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Sanctions hit Indian sub rescue training

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

Submarine rescue is an area of major concern for the Indian Navy and is part of staff duty at the naval headquarters, but it is presently facing a roadblock due to sanctions following the Pokhran II nuclear blasts, sources said.

The navy's negotiations with the United States of America for a submarine rescue vessel with world-class technology were stalled following US sanctions after the nuclear tests carried out by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in May 1999.

India has deep submergence recovery vessels for rescue in case of an emergency.

Said Rear Admiral Raja Menon, a defence analyst who was a submariner during his days with the navy, "We have submarine rescue vessels with underwater diving capability", but, they are not "world class".

The vessels can take 12 men down almost 300 meters, according to naval sources. The vessel is part of the diving support ship INS Nireekshak.

Menon said America could be the best for India to acquire improved submarine rescue capabilities.

The possibility of a tragedy like the one which has struck the Russian submarine Kursk "is something that we are aware of", said Menon. The fact that submarine rescue is part of staff duty at the headquarters shows "how much the navy is aware of the disastrous consequences if a submarine faces such a crisis," argued naval officers.

The navy carries out frequent exercises on submarine rescue and the "ability of a crew to escape such a crisis is tested often", said the officers.

India's submarine force comprises mostly Russian submarines and four German HDW-type 209/1500 boats. There are eight Foxtrot and 10 kilo class submarines from Russia. The tenth kilo class submarine, INS Sindhushatra is the first Indian submarine with missile-firing capability. It has tube-launched Klub-high subsonic speed anti-ship missiles with a range of over 300 km. INS Sindhuvir, another kilo class submarine, which returned from Russia after a refit, can also fire Klub missiles from its modern torpedo tubes.

The four HDW submarines have an escape capsule in the front, which can carry all crew members, detach itself from the main body and float into the open waters, to be rescued by a ship.

Menon said several submarines, including Kursk, had the facility.

Menon argued that a detachment capsule may not be fool-proof. In Kursk, it did not work.

He said there are various schools of thought about in-built submarine rescue. Some believe that it is better to have a reserve buoyancy of about 27-30 tonnes for rescue.

A senior naval officer said the possibility of accidents is not just with Russian submarines, but every country's.

The accident only shows how dangerous it is. ''If you go down with such a serious accident, almost nothing can be done," he said.

"Every submarine faces that risk. Here, it was due to an explosion, so you cannot blame the spare-parts," he argued.

There have been a couple of known emergencies involving Indian submarines. In the 60s, a Foxtrot class submarine collided with a warship. In 1989, a submarine surfaced beneath a warship. In both cases there were no casualties and no major damage.

However, questions have been raised about the way the navy handled its biggest emergency during peace times. Almost a decade back, INS Andaman went down during an exercise in the eastern fleet, with its sailors. Its fleet commander Admiral Ramdoss later became naval chief.

The inquiry report was never released. But, officers say it will not be repeated, as the navy has learnt lessons from it

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