the next step is getting the crew to safety. That could mean deploying a rescue submersible. --PIECE TO CAMERA— “So behind me here is a Swedish submarine rescue vehicle called the URF. And we’ve been given unique access to go down 90 metres into the North Sea to go try and find a stricken submarine which we’ll then connect with and hopefully rescue some of the people on board.” --UPSOT— Video producer climbing down into the URF “Quite a small space to get down here. It’s a bit nerve-racking.” --VOICEOVER— Although this was an exercise and therefore a controlled environment, the URF was operating under conditions identical to a real rescue mission. --PIECE TO CAMERA— Jake Tupman, video producer for NATO “So, we’ve just climbed down into the URF. We’re about to be winched out to sea. I’m really excited about it, but also kind of nervous. So we’ll see how it goes. --VOICEOVER— The URF is capable of going down to depths of 460 metres and can rescue up to 35 people in each dive. --UPSOT (ENGLISH)— Conversation between Jake Tupman and Chief Petty Officer Andreas Sannerman on board the URF Jake Tupman: “What’s happening now?” GRAPHIC CPO Andreas Sannerman Swedish Navy Andreas Sannerman: “Now we’re lowering down in the water… you can see in the front as well.” --PIECE TO CAMERA— Jake Tupman, video producer for NATO “We’ve just seen the water slowly fill up over the front window, so we now know that we’re in… we’re in the North Sea. And we’re on our way down.” --VOICEOVER— In submarine rescue, securely connecting a rescue vehicle to a submarine's escape hatch is called ‘mating.’ Our goal was to mate with the Swedish submarine, the Uppland. --INTERVIEW— Between video producer Jake Tupman and Chief Petty Officer Andreas Sannerman, Swedish Navy Jake Tupman: “Very briefly stage by stage, go down…” CPO Andreas Sannerman: “Localise, go down, on top, mate and then when the water is down, we’re going to signal to the submarine that we have a good seal, drain down and then we can open the hatches. --PIECE TO CAMERA— Jake Tupman, video producer for NATO “So, we’re now 85 metres down and we’ve just seen the submarine. And if you look through here, with crystal clarity, you can see that white cross and that’s the sub that we are about to mate with. --VOICEOVER— With the water drained and the vessels successfully mated, it was time for the moment of truth. Opening the hatch. --UPSOT (SWEDISH/ENGLISH)— Swedish submariners appear out of the hatch. “Hello. Welcome to Sweden.” --VOICEOVER— With our submariners successfully rescued, we were invited down into the submarine to meet the Commanding Officer and see how they were communicating with the surface vessel. --UPSOT (ENGLISH)— Swedish submariners and video producer Jake Tupman. “Welcome on board. “Thank you very much.” --INTERVIEW— Between Jake Tupman and ‘Lennart’, Commanding Officer of the HSwMS Uppland, Swedish Navy Jake Tupman: “So right now we’re with Lennart, who is the CO (Commanding Officer) of the Uppland. So, Lennart, how does it feel knowing that you have this vast submarine rescue support ship and of course the SRV (submarine rescue vehicle) that can come down in case there’s a crisis scenario. How does that make you feel as a submariner?” GRAPHIC ‘Lennart’ Commanding Officer, HSwMS Uppland, Swedish Navy Lennart: “It’s really good because there’s a good insurance to go out at sea. We never go out without submarine rescue available. We are really depending on these rescue operations. But they are working like a fire station, ready to get out. You hope you don’t need them, but they are ready.” --UPSOT— Swedish submariner on radio Radio: “Romeo Romeo Romeo” --VOICEOVER— The final stage of submarine rescue is ensuring the rescued submariners receive immediate medical care, which could include using decompression chambers like this one to prevent decompression sickness. --INTERVIEW (ENGLISH)— Between Jake Tupman and Stuart Paton, Transfer Under Pressure Supervisor GRAPHIC STUART PATON Transfer Under Pressure Supervisor Stuart Paton: “The way the system is set up now, we’ve just mated the SRV (submarine rescue vehicle) to the system, which means we can now do transfers under pressure.” Jake Tupman: “Why is it so important that the rescuees end up in a decompression chamber before they go to the normal outside world? Stuart Paton: “”The bends”, the decompression illness. So what we want to do is stop that. So we want to get them, if they’ve been at pressure for long, we can get them up at the same pressure, bring them in and then the doctors can then put them onto a dive table to get them back to atmosphere at a safe condition.” --VOICEOVER— Rescued submariners, like anyone after a traumatic disaster, may need psychological support in addition to medical care. --INTERVIEW (ENGLISH)— Between Jake Tupman and Lieutenant Commander Lyndse Anderson, US Navy Jake Tupman: “And when we talk about mental health issues, what kind of issues are we talking about? GRAPHIC LCDR LYNDSE ANDERSON US Navy LCDR Lyndse Anderson: “You know, I actually would probably rephrase it from mental health issues to normal reactions to an abnormal situation. At the end of the day, what we’re there to do is instil the continued sense of human resilience and confidence and capability that every person who is faced with a tragedy or a disaster is likely to have inside of themselves.” --VOICEOVER— Submarines are a vital part of the NATO arsenal and crucial in keeping our populations safe. But just as crucial is protecting those who protect us. Submarine rescue is a daunting and difficult task that is thankfully rarely required, but if something does happen under the seas, Allies have the resources, equipment and dedicated personnel to work together to respond to any crisis in the deep.

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Crisis in the deep: submarine search and rescue

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Crisis in the deep: submarine search and rescue

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