SUBMARINE RESCUE VEHICLE URF DEPARTS FOR KATTEGAT |
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Christine Mahoney, JO2(SW) US Navy
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 NAVY BASE FREDERIKSHAVN, DENMARK – As the early morning sun peeked through the clouds, the crew of the Royal Swedish Navy Submarine Rescue System URF conducted a series of safety checks before getting underway. However, this underway was unlike any other trip. URF had to travel by trailer, crane and tow in order to reach its final destination, the Royal Swedish Navy ship HSwMS BELOS. The URF is in Denmark to participate in Sorbet Royal 2002 (SOR02).A huge task was at hand at getting the URF started on its journey. Due to the heavy weight of URF, the vessel had to be transported by road from Sweden to Navy Base Frederikshavn, Denmark on a trailer.
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 The first task of the morning was to conduct safety and
equipment checks. URF Pilot Sub Lieutenant Hans Utterberg said the tests
were imperative to today’s mission. “Our crew is very committed to
taking care of the URF and taking care of ourselves,” said Utterberg.
“We have a lot of pride in our vessel. One never knows when the URF will
be called to help a distressed submarine. We have to be ready to go at all
times.”
Once all the checks were complete, the base police escorted the URF and its crew from the navy base to the civilian dockyard down the street. This was not as easy as it sounds. Since the URF is large and heavy, the truck had to drive on the main road in town to get the vessel to the dockyard.
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The drive did not take long, but the sight was quite extraordinary. During the morning rush hour commute, drivers on their way to work got to see the larger-than-life sight of the URF “sailing” down the roadway toward the civilian dockyard. Many drivers slowed down or pulled over to the side of the road to take a better look at the motorcade. |
| Part of the travel party included medical doctors. According to, Italian Navy Diving Medical Officer Debilio Gaetano, the medics had to prepare for the ride. “Royal Netherlands Navy Diving and Submarine Medical Officer Alexander Kloek, Turkish Navy Senior Diving Medical Officer Koray Tarimci and I went through a detailed safety brief so we would be properly prepared for this trip,” said Gaetano. “I have never been onboard the URF before. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this vessel works during a submarine rescue.”
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| For several minutes, URF sailed around the harbor completing final onboard operation and safety checks before heading out to the ocean. The Polish Navy ship ORP LECH waited for the URF to sail into the ocean. The LECH was responsible for towing the vessel to the SOR02 training site at Kattegat, so the URF could join the BELOS. Each vessel will be working together during the submarine rescue exercise. SORBET ROYAL 2002 is the fifth NATO sponsored live Submarine Search and Rescue Exercise. There are nine NATO nations and one Partnership for Peace nation participating in and several non-NATO nations observing the exercise. SOR02 is conducted every three to four years and takes place from May 20 – 31. |
After arriving at the dockyard, a crane that could lift up to 200 tons secured its position at the edge of the pier. Once the vessel was secured to the crane, the URF was lifted and positioned in the harbor right next to the pier. To keep the vessel from swinging, two ropes were secured to the vessel enabling two line handlers to hold URF in position. Once the vessel moored next to the pier, the crew and medics boarded and made final preparations to get underway.