Naval co-operation between India and South Africa now includes submarine rescue with an implementing agreement (IA) confirmed.
The IA, according to the Indian Government Press Information Bureau (PIB), was signed by Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Indian Navy Chief of Naval Staff and Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, SA Navy (SAN) Chief.
The agreement was signed by Lobese in August and Tripath in September, the SANDF said.
The IA is further evidence of what is termed “a shared commitment to maritime safety and mutual support” and will see – when needed – the Indian Navy deploy one of its two deep submergence rescue vehicles (DSRVs).
The IA follows a major Indian Navy exercise – Milan – in Visakhapatnam, headquarters of its Eastern Naval Command, in February this year, where the DSRV was demonstrated with the capability reportedly offered to friendly countries in an extension of Indian defence diplomacy.
A report filed post the Milan DSRV demonstration has it submarine rescue starts with locating the “distressed or sunk” underwater craft followed by rescuing survivors. Personnel trapped in submarines have three exits – using the escape hatch, escaping from torpedo tubes or rescue by DSRV.
The specialist rescue vessels can be either ship mounted or air transportable. India has both capabilities. They can reportedly operate at depths of up to 355 fathoms (650 metres).
The DSRVs operated by the Indian Navy are jointly designed and built by the Hindustan Shipyard Vishakhapatnam, which spearheaded the development with core technology supplied by James Fisher and Sons plc of Aberdeen, Scotland.
In 2021, an India DSRV was part of rescue operations of the ill-fated Indonesian Navy submarine Nanggala-402 which sank on 24 April 2021 north of Bali. All 53 crew died following what was termed an “implosion” aboard. Submarine debris was discovered three days into a major search 10 nautical miles from point of last contact.
The addition of the Indian DSRV capability gives the SA Navy a deep water rescue capability it did not previously have with only the South African designed and built tower escape safety system (TESS) available to submariners. It was successfully tested five years ago in False Bay using SAS Manthatisi (S101) at a 20 metre (10 fathom) depth. TESS goes back 15 years to when it was initiated by the SAN in conjunction with Armscor’s Institute of Maritime Technology (IMT) and the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research).
India and South Africa witness frequent high level military visits, as well as training exchanges, military exercises and sharing of each other’s good practices – India’s Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, Chief of the Air Staff, visited South Africa in May this year, for example, and the South African and Indian navies on 27 and 28 August held the twelfth round of naval staff talks in India.
Indian Navy warships are also regular visitors to South Africa. The Indian Navy will take part in Exercise Ibsamar from 7 to 16 October off Saldanha, South Africa. India and Brazil will each send a frigate.
