• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

MV Besant - Salvage/Rescue Vessel

The Submarine Intervention Gear Ship, MV Besant, along with her sister ship, MV Stoker, are the latest enhancements to Navy’s submarine search and rescue capability. Besant is operated by DMS Maritime. MV Besant is named after the Commanding Officer of the First World War submarine AE1, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Besant. MV Stoker is named after the Commanding Officer of the First World War submarine HMAS AE2, Lieutenant Henry Stoker. Stoker embarks the LR5 submarine rescue system submersible and a decompression chamber as well as enhanced on board medical facilities and the ability to accommodate a full submarine crew.

Exercise PACIFIC REACH 2019 has been deemed an outstanding success as the sea-phase of the exercise came to a close off the coast of Western Australia. The exercise, conducted in two phases from 4-15 November, is a triennial, multi-lateral submarine search and rescue exercise that was last held in South Korea in 2016. This year, assets from Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore and the United States took part in the exercise, which saw a number of simulated search and rescue attempts carried out on two participating submarines. The Exercise Director, Captain Gary Lawton, said the aim of PACIFIC REACH 2019 was to enhance regional submarine rescue capabilities and to improve interoperability between partner nations in the area of submarine abandonment, escape and rescue (SAER).

Onboard MV Besant, a submarine intervention ship, a side-scan sonar is deployed to locate the target, whether this be a bottomed submarine or pre-positioned target plate, and a Remotely Operated Vessel (ROV) is then dived to the site to assess the situation. James Fisher Defence Operations Manager Andy McPherson said it was imperative that the ROV was deployed prior to the rescue vehicle being put into the water. “This gives us a visual survey of the submarine and allows us to know what state the rescue seat is in,” he said. “From the ROV dive we can see if the rescue seat is fouled in any way, deformed and so on. “That would give us an indication of whether the rescue vehicle, in this case LR5, is capable of mating with the submarine and conducting a rescue.”

Once the rescue seat has been assessed and deemed intact, Besant recovers the ROV and moves aside for her sister ship, MV Stoker, to deploy the LR5 rescue vessel. James Fisher Defence Senior LR5 Pilot Nick Gilbert said the biggest challenge for rescuers was the launch and recovery of the LR5. “There are a number of factors that have to be considered, such as sea states, winds, tidal conditions and so on,” he said. “But once the rescue vehicle is in the water and dived then the environment is pretty similar for most rescues.”

Once in the water, the LR5 ‘mates’ with the submarine and conducts a staged transfer of personnel from the stricken submarine to the rescue ship, where they have immediate access to a range of medical facilities, including decompression chambers if required.