Danish divers remove the umbilical from SPRINGEREN
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By LT Michael Rømer
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 While we are being informed about the data and facilities onboard the Swedish ship HSwMS BELOS there are Danish divers working at the “distressed” submarine
SPRINGEREN.
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HSwMS BELOS
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| We are on the bridge where TV screens shows us what the divers are doing. The divers are carrying small cameras on their helmets so that the leader of this rescue exercise can follow every move they make down there. If one of the divers slowly begins to act different as expected or an accident should occur, the leader of security must act fast.
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| Right now the divers are down at 36 metres and they are removing the umbilical-hose which contains air-supply, communications and TV-signals from the
mother ship to the submarine. The divers always work in pairs because of the safety, Lieutenant Commander J. Quist Jacobsen tells me. Today he is the Safety Officer during this particular diving exercise. Normally he is a technical officer at TUMLEREN – another Danish submarine. After having returned from the sea the divers are immediately moved into a decompression chamber. Here they are going to adapt to normal atmospheric pressure in a controlled environment. The Commanding officer of Belos tells us that the Danish submarine now is a “distressed” submarine without air supply or communication and it is awaiting help. The help is going to come from the Swedish mini-submarine URF. Later this afternoon it is supposed to dive down and “mate” with the distressed submarine.
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Divers are recovered by the Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) as URF prepares to dive to aid distressed Danish submarine HDMS Springeren.
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| Having the air sucked out of the space between the two hulls is the way they manage to “mate”. Hereafter the two subs have the same pressure and it is safe for the crewmembers to enter the URF and ascent to the surface. After all it has been a long day with 1½ hours of sailing each way and a very thorough guided tour around the support vessel BELOS. The other journalists and photographers do not look that enthusiastic either. The fresh air out here on the sea and the many impressions during the day needs to be “digested”. A lot of them sleeps minutes after they have sat down in a couch or chair in the officers mass on the way home. |
