RF Navy Acquiring Eight Deep-Water Work Submersibles by 2017

DeepWorker 2000 (forward) and Dual DeepWorker (aft) deep-water work submersibles
[credit: Nuytco Research Ltd]

In a press release today, the RF Ministry of Defense reported that two ARS-600 new-generation manned underwater deep-submergence vehicles would join the RF Navy in 2015. Another two joined the RF Navy in 2014. So, what are these submersibles?

The DeepWorker (DW) single-person and Dual DeepWorker (DDW) two-person submersibles (identified by the Russians as "ARS-600" (autonomous work submersible-600 meters)) allow one pilot (DW) or one pilot + one passenger (DDW) to operate underwater at depths of 1,000-3,000 feet, depending on the model and configuration. The submersibles can remain submerged (tethered or untethered) for up to six hours during normal operations. The submersibles can be used to:

• search for and examine a submerged object;
• retrieve submerged objects weighing up to 80 kg;
• attach lines to objects weighing more than 80 kg, then deliver the line ends to a surface vessel that can then lift the objects;
• clear the rescue hatch cover of a distressed submarine so that a deep-submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) can land on the hatch to rescue the submarine crew;
• attach hoses to provide high-pressure air and ventilation to a distressed submarine;
• perform other operations.

The RF Navy has been testing the DW/DDW submersibles since at least 2012. Russian Navy head Admiral Chirkov visited the MOD's Scientific Research Institute of Rescue and Undersea Technologies (Lomonosov) in June 2012 to get a first-hand look at the submersibles. Reporting to date indicates the new Belousov-class submarine rescue vessel "Igor Belousov" will be equipped with at least one DW/DDW. Other vessels not permanently equipped to support the DW/DDW, such as Kashtan- and Sura-class heavy-lift vessels, could be quickly configured to serve as temporary Vessels of Opportunity (VOO), as needed.

Civilian research vessel "Heather Sea" - February 8, 2013
[credit: Stanislav Kruglov]

A possible link to Seliger-class research vessel "Seliger" (owned and operated by the Ministry of Defense's Main Directorate for Deep-Water Research, or GUGI) and November 2014 DW/DDW testing suggests it, too, may be temporarily or permanently equipped with the submersibles at some point in the future. For at least five days in November, the Russian-flagged civilian research vessel "Heather Sea" served as a VOO for the testing of two DW/DDW submersibles along the Russian Black Sea coast between Novorossiysk and Sochi. As it was underway and in the immediate vicinity of the "Heather Sea" operations, "Seliger" either played a support role and/or was actually involved in retrieving and launching the submersibles. Click here for a video showing the two vessel's operations between November 13 and November 20.

The November testing was in jeopardy of being delayed due to personnel matters. A month before departing Varna, Bulgaria, the owners of "Heather Sea" were accused of not paying wages to the ship's employees. On November 6, the ship's chief engineer, Albert Andrianov, sent an on-line petition to the State Labor Commission for assistance in getting his company to pay RUB 700,000 in wage arrears (from mid-June through October). Following the commission's intervention, the company paid the engineer's wages through September. A week later, "Heather Sea" was in Anapa, Russia.

Track of "Heather Sea" - January 11, 2015

After the DW/DDW testing in November, "Heather Sea" remained in Novorossiysk until departing port at approximately 07:00 GMT this morning. It is unclear whether "Heather Sea" is performing additional operations with DW/DDW submersibles or some other tasking, but "Seliger" does not appear to be underway.

To date, at least eight DW/DDW submersibles have been ordered for the fleet (excluding the DW/DDW submersible(s) tested in Lomonosov). The first four were to be delivered in 2014, with another two to be delivered to Baltiysk in 2016, and a final pair to be delivered to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy in 2017. It is not clear if the two DW/DDW used in the November 2014 testing were from the first batch of four that were scheduled for delivery in 2014 or the two that were previously delivered to the MOD's Scientific Research Institute of Rescue and Undersea Technologies by 2012.

"Krab" - The Little Tug That Could

Locations of "Krab" Operations, August 20-September 3, 2014

There's a very interesting little harbor tug operating in the Black Sea named "Krab". Flying the Russian Navy flag, it's based in Temryuk (Sea of Azov), but regularly visits Novorossiysk. It was built at Pella Shipyard in 2011 and transferred via the inland waterway system to Temryuk, where it arrived in October of that year. Originally called "RB-45" ("RB" stands for "рейдовый буксир" - "harbor tug" in Russian), it was renamed "Krab" in 2012 or 2013.

Since arriving in the Black Sea, the harbor tug has performed mission profiles that go beyond what you would expect a harbor tug to perform. In fact, in late July 2013, during the keel-laying ceremony for the Project 16609-class harbor tug "Belukha", Vice Admiral Burilichev (head of the Ministry of Defense's uber-secret Directorate for Deep-Sea Research (Russian abbreviation: GUGI)) stated that "Krab" and two other harbor tugs built by Pella were performing tasks not typical for their class. In this video (1:53-2:57), the vice admiral states:

The ships that were delivered in 2011 and 2012... I am happy to report that they are being used a lot. Moreover, we are using them not exactly as intended - not as harbor tugs for operations with ocean- and sea-going vessels. We are using them as integrated platforms for testing radio-technical equipment. And, the tug "Krab" is currently participating in events related to providing security for the 2014 Olympic Games. The [Project 16609] tugs "Kasatka" and "Delfin" participate in training events related to rescuing and assisting submarines in distress. They also are assigned other serious tasks that go far beyond those of harbor tugs.

I recorded the movements of "Krab" between August 20 and September 3 of this year to give you a glimpse into just one unusual mission the harbor tug has performed. It clearly shows the tug executing ladder search patterns from the western to the eastern sides of the inlet to Tsemesskaya Bukhta, which leads to Novorossiysk. The blue conex box that is found on its afterdeck possibly contains the mysterious radio-technical equipment that Burilichev referenced in the above video.

And wherever "Krab" goes, you're likely to find another interesting GUGI-subordinate vessel named "Seliger"...