Raising the Kursk - SMIT Salvage

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you [Music] the her she should carry the same [Applause] Japanese design will be better for divorce [Music] Oh [Music] you [Music] [Applause] [Music] the salvage of the chorus a challenging operation awarded by Russian authorities to the worldwide heavy lifting and transport company mama would after months of negotiations namib salvage plan differed from earlier operations in several decisive aspects which promised a successful result before the october stormy season on the barren sea shortly after signing Mahmud subcontracted the bulk of the project to Mahmud Smith its joint venture with worldwide maritime service provider Smith International they face an operation unique in the maritime world [Music] the salvage plan generally looks as follows the course 155 metres long lies at a depth of one hundred eight meters below sea level seventy miles off the coast of Vermont it's heavily damaged nose sunk into the seabed clay to yield a compact object that can be handled during the lifting operation the damaged front section will be cut off by a specially designed robotic cutting wire the salvage plan involves lifting the course by means of 26 computer-controlled lifting units all positioned on a barge once the barge is in place 26 grippers or lifting hooks will be guided down into 26 pre-cut holes in the inner and outer hull when correctly aligned the Ripper units will be hydraulically opened up and clamped under the frames of the inner hull not unlike a toggle bolt a bundle of 54 cables will be attached to each river the cables are lifted by means of strand jacks that are situated on the deck of the barge each strand jack has a lifting capacity of 900 tons stranded jacks lift hydraulically with a special gripping motion not unlike climbing a rope and overhand it often used for heavy lifts but usually on land [Music] during the lift the force exerted on the attachment points on the course needs to be constant to maintain stability the strand Jax will be fitted on top of the series of heave compensators that act like shock absorbers they will allow the barge to move up and down while controlling the required tension on the strands the lifting will be precisely controlled centimeter by centimeter force on each bundle of cables can be set individually to minimize the tension on the whole of the course the animation made it all look feasible but the reality was something different there were only five months to handle the total job from preparation to actual lift preparations began in various places around the world altogether 26 lifting units have to be constructed each lifting unit consists of a strand Jack a heave compensating system an enormous cable reel rippers and gripper guides besides the Strand jacks every part of the lifting unit is specially designed and constructed hundreds of technicians work on all parts of the lifting system computer programmers are working overtime to get the lifting operation systems ready in time the construction of the gigantic reels for the lifting cables is a major task on its own kilometres of cables will have to be rolled onto these reels to prevent an enormous wire spaghetti bowl on the deck of the giant [Music] a specially designed cutting wire will have to remove the nose of the curse [Music] this cutting wire consisting of a steel thread with specially processed buses is first tested on an old sand dredge [Music] each part of the operation is tested extensively nothing can be left a chance part of the inner and outer hull of the submarine has been copied to determine whether the lifting plugs operate according to plan a plug is lowered into the hole it then opens and attaches itself to the frame of the submarine a delegation of Russian engineers comes to Holland for the specific purpose of viewing this test [Music] in the harbour of Rotterdam the first equipment is prepared for departure to the barren sea this involves two enormous suction anchors that are needed for the cutting operation in due time these anchors will be positioned in the seabed along the sides of the course [Music] [Music] [Music] it's mid-july two months after signing of the salvage contract when the pontoon with the sewing equipment leads the Rotterdam Harbor [Music] meanwhile engineers extensively calculate and recalculate all technical parts of the operation and others but the 92 the shape of or still so they stay getting on base for several days while their complex work continues the giant four is transported to a dock in Amsterdam to be modified for the lifting operation this 130 meter semi submersible barge is normally used for the transportation of heavy loads that are normally placed on deck for this particular job the barge must be prepared to carry cargo below deck enormous saddles are mounted underneath the barge the saddles are shaped to match the outer hull of the kursk below the waterline under the bow a huge hole is cut for the sale of the course saddles and hole are made to tighten the submarine firmly against the giant barge which is necessary for a safe journey from the barren sea to the harbor of Vermont's [Music] while work on the giant continues the barge with the cutting equipment arrives in the small Norwegian village of Chicanos here just a few miles from the Russian border the final tests with the cutting system will take place first the salvage team needs to test the cutting system on an actual piece of metal similar to the material from which the course has been constructed at least that's how it will work in theory two cylinders are placed on top of the enormous suction anchors the two cylinders driven by gigantic power bags have a suction pump that is able to reduce the pressure inside each cylinder causing the anchors to work their way downwards into the seabed after several days of testing the team is satisfied with the results the anchors are hung overboard before the two-day journey to the course site can begin here in the sheltered day of care chemists this can be done easily doing this on the barren sea with its constant swell would be very dangerous [Music] while the pomp tune sets course for the course the finishing touch is put on the giant in Amsterdam as all farts need to be assembled on site an assembly line is created on the quay immediately next to the giant for first all lifting cables are guided through the stranded jacks the next step is to guide them on to the reels more than 200 kilometres of cables are controlled in this way [Music] the cables are read to em the plugs that will need to be attached to the submarine have now been assembled and are being attached [Music] it's August now time is pressing the deck of the giant is getting four all the time as soon as the lifting platform is completed it is hoisted onto the giant four and installed over the holes that have been cut in addition the heave compensation system consisting of four nitrogen driven cylinders for each lifting platform is installed twenty-eight containers with a total of 3584 bottles of nitrogen are placed on deck [Music] after two months of working nearly round-the-clock the bear pontoon has been converted into a high-tech lifting bulwark the likes of which the world has never seen [Music] [Music] the signal for departure can be given [Music] even while work on the giant is going on an international team of divers is getting ready in Aberdeen Scotland for departure the diving support ship Mayo will function as a command ship during the operation without expert underwater work the course cannot be lifted before departure the divers received final instructions about what they can expect to encounter they've been trained in particular to be alert for the potential danger of nuclear radiation after all the course is a nuclear submarine will have to be handled gently the cause of the depth of more than 100 meters the divers must remain in saturation during the entire operation this means they'll have to work and live for a maximum of 28 days under the same pressure that prevails at a depth of 100 meters the first 12 divers prepare themselves for this heavy task once the door is closed we will feel of the divers again [Music] [Music] on July 22nd the course appears on the monitors of the diving ship almost a year after the fatal disaster the first divers are standing on the hull of the submarine the gigantic task of salvaging this 9,000 ton halt including the bodies of the victims can begin according to the lifting plan 26 holes have to be cut in the inner and outer hull of the submarine this operation will be carried out by the divers they need to cut the holes using abrasive jet cutting this involves the use of high pressure water mixed with a special type of sand the divers work around the clock Kalista lose no time [Music] [Applause] [Music] after 28 days the first international team of divers is relieved the Russian Navy constantly nearby with its vessels coordinates the crew changes the Mayo has a pressure tag aboard in which the divers live sleep and eat after their work on the course each diver works six hours per day while three divers are at work down below the others can rest or eat they fully depend on each other during this entire time [Music] the work is proceeding smoothly after several weeks all holes have been cut and a start can be made with the removal of the nose the Mayo has now been joined by the pontoon with the cutting equipment first the suction anchors are lowered these anchors must be placed exactly in the right position next to the submarine slowly the heavy equipment is lowered to a depth of 100 meters up above onboard of the Mayo the positioning is being carefully monitored divers are working continuously to place the anchors properly the work goes on around the clock once the anchors have been placed the cutting wire can be lowered the divers placed a heavy wire across the nose of the course then attach it to the anchors on both sides the wire has to be placed in the precise correct position the separation of the heavily damaged nosed and the halt is a must before the lifting work can be started the nose might break doing the lifting operation causing instability it could generate unexpected forces on the lifting units in theory the two suction anchors suck themselves by vacuum into the seabed of the Barrens scene at the same time the cutting wire is moved forwards and backwards by means of the hydraulic cylinders after an hour the cutting wire is turned off to view the result thus far when the underwater camera is lowered the situation becomes clear the wire is doing great work it's lasted even longer than expected to salvage continue with good hope first priorities of the project team throughout the operation were the safety of all personnel on the scene and the protection of the marine environment an independent radiological protection team of British and Belgian nuclear and weapons experts was on hand [Music] constant monitoring of all equipment and personnel at the scene during the entire operation confirmed no radiation leakage from the kursk reactors every recorded level was well within the acceptable range for background radiation [Music] when the nose is fully cut off at last final preparations for lifting can start divers clear all debris from the holes with special equipment the remaining cables and pipes between the inner and outer hull are removed these are the last preparations made on the hull of the course to ensure safe and successful installation of the grippers at this point weather conditions are quite favorable for the salvers in spite of the fact that the giant and the Mayo experienced high waves every so often most of the time the team members can continue their job slowly but surely the lifting units are being prepared with a finale within a couple of days it will be clear whether the lifting units that have been developed constructed and tested for months will also function in actual practice the system is inspected for the umpteenth time and the compensator system undergoes one more check tension is rising [Music] before the next phase can begin the salvage team is faced with a solid setback the wind is picking up a storm is on the way this means that the work has to be interrupted in anticipation of the upcoming weather the equipment is secured where possible to withstand heavy sea motion any damage or loss of equipment could have serious consequences for the entire operation when everything has been secured the team can do nothing but wait [Music] [Music] [Music] the wind picks up - gale force several crew members nonetheless managed to go on deck to lash down some more pieces of equipment you [Applause] Hostel veer a little move a away make available [Music] the storm holds on for 24 hours but in the morning the Sun breaks through and a rainbow appears on the horizon the weather forecast looks favorable for the time being and the crew begins immediately to undo the fastened equipment to crawler cranes are used to unroll before guide cables later on the plugs will be lowered along these cables they ensure that the plugs will not twist during their journey to a depth of 100 meters the guide cables are attached to a ring in sets of four the divers gonna fix the Rings two guiding cones which were installed on each hole doing so the grippers can slide in easily when correctly aligned the gripper units will be hydraulically opened up and clamped under frames in the inner hull slowly but surely the plugs inch their way down to be positioned in the holes as the zero hour approaches attention on board rises as the first plugs are attached the compensation system is also put into operation the compensators with the Strand jacks on top absorb the rocking of the giant on the sea waves still held I don't even test people Tesla fire gate almost every gripper has a unique shape and has to be inserted at a different angle the crew on deck and the divers below function is a smoothly operating team and after four days 13 plugs have been installed two days later the last of the twenty six plugs has been lowered for the divers months of working around the clock finally came to an end more than a year has gone by since the course gland Adhan the sea-bottom now shortly before the submarine is to be pulled loose the salvage team pauses to reflect on the victims who are still on board the commemoration plaque and a wreath are lowered under the course [Music] does everything ready he needs to buy you can start his release the final phase has begun the command is given to start the actual lifting process the traction on the course is gradually being raised boaty forgetting there [Music] as most couples are people pleaser now you know about after eight hours success is already at hand at 3:45 Moscow time during the night of October 8th the chorus comes loose from the sea bed air bubbles evidence that the Kursk is moving 9,000 tons of traction is needed to pull the Hulk loose from the seafloor it takes another 10 hours for the submarine to ascend the 100 meters that separated from the bottom of the giant the heat compensating system works properly at 3 o'clock in the afternoon the course is secured firmly against the bottom of the giant this calls for a little party on board the most critical part of the entire operation pulling the course loose from the sea bottom has been successfully completed [Music] as soon as the course hangs firmly underneath the giant the journey towards the harbour of Vermont skis begun the tugboats midnight Singapore pulls the Giants first combination towards the Russian Harbor the combination arrives in Vermont after two days accompanied by the Peter the Great a flagship of the Russian Navy [Music] in the final phase of the operation the submarine will be brought to a dry dock near Murmansk because the draft of the giant for with the kursk underneath is deeper than the floor of the dock the giant course combination will have to be lifted to achieve this remarkable lift two massive submersible pontoons are to be built the natural buoyancy will raise the pontoons together with the giant coarse combination and sail it into the floating dock [Music] there the lifting units will place the course can gently onto the support [Music] the giant course combination remains in the middle of the bay of Murmansk while the pontoons are slowly positioned on either side [Music] the next step is to sink the enormous pontoons by flooding them of water slowly the pontoons descend further into the water once they've sunk deep enough they're moved underneath the giant as soon as the pontoons are underneath the giant they're pumped full of air slowly they come up with it has become cold in this northern part of Russia after months of hard work fatigue is starting to show its face here and there [Music] when the pontoons are full of air they have lifted the giant coarse combination more than six meters the combination is thus far less deep into the water and will fit into the dock several tugboats push and pull the giant slowly in the direction of the dock the Russian Navy has meanwhile lending the Salvos a helping hand dozens of sailors are now involved to assist in getting their lost comrades into the drydock soon the combination lies in the dock the course is back home the giant can leave the dock once again but before that takes place the salvage team honors the victims one last time Oh [Music] here ends a successful operation in which numerous innovations were needed to overcome the many challenges raising the course is a story of technological ingenuity perseverance and courage in a fight against time and the elements by specialists from many countries [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Info

Channel: SMIT Salvage | Towage

Views: 2,967,160

Rating: 4.6700859 out of 5

Keywords: SMIT, Salvage, wreck removal, Kursk, submarine

Id: uQJ6IMREvz8

Channel Id: undefined

Length: 31min 37sec (1897 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 09 2017

Reddit Comments

In Mother Russia, questions ask you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxo7fPvhqkI

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/[deleted] 📅︎︎ Dec 01 2017 🗫︎ replies

So the us navy and and the Russian navy were playing chicken that day the Kursk sank. They do a lot. A us navy sub came into port somwhere..... with a giant dent in its front hull.

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/richardhead6666 📅︎︎ Dec 02 2017 🗫︎ replies

This company will soon have another job rescuing submarines, in this case the argentine submarine

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/eric1707 📅︎︎ Dec 01 2017 🗫︎ replies