Indian Navy’s deep search and rescue vehicles (DSRV) came one step closer to delivery after completing harbor trials in Glasgow, Scotland.
India is acquiring two of the submarine rescue systems from James Fisher Defence (JFD) under a £193 million contract signed in 2016.
The contract includes the design, build and supply of two complete systems, which include the DSRVs, launch and recovery system equipment, transfer under pressure systems, and all logistics and support equipment required to operate the service, plus a 25-year in service support contract.
“The initial harbor acceptance trials of the first DSRV, which were undertaken at Glasgow’s King George V dock, are now complete,” the company said adding that the systems would be ready for delivery to the Indian Navy later this month.
The DSRV hull previously underwent factory acceptance tests in December 2017 at JFD’s National Hyperbaric Centre in Aberdeen. These tests included pressurized testing on the system’s pressure hulls and command module – all of which were completed successfully, according to the company.
Upon completion of the harbor acceptance trials, the DSRV will be integrated with the rest of the rescue system at a site in Glasgow including the offshore handling system, intervention suite and 90 person decompression facilities.
“The completion of the initial harbor acceptance trials for the first DSRV, to be delivered to the Indian Navy, is an important step in the delivery of this contract,” Ben Sharples, India DSRV Project Director at JFD said. “This is part of the progressive acceptance of the system designed to drive out risk during the later stages of sea acceptance.”
The systems will be shipped to India in March 2018 for final commissioning and trials while the handover to the Indian Navy is planned for June 2018.