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U.S. Navy to Assist Russian Sub Rescue Effort

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2005 – The U.S. Navy is sending a remotely operated submersible vehicle to assist in rescue efforts for a Russian submarine reportedly caught in a fish net off the eastern Russian coast, according to a statement released by the U.S. Pacific Fleet today.

"At the request of the Russian Navy we are preparing to deploy a team from the Navy's Deep Submergence Unit to assist with the situation," the statement read. The submersible, called a "Super Scorpio," is capable of cutting one-inch-thick steel cable.

The U.S. team and the submersible will be flown from San Diego on a U.S. Air Force C-5 aircraft later today to Petropavlovsk, Russia, the statement continued.

The United States and Russia are participants in the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office, the statement said, noting that both countries participated in a submarine rescue exercise Sorbet Royal off the coast of Italy in June 2005.

"We have been in touch with Russian Navy officials, both directly and through ISMERLO, to offer any assistance available," the U.S. Pacific Fleet statement concluded.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2005/20050805_2339.html