By Milind Kulshreshtha
The South China Sea skirmishes are occurring regularly in recent times as China takes a more aggressive stance in the Indo-Pacific. Also, on the rise in the region are apparently undetected underwater naval activities with submarines and autonomous underwater vehicles like AUVs, UUVs actively participating. The Indo-Pacific is becoming a serious realm for high-octane underwater operations, especially with the unparalleled edge submarines possess as a naval warfighting unit. China is rapidly growing its conventional and nuclear submarine force as a superpower, while India too has been steadily building its underwater capabilities through an indigenous jointly-developed conventional and nuclear submarine programme.
While the NATO and other Western powers are known to be operating their submarines as part of various Naval Task Forces deployed in the Indo-Pacific region, it is interesting to note that even other regional navies such as Bangladesh, Philippines, Myanmar and the Thailand too are operating submarines in order to remain relevant in the Indo-pacific power dynamics. This year Taiwan also launched its first indigenous submarine under the “Domestic Ship, Domestically Built” policy.
Role of Diving Support Vessels
The Indian Navy operates submarines to secure the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), and carries out regular diving operations for multiple missions like submarine rescue, underwater inspection, salvage etc. With the growing operations of conventional and nuclear submarines, submarines are vulnerable to diving accidents during operations. A submarine distress signal can be received from various sources like from a warship or fleet submarine, or submarine operating authority not getting the scheduled positive status communication. A Survival, Escape and Rescue protocol is well established under such circumstances; however, the Search and Rescue mission requires specialised divers with specialised equipment.
The Indian Navy maintains a complement of highly skilled divers under a Command Clearance Diving Team (CCDT). The role of this unit includes search and clearance of mines, clearance and disposal of bombs/IEDs. The divers are trained for clandestine operations in the enemy territory while deployed underwater through ships or submarine torpedo tubes. Such diving activities require divers to remain underwater for prolonged durations and thus need a specialised seagoing platform for operations and stowage of diving equipment. This requirement is fulfilled by a Diving Support Vessel (DSV). A DSV is also equipped with a Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) for submarine rescue tasks. India has already procured two sets of non-tethered DSRVs for submarine rescue from a UK firm under a 2016 contract, and one each of these units are positioned at Mumbai and Visakhapatnam for quick operational deployment in the West and East coasts.
Modern DSVs are highly sophisticated vessels fitted with a moonpool, which is a hole in the middle of the vessel open to the sea through which divers, ROVs (Remotely-operated Vehicles) and other equipment can be launched for underwater work. These vessels have heavy duty lifting and lowering cranes at the stern for lowering of manned submersibles into the sea. For such operations, DSVs have sophisticated positioning systems onboard to maintain an almost exact position over the underwater work area. Effectively, the DSVs are the mother ships for the DSRV and diving operations. DSVs have a helo-deck for helicopter Search and Rescue operations and crew transportation. A DSRV is usually operated by a three-member crew and can rescue about fourteen personnel at a time from a disabled submarine. Onboard the mothership, the DSRV, Launch and Recovery Systems (LARS) equipment, Transfer Under Pressure (TUP) systems and associated equipment are available for rescue operations. The arrangement to transfer personnel under pressure allows for rescue of crew from deeper depths and transferring them to the decompression chambers on the vessel.
International Submarine Rescue
Indian Navy has played a crucial role as the First Responder and Preferred Security Partner in the IOR. Last year INS Nireekshak, a DSV participated in the IN-SLN joint diving operations at Trincomalee Sri Lanka in September’ 2023. Upon receiving an alert from International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO), the Indian Navy had dispatched its DSRV in 2021 to assist the Indonesian Navy in the search and rescue efforts for the Indonesian Submarine KRI Nanggala which went missing off Bali.
Any country with a smaller submarine fleet operating in the waters usually finds it hard to invest in their own submarine rescue system and more often hire the services from other countries with such equipment. India is amongst the few countries in the world capable of DSRV based Search and Rescue of a disabled submarine. DSRV possesses the Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to locate a submarine at depths. Once located, Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV) which mates with the submarine to carry out the rescue or provision the emergency supplies to the submarine.
Re-defined Hindustan Shipyard (HSL)
The DSV constructed by HSL completed the critical sea trials in end May’2024. HSL had concurrently launched the two DSVs in Sep’ 2022. Even though the first DSV ship (Yard-11190) was laid down in Dec’ 2019 and the second ship (Yard-11191) by Mar’ 2020, the delays due to COVID pandemic impact were inevitable. The DSVs project includes two vessels viz. Nistar and Nipun. This is a shipyard achievement towards warship construction for the Indian Navy after many decades. The indigenously built DSVs boasts of 80% indigenous content including Integrated Power Management System (IPMS), Diesel generators etc. More than 120 MSME vendors across India participated in the shipbuilding process. Today, from the sea of workers one would see upon entering the HSL shipyard a few decades back, the shipyard has transformed itself into a lean and mean workforce, an inevitable transition for the shipyard to remain a vibrant defence shipyard.
Conclusion
Though the power projection through the indigenously built Aircraft Carrier fleet is a national agenda for China and India to field a superior Carriers based Task Force, it shall be the underwater pack of hi-tech submarines which shall hold the tilt. Presently, the submarine operating countries in the Indo-pacific region includes Australia, China, Russia, Japan, India, Singapore, Thailand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam and South Korea, which makes it imperative that the DSVs and DSRVs in the region would be a welcome addition to the submarine safety mission for everyone. Most of the navies with relatively smaller fleets at most operate a submarine salvage ship, primarily to provide forced ventilation or survival rations to a DISSUB (Distressed Submarine) in shallower waters. In the coming decades about hundred more large and smaller submarines are likely to be operated by navies world over. India joins a select league of nations with the Submarine Rescue facility for any distressed submarine. The possession of a comprehensive submarine rescue system indicates India’s growing interest in the deep-water operations in the near future and the growth in India’s submarine fleet in coming times. The indigenously built DSVs would enhance India’s capability and reach of submarine rescue operations as the First Responder.
The author is a Strategic Analyst with an expertise in technologies related to C4I solutions. He is founder and CEO of Aikairos which works in the field of Underwater sensors.
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