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Key Points
- The Russian Navy will accept its new submarine rescue system into service in 2015
- The Bester-1 DSRV is an updated variant of the 1980s Priz-class design
Russia's new Project 21300 submarine rescue ship Igor Belousov is currently conducting underway trials with the Bester-1 (AS-40) deep submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) embarked.
The ship completed the first phase of trials in early January, according to Russian news agency reports. Further trials will culminate in deepwater testing with the Northern Fleet later this year.
Igor Belousov was laid down in late 2005 at Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg, and was launched in October 2012. Delivery was scheduled for 2014 according to Tass news agency, but the Russian Navy will now receive the ship by the end of 2015.
The ship can search for disabled submarines and supply them with oxygen and electricity, and provides a base for rescue operations. The 98 m vessel displaces 5,000 tonnes, has a crew of 97, and holds accommodation for 120 rescued personnel.
A deep saturation diving system from Scottish firm Divex Ltd was installed on Igor Belousov in late 2013. The GBP10 million (USD15.1 million) system includes a three-man diving bell rated for 450 m, transfer-under-pressure capability, and decompression chambers for 60 crew members.
The Bester-1 (Project 18271) DSRV is a main component of the submarine rescue system aboard Igor Belousov . It was developed by the Lazurit central design bureau in Nizhny Novgorod. Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard constructed its titanium-alloy hull in the early 1990s. However, work ceased until Admiralty resumed the effort in the late 2000s.
Bester-1 is a modernised variant of the Bester (Project 18270 or AS-36) and Priz (Projects 18550 and 18551) designs from the late 1980s. Priz-class DSRVs were employed in the unsuccessful effort to save the crew of the Project 949A Oscar II (Antyey)-class nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine Kursk in 2000. A Pacific Fleet Priz vessel was itself disabled at 190 m in 2005, and had to be rescued.
Bester-1 has a crew of six, a 700 m working depth, and can transport 18-22 rescued submariners. Admiralty Shipyards has outfitted the submersible with new command-and-control, navigation, and attachment systems. Bester-1 can evacuate crew members from submarines listing to 45 degrees; Priz and Bester DSRVs were limited to a maximum of 15 degrees.
COMMENT
Igor Belousov and Bester-1 contribute to an improved submarine rescue capability for the Russian Navy. In 2012, Commander-in-Chief Admiral Viktor Chirkov said the navy intended to deploy a submarine rescue ship in each of its four fleets.
According to reports in October 2014, Almaz design bureau and Rosoboronexport are also understood to be discussing with the Indian Navy the possible sale of a rescue ship like Igor Belousov .
