Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.



Submarine Distress Beacon enters Service with Royal Navy
Source: Thales UK

Thales UK’s highly successful submarine distress beacon has been accepted into service with the Royal Navy (RN).

Following a trial period, more than 100 SEEPIRB (submarine-ejected emergency positioning indicating radio beacon) buoys have been accepted into service with all classes of RN submarines, including the new Astute class.

The SEEPIRB has been developed for submarines to provide distress alerting and position information via radio transmissions on a satellite-aided tracking frequency.

The message transmitted by the beacon is unique for each unit, thus providing identification of the transmitter. Once the search and rescue forces are alerted via the satellite-aided tracking network, they can converge on the confirmed position. Intermediate and short-range location is aided by the SEEPIRB’s onboard locator beacon.

SEEPIRB can be launched from standard submerged signal ejectors (SSE) Mk 4, 6, 8 and 10. Launching can take place at maximum operational depth and submerged speeds of up to 15kt. No programming of the SEEPIRB is required. The alert functions, and the vessel and country identifiers are pre-programmed into the beacon as agreed with each customer.

Phil Naybour, head of Thales UK’s naval business, says: “Since winning the RN contract, we have won several additional export contracts and continue to see an increasing interest from around the world in this excellent product.”

The buoy, which is designed and produced at Thales’s Templecombe site in Somerset, is already in service with a number of submarine fleets around the world.


Singapore Hosts Regional Submarine Rescue Exercise
Source: Singapore Ministry of Defence

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and navies from Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States are conducting a Submarine Escape and Rescue (SMER) exercise, codenamed Pacific Reach, from 17 to 25 Aug 2010. This year's exercise, the fifth in the series, is hosted by the RSN for the second time and consists of a shore phase conducted at the Changi Command and Control Centre and a sea phase held in the South China Sea.

The exercise also comprises a medical symposium as well as simulated evacuation and treatment of personnel from submarines in distress. Also present at this year's exercise are military observers from 13 countries, namely Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Exercise Pacific Reach aims to develop regional SMER capabilities and strengthen interoperability in submarine rescue operations among participating navies. Speaking at the opening of the exercise, RSN's Fleet Commander, Rear Admiral Joseph Leong, said, "Exercise Pacific Reach serves as a platform to foster cooperation on submarine escape and rescue, as well as to enhance multilateral relations among the submarine operating countries. As more countries acquire or enhance their submarine capabilities in the region, it is also important that we build and maintain a strong network for multilateral submarine rescue collaboration."

This year, the RSN is participating in the exercise with a Landing Ship Tank, RSS Endeavour; a submarine, RSS Chieftain; a submarine rescue support vessel, MV Swift Rescue; and a submersible rescue vehicle, Deep Search and Rescue Six. With hyperbaric facilities such as recompression chambers and a high dependency unit, MV Swift Rescue is able to provide immediate and specialized medical treatment to injured personnel who are evacuated from distressed submarines.

Other participating naval assets include an auxiliary support ship, USNS Safeguard, from the US Navy and a Japanese submarine JDS Arashio. In 2000, the RSN hosted the first Exercise Pacific Reach, involving navies from Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States.


Fact Sheet: MV Swift Rescue and Deep Search and Rescue Six

The submarine support vessel, MV Swift Rescue, was launched by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) in November 2008. The RSN is the first in the Southeast Asian region to acquire Submarine Escape and Rescue (SMER) capabilities with the equipping of the MV Swift Rescue and the submersible rescue vessel, Deep Search and Rescue Six (DSAR 6). The MV Swift Rescue and DSAR allow for the rapid and effective evacuation of personnel from distressed submarines.

MV Swift Rescue features a wide range of capabilities to carry out SMER operations. The vessel comprises a helipad for the emergency evacuation of casualties, a Launch and Recovery system used to lower and raise the DSAR 6 the water, a medical centre equipped with an 8-bed High Dependency Ward and 10-bed Sick Bay, as well as a recompression chamber.

The chamber has a capacity of 40 personnel and utilizes a Deck Transfer Lock to prevent changes in the atmospheric pressure of the rescued submariners when they are transferred from the DSAR 6 to the recompression chamber.




Battle of Mobile Bay

Today’s is the anniversary of the conclusion of the Battle of Mobile Bay. Enjoy.




USNS Kingsport

Today’s website is the USNS Kingsport. Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1864 - Rear Adm. David Farragut's squadron captures Fort Morgan at Mobile Bay, winning control of Mobile Bay.
1958 - Massive concentration of Pacific Fleet in Quemoy-Matsu area prevents invasion of islands by China.
1958 - In Taiwan Straits Crisis, units of the 7th Fleet move into Taiwan area to support Taiwan against Chinese Communists.
1963 - The first satellite communications ship, USNS Kingsport (T-AG 164) in Lagos, Nigeria, connected President John F. Kennedy with Nigerian Prime Minister Balewa who was aboard for the first satellite (Syncom II) relayed telephone conversation between heads of state.


Photo of the Day



Eight mariners board the Iranian navy ship Chiroo from a rigid-hull inflatable boat from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) after their vessel was engulfed in flames Aug. 18.

Gator