10th Aug 2005 10:50
Fisher (James) & Sons PLC10 August 2005 For Release 10 August 2005 James Fisher and Sons plc James Fisher Rumic Team Rescues Russian Submarine James Fisher Rumic Limited, which operates the Royal Navy's submarine rescueservice, announces the completion of a successful 4-day operation to rescue theRussian Priz AS-28 submersible, saving the lives of seven Russian sailorstrapped in the mini-submarine, 625 ft below the Pacific on the ocean floor offRussia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula. This was achieved amid estimates thatthe men had fewer than 10 hours of air left to live. The team was mobilised on Friday 5th August following a call from the MoD. Fromthe outset the team raced against time to reach the stranded submariners anddrew on support from the RAF, the US Navy and local Russian teams to fly theteam and its equipment from its Renfrew base to the far east coast of Russia,transport it to a waiting ship, secure it to the vessel and reach the offshorelocation in the Pacific within 36 hours. It took about five hours to cut theRussian submersible free. The RAF Boeing C-17 aircraft carrying the British rescue team and the Scorpioremotely operated vehicles touched down at Prestwick Airport, Scotland at 0855BST yesterday, Tuesday 9th August. The team was met by the Minister of State forthe Armed Forces, the Rt. Hon Adam Ingram M.P. who warmly praised their efforts. A press conference was held yesterday, 9 August 2005, on the apron at PrestwickAirport, Scotland, with the minister, the Royal Navy Commander Ian Riches wholed the British team, the RAF C-17 pilot and Stuart Gold of the James FisherRumic Rescue Team who is responsible for the Scorpio system. Commenting on the rescue, Roger Chapman, Managing Director of James FisherRumic, and Vice Chairman of James Fisher Defence, said: "Our team did very well. This is a prime example of our partnership with theMOD. The fact that we were dealing with people's lives created extradifficulties. The sailors had about 10-to-12 hours in oxygen supply." He added: "I would like to commend the professionalism of our team, which workedhand in glove with the Royal Navy and the other naval authorities in thisdramatic rescue. Our people and our technology once again showed that JamesFisher Rumic is a world leader in providing a high level of expertise and acomprehensive submarine rescue to the Royal Navy. The submarine rescue assetsare on 24-hour standby to save the lives of crews of stricken submarines." Stuart Gold, the James Fisher ROV Supervisor added: "It was a fairly longoperation, with quite a lot of cutting, but eventually when most of it wasfreed, the submarine blew its ballast tanks and came free to the surface." The Mission The British rescue team, based at James Fisher Rumic's HQ in Renfrew, Glasgow,with their Scorpio 45 remotely operated vehicle left Britain on Friday 5 Augustin a RAF Boeing C-17 aircraft, to travel 4,380 miles from Glasgow to the remotePacific port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatki, on the east coast of Russia. Thisfollowed an early morning phone call putting them on standby and confirmation ofthe request to mobilise at 1130 BST. Commander Ian Riches of the Royal Navy and the team of eight civilians from thecompany, flew with the rescue equipment including the Scorpio 45 submersible,which is the size of a smart car and fitted with lights, cameras and powerfulcable-cutting pincers. The team were assisted by the US Navy to offload theequipment onto local vehicles for the hour and a half journey by road to thenearest port. The James Fisher naval architect had travelled ahead to makearrangements for the Russian ship to receive the equipment which was loaded andwelded down before the final 45 mile transit to the spot where the mini-sub wassnared in pieces of netting. At 22.20 BST, the British Team deployed Scorpio 45 and, working closely with ateam from the Russian Navy, began to cut cables holding the submarine.Underwater footage had revealed pieces of fishing nets wrapped tightly aroundthe Russian mini-sub, along with other debris. The seven submariners had donnedthermal suits and huddled inside the submarine in a single compartment, lyingflat and breathing as lightly as possible for the remaining air. The lightsinside AS-28 Priz submarine were also turned off to conserve energy reserves,with temperatures inside the vessel below zero. With the help of its onboard cameras the Scorpio's crew, which works in teams ofthree, manoeuvred the vehicle around the trapped submersible from onboard theship and used its manipulator arms and cutting tools to grip and then cut thecables which held the mini-submarine. After just over five hours work it cutthrough the last cable and the Russian vessel resurfaced at 03.23 on Sunday, 7August 2005. The Priz AS-28 then blew its tanks and three minutes later was onthe surface. The crew lifted the hatch themselves and climbed out, receivingassistance from a team of American divers before boarding a ship to return tothe mainland. The successful mission was further evidence of the growing internationalco-operation now involved in submarine rescue. -ENDS- Editor's Notes: The Scorpio The Scorpio 45, is maintained by James Fisher Rumic at the division's RenfrewHQ, Glasgow and has gone through extensive design and modification specificallyto support submarine rescue operations. The remotely operated vehicle is capableof operating at depths as low as 3,000 feet, well beyond the limits for humandivers to work. It was recently put through its paces in late June 2005 inOperation Sorbet Royal off the Italian coast, simulating 'the most extremesubmarine missions.' The manoeuvres involved navies from 10 countries, includingRussia, the Ukraine, Italy, Holland, Spain and Turkey. It included placing foursubmarines on the seabed, and simulating the rescue missions by an assortment ofequipment including the Scorpio 45 and the rescue submersible LR5 which is alsooperated by James Fisher Rumic. The UK Submarine Rescue Service's assets which are currently owned by the MOD(N)and managed by James Fisher Rumic consist of: 1. The Scorpio 45 remotely operated vehicle 2. The LR5 manned rescue submersible 3. The DISSUB Depressurisation System (DSDS) 4. INTO - Integrated Navigation Tracking Outfit 5. TUP - Transfer Under Pressure System 6. PHS - Portable Handling System Scorpio 45 is a dedicated submarine rescue ROV capable of operating at depths aslow as 3,000 feet and is fitted with specialised manipulators and toolset. The vehicle's primary role is to assist in locating a distressed submarine(DISSUB), survey the damage, and the transfer the life support stores in specialcontainers via the submarine's escape hatch. The stores necessary to maintain asafe breathable atmosphere for the survivors over the duration of the rescueperiod include oxygen candles, and carbon dioxide absorbent to keep the airbreathable for longer, and medical supplies, if required. The Scorpio has previously been used in the North Sea, where it has helped inremoving detritus found on the seabed, such as torpedoes and crashed aircrafts.It weighs 1.4 tonnes and can carry 100kg of cargo. It is small enough to beloaded on a plane, and can be delivered to a larger vessel at sea. It is dwarfedin size by the drum of control and power cable, its umbilical, which links thevehicle on the seabed to the control station onboard the ship. Scorpio'smanipulator may handle a range of devices including cutters capable of slicingthrough 70mm of steel. Similar ROVs are used for inspecting oil pipelines in theNorth Sea, as back up for deep sea diving operations. James Fisher Rumic James Fisher Rumic was established in 1984. It has expanded its defence relatedactivities, its nuclear decommissioning business and its commercial operations,related to the offshore oil industry, in the North Sea and worldwide. Roger Chapman is Managing Director of James Fisher Rumic Limited, which operatesthe Royal Navy Submarine Rescue Service and Vice Chairman of James FisherDefence Limited which was established in January 2005 to co-ordinate the growingdefence sector activities of James Fisher and its subsidiaries. During the past12 months, the defence services activities have continued to developopportunities within the UK and overseas defence industries. This includesteaming up with other defence organisations for larger programmes. Exercise 'Sorbet Royal' was a NATO led international naval exercise in the Gulfof Taranto, Southern Italy, which took place between 20 June and 2 July 2005. The UK Submarine Rescue Service, is a 24-hour standby service on behalf of theMOD, managed and operated by James Fisher Rumic. It played a leading role in theNATO led exercise in the summer deploying the Scorpio ROV and the LR5 RescueSubmersible. James Fisher & Sons James Fisher & Sons plc, the parent company to James Fisher Rumic, is a leadingprovider of marine services with its business divided into these sectors. Thegroup excels in the provision of technical engineering solutions in the marineenvironment. James Fisher has three divisions: marine support services - specialist marineservices to the defence, nuclear, and the oil and gas industries; marine oilservices - the delivery of refined petroleum products in North West Europe; andCable Ships - marine platform for fibre optic cable laying. James Fisher is unusual in the UK in that it is one of the few companies tradingthat has the capability to offer services across an enormous range of shippingand marine related activities since it has expanded the range of operations. Since 2002, under the stewardship of Tim Harris, Executive Chairman, JamesFisher & Sons, the group has been investing significantly through the profit andloss account in new management teams, particularly in submarine, defence andnuclear sectors in which it has specialist skills which are recognised by theircustomers. These investments in areas of strength should produce substantialbenefits in terms of organic growth in future years. 2004 represented another year of growth in profitability supported by theunderlying cash flows. Marine Support Services, the largest of the Company's three divisions, accountsfor 46% of group profits. Operating profits rose by over 300% during the lasttwo fiscal years and the return on capital is considered most attractive. Forthe year ending 31 December 2004, turnover was up 2% to £78.8m (2003:£77.2m).Pre-tax profit was up by 29% to a record £13.1m (£10.1m* - after adding back theadjustment to its cable ship Nexus impairment provision of £4.8m). The dividendto shareholders rose 15%. James Fisher was founded in 1840 as a shipping company and its tank shipsdivision remains Western Europe's largest and most modern fleet of costaltankers servicing the oil markets. The Group's next financial results, its Interim figures, will be published on 23August 2005. Contacts: Roger Chapman, Managing Director, James Fisher Rumic Tel 01229 467666Nick Henry, Chief Executive, James Fisher & Sons Tel 01229 615400Mike Shields, Finance Director, James Fisher & Sons Tel 01229 615400 Peter Binns, Binns & Co. PR Ltd Tel: 020 7786 9600Matt Ridsdale, Binns & Co. PR Ltd. Tel: 07921 461 985 www.jamesfisher.co.ukwww.rumic.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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