Transporting A Retired HMCS Submarine 700 Miles Across Canada | Huge Moves | Spark

a cold war submarine weighing one and a half thousand tons it's a piece of naval history can a team of marine engineers haul this precious relic a thousand kilometers up canada's east coast without being consumed by atlantic storms to kept toys on you will they make it in time for the highest tide of the year if we miss it it's a catastrophe by taking shortcuts but no room for screw-ups and a hell raising rail ride one truck you have to succeed the first time 100 nail-biting days that almost ends in disaster one super-sized submarine one team with a mission to move it [Music] a titanic task that will test the nerves of the people who dare to do monster moves [Music] halifax nova scotia canada a pivotal base for the canadian and british fleets during world war ii and the cold war [Music] warships and submarines were launched on covert surveillance missions armed for armageddon today halifax remains home of the atlantic fleet but the vessels used to fight last century's battles clutter at docks among them is a fleet of decommissioned oberon-class submarines destined for the scrapyard canadian chief rob arbour is in charge of the oboes the submarines they've been over here for the last eight years all the batteries the fuel all the liquids are taken off of it all the secret equipment what you see here is just basically the hulk of the submarine left only 27 o-boats were constructed they were built in the uk and deployed by the australian brazilian british and canadian navies propelled by a battery-powered engine the old class were much quieter than nuclear submarines this made them ideal for top secret surveillance missions for me it'd be a loss if we didn't preserve one of these submarines at least eventually they're going to turn into scrap razor blades pop cans the clock's ticking on these ones for chief arbor's fleet its days are numbered but he may be about to be thrown a lifeline a thousand kilometers away in the fishing town of rimouski eastern quebec mo allard wants to save one of the submarines he served on the o boats for nearly two decades the old boats are oberon class submarine were the best submarines in the world at the time they were also the quietest submarine that was our main function to listen to come unseen and unheard we'd sail in the middle of the night and come back in the middle tonight people didn't know where we were what we did to commemorate the old boat missions and bring tourists to rimouski mo and his team of volunteers have raised over a million dollars to build the country's first submarine museum the centerpiece will be an o boat this is going to be the only submarine museum in canada so it's going to bring people from all over to see how we lived how we worked and what the life was like aboard a submarine and the old boats chosen for a historic debut in ramosky is hmcs on ondaga the onondaga is a gigantic submarine renowned for its strength and stealth it's constructed from over 50 separate compartments these are protected by a double hull built from steel the vessel is nearly 100 meters long and weighs almost one and a half thousand tons the obote hulls are so strong they can dive down almost 200 meters they are armed with eight torpedoes each capable of sinking enemy ships or submarines [Music] the o boat will have to be transported over a thousand kilometers to ramuski it's a tough journey for such a massive fragile vessel mo entrusts the move to veteran sea dog and marine engineer donald trombley me uh to be at sea it was a passion you know during all my life now i'm getting hold a bit but it was a passion i knew nothing else only to be on the sea on a boat as a chief engineer donald is one of canada's most formidable maritime adventurers in 1964 he discovered canada's largest shipwreck the empress of ireland which sank not far from rimouski for me it's a big technical challenge it is a project of love you know this one is once in a lifetime [Music] relocating the onondaga will give donald many sleepless nights when the sub was decommissioned in 2000 its batteries were removed so it can no longer sail under its own steam donald must find another way of transporting it to ramoski there are different ways to move a submarine [Music] we can put the submarine on top of some other boat [Music] fragile vessels can be loaded onto large barges or flatbed ships to move them long distances [Music] [Music] when the navy destroyer uss cole was holed in an attack in the middle east in 2000 the hull was too badly damaged to risk sailing it to repair docks in mississippi so movers raised the ship onto the deck of a submersible transporter for the voyage the transporter costs over one million dollars a week to hire this is too expensive for donald so he rejects this option second ways would be to dismantle the submarine i mean to cut the submarine in park put it in big truck move it by road and reassemble it in remove super-sized submarines are often built from modules [Music] the british navy's new astute-class nuclear submarines are so large that engineers have to assemble the hundred meter long vessels from smaller sections they move each section to an assembly hangar on colossal crawlers each vessel takes over six years to put together [Music] cutting up and reassembling the onondaga risks damaging the vessel and is twice the work so donald abandons this plan he decides to tow the submarine to ramosky harbour then haul it over the rocks onto the headland the big question is this old obot sturdy enough to survive such an awfully big adventure in halifax marine engineer donald tremblay and royal navy chief rob arbor are preparing the onondaga o [Music] the move will take place in two stages first they must tow the vessel through the atlantic to ramuski the journey should take just a few days but could be longer if they hit storms then they must devise a way to haul the old boat onto dry land donald is already concerned about the submarine's stability those tanks all are yeah we just find the easiest way to fill them up the onondaga was diesel electric powered and armed to carry eight torpedoes when decommissioned in 2000 the obot's arsenal was removed along with 40 000 pounds of batteries this leaves the bow of the vessel riding much higher than the stern in rough seas this could make the old boat list uncontrollably and endanger the tugboat to prevent the sub from capsizing chief arbor's team of naval engineers must level it precisely by filling the ballast tanks around the ship's hull with seawater [Music] six main ballast tankers proving shut six alpha matter cutting six lp tank sides six lp tank sides and master blowers are shut chief arbor has his own way of checking it's not listing it takes two days to load over forty thousand gallons of water into the vessel's ballast tanks flow intake sides are shut good to go the team must completely seal the submarine to prevent any water from leaking inside on route i can still see daylight some of the hatches prove difficult to seal caked in dirt rust and pigeon poo from our friends to pigeons they like to camp out in here as you can see come nesting season they're in here by the hundreds and that's what they leave behind pigeon poo in his determination to blast away the problem chief arbor forgets his hapless men below we're just going to watch all the accumulation of pigeon poo out of here so we can work on it a little bit better [Music] [Music] it's looking better i say hey we're going to get a shot [Music] ready rob can you stand on it go [Music] okay they're dog rob that's it all they need now is a tug boat to embark on the thousand kilometer sea [Music] journey at the submarine's destination donald is already planning the most difficult stage of the move he's surveying the shoreline to work out the best way of hauling the submarine out of the water and onto the harbour front as you can see it's not a place ready to accept a submarine here you know if you put the submarine here on the rock and the tides goes half that piece of rock will go through the bottom of the submarine the town wants to display the submarine on a hilltop a hundred meters inland rimouski has no dry docks so donald plans to lay rails to hold the submarine over the rocky shore he must lay a hundred meters of track down the steep slope five special cradles will support the vessel on the rails for the submarine to float onto the cradles donald needs a tide of at least 15 feet high but there is only one night this summer that the tide here rises high enough for two short hours on august the 2nd donald cannot afford to miss this narrow timeline we have to be very fast in our operation and we don't have much time the tide will not wait for us if we miss it it's a catastrophe [Music] in halifax the tugboat donald's hired to tow the submarine has finally arrived its captain joe legg has over 40 years experience but is nervous about this unique mission well we got this morning like 3 30 to get the new forecast and the forecast wasn't good the problem is we don't know what we're dealing with we've never told anything like this before but leaving on a bad forecast is not a good idea thick fog delays their departure [Music] looks beautiful with the help of the good lord now everything is ready for the tour [Music] three days behind schedule the oh boat casts off on her final voyage destination [Music] everything already is she can't clear it's on its way it's good well it's a relief to finally see it on underway after the delays we've had for the last two or three weeks trying to get her going hopefully they get up there without any problems but just as they maneuver out of the harbour disaster strikes [Music] one of the two tow cables snaps under the strain we gotta go back to them [Music] cast adrift on a turning tide the submarine threatens to block the harbour oh it's a very very tricky maneuver now dangling by a thread they haul it back to the dark side i glad it happened here in the harbor note to see that would've been probably a disaster it doesn't want to leave his buddies behind tied up over there bad start to the the team must find a new tow chain quickly it's friday and the dock workers disappear for the weekend in a few hours we need some bigger we need bigger chain in it yeah the problem is when you leave it's tomorrow it's a weekend no no you're going to go today we're leaving today at noon hopefully if i get this chain we're gone it takes six hours for chief arbor to find a chain big enough for the job [Music] i think she's good this time it's away everything looks good now it's no chain no cables so hopefully everything's going to be [Music] good [Music] with the submarine on its way donald's team now have only two weeks to build the sub's giant guide rails in rimouski the track is massive each section weighs five tons we'll use six sections like that for the for the whole ram if the track's not complete by the time the submarine arrives it will derail the whole project every time the tide comes in they must down tools and wait for it to go out again the positioning of the track is critical it must be perfectly inline and level it is very important because when we roll on it it must be straight otherwise the rollers will go outside of the track meanwhile the tugboat crew entered the atlantic waters where the devastating perfect storm occurred it's the hurricane season and the prospect of stormy seas worries captain joe [Music] well you got to stop marine big huge submarine that we have here this fire breathing dragon breathing on your neck the waves could reach anywhere from 25 to 30 feet in a matter of a few hours once you've kept soyuz on you we've got a lot of ground to cover yet before we get to the end of our journey [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh two days into the voyage captain joe receives bad news 10 to 15 knots early sunday morning and increasing to 20 to 25 sunday afternoon a hurricane is moving up the eastern seaboard and could catch them it's not looking real good i have no idea i was going to react in the storm rough seas could sink the submarine and drag the tugboat down so captain joe plots his escape route he decides to divert through a narrow strait on the southern end of cape breton this route is protected from storms but involves navigating through a series of locks towing a submarine through these narrow locks will not be easy there's a risk that as water surges through the gates the submarine's fins could be damaged leaving it unseaworthy to guide the submarine joe must call in a second both captains must keep their tow cables taught to ensure the submarine remains absolutely parallel with the locked walls but no room for screw-ups try and keep him in the center of the lock as much as possible so if he hits like you know there's no damage to the canal or no damage to the ship right now if we lose our steering we're in big trouble we're 100 feet now yeah you're coming in find that cap you're coming right up the center the rear tugboat crashes into the side as it struggles to control the flailing submarine his hands because she's fighting but everything she has there now with the submarine firmly tethered they close the gates and level the water okay all set to close soap gate [Music] okay opening up north gates yeah roger whenever you're ready cap we're all open and ready for you to depart for lock keeper lou the passage of the o boat will be a day to remember 35 years in november and i'm retiring and this is my first one so it's uh little exciting for me i guess you'd have to say [Music] the submarine reaches ramosky in time for this summer's highest tide [Music] its arrival draws hundreds of spectators it's a milestone for us here look at the people that came out to see him you know it was announcing the radio about oh 20 minutes ago i guess and the whole town dropped down before the majority of them have never seen a submarine so [Music] sovereign got their intact isn't it wonderful okay now we can laugh wonderful [Music] the team now face the daunting prospect of hauling the submarine over the rocks onto dry land it's the night of the big push in ramoski submarine fever grips the town locals gather to watch donald's team haul the obot up onto the harbour front tonight they rush to complete the rail tracks for this summer's unique 15-foot high tide that peaks at 3am today we're trying to finish the job completely to be ready to receive the submarine but just as they lower the final cradle into position storm clouds gather [Music] we don't care about the rain about the tide no problem the tide will be there it's always there [Music] [Music] the submarine's hull is pitted with corrosion from years of neglect donald has positioned the cradles on the rails to align precisely with the strongest areas on the submarine's underside the bulkheads but the storm throws his plans in jeopardy rough seas and strong wind will make it difficult to line up the vessel with the rails the submarine could collide with one of the cradles puncturing the hull donald must weigh up the risk of a potential disaster [Music] looks like changing probably we'll go we'll probably go it's ten o'clock high tide is just five hours away but as the night ticks on the storm gathers strength [Music] but in this weather the submarine could career out of control it's the biggest gamble of his life [Music] at 11 40 p.m he makes a decision on [Music] we're disappointed disappointed we cannot take a chance like that [Music] the following day donald returns to rimouski tonight the tides are only a fraction lower if the storm subsides donald may have another chance [Music] it's getting worse hour by hour as we can see there's nothing we can do with those waves you know nothing we can do donald urgently needs another plan to hold a submarine out of the sea this [Music] summer [Applause] so we have a new plan donald's original plan was to ride in on august the second 15 foot tide and float the submarine onto the rails it's now mid-august and the tides have subsided to 14 foot the submarine now sits too low in the water to reach the tracks donald could remove heavy equipment to increase the sun's buoyancy but submarines are built from the inside out to remove anything larger than a chair donald would have to cut huge holes in the o boats hull damaging its structural integrity so he decides to extend the rail tracks deeper into the water but as he's about to find out building railways underwater is a challenge the new rails underwater must join seamlessly to the tracks on shore but the silty waters make alignment difficult to see your hands around your eyes you know but you touch with the you close your eyes and you you put you you touch with your hand your hand is your height diver danny must weld the tracks together but operating an electric arc welding torch in deep murky waters demands intense vigilance do you see the welding now the flash the electricity is dangerous for my diver i listen all time in and we work with him meanwhile donald prepares to escort the old boat around the harbour to line her up with the rails before night flight it's happening it's coming you see the tower that everything is ready it's away i have a good feeling the tugboat struggles to hold on to the vessel in the choppy waters then the unthinkable happens [Music] again the cable in the front just kind of got twisted and cut itself on the edge last time the tow cable snapped the navy was at hand this time the crew must sort it out on their own if they don't regain control the submarine could wash up on shore the dinghy bounces around too much to thread a new line through the obot's nose so they lasso rope around its giant sauna snout an anxious chief arbor arrives to oversee tonight's big pull it's really good scene that's uh made the journey so far that's what we'll do and so we will start around 10 30 tonight submarines always work better in the cover of darkness yeah always is ready just waiting for the day that's all [Music] diver danny checks the rails one final [Music] time [Music] high tide is just five hours away donald knows the success of the mission depends on perfect alignment of the submarine onto the cradles to prevent waves or wind derailing the move this time donald plans to steer the obot by tightening and loosening four cables he tethers two ropes to boys in the sea and two to trucks on the pier he must coordinate the truck movements precisely to shift with the tides and counteract the waves to ensure the cradles engage with the hull's bulkheads touchdown with the cradles is critical if the bulkheads do not perfectly align the submarine will be unevenly balanced and could topple off the rails when the tide retreats the alignment is the whole thing if they don't have it lined up it could go either side of the cradle and it's not going to come up this is crunch time here donald mounts the submarine's conning tower from here he should have a clear view to line up the vessel with the traps precisely he orders his team into action ropes to guide the o boat onto the cradles as the tide rises [Music] 1am there's just two hours to go until high tide when all five cradles must be in position under the oh boat's hull wait a little bit as they struggle to keep pace with the rising water thick fog suddenly rolls in obscuring donald's vision [Music] he has no idea whether the submarine is still in line with all the cradles [Music] suddenly the oh boat grinds mysteriously to a halt hey there's just 30 minutes to go before high tide they call in diver danny to get the oh boat moving again foreign danny discovers that some of the rollers designed to help move the submarine up to tracks are jammed with debris he cleans and realigns them it's now high tide and the submarine is locked in position if it's not properly aligned now donald's could face disaster within another 10 minutes the water is going to start pulling the boat back too so they're losing the opportunity of of getting it so close it's do or die with the submarine sitting in the cradles donald must begin the second stage of the move and winch the submarine out of the water on the front of the submarine he attaches three winch trucks each truck provides over 600 horsepower hopes they will be powerful enough to haul the submarine up the ramp but as the tide starts to fall there's a risk that the reseeding water could pull the submarine and the trucks out to sea donald needs more power he decides to use an old mariners trick a block and tackle to provide the extra pulling power this system of 11 interconnecting pulleys increases the winching power 11-fold donald is gambling that this will provide enough power to winch the submarine 100 meters up the ramp even when the time turns one shot you have to succeed the first time that's all 700 meters of steel cables link the winch trucks to the submarine they have a combined pulling power equivalent to three steam locomotives [Music] 12 minutes after the tide it's going down now it's going down they cannot afford to wait another second now the moment of truth men and machines must pull together in a titanic tug of war against time and tide this is like an orchestra bang bang bang it's your turn to work your turn to work everything seems to be doing fine so far [Music] 40 years after the onondaga launched she glides gently back onto dry land the old mans look good [Music] after four long hours the submarine is out of the water donald's mission is almost complete now we're going to sleep for tonight all you can say is thank you donald right now and the boat's coming home the team decide to complete the final 45 meter push to the headland tomorrow but while everyone is asleep disaster strikes it's a heartbreaking dawn in ramoski the submarine may be wrecked donald is first on site anxious to work out what went wrong it happens this morning at 6 00 18. we had a lot of fog i didn't see my alignment it flipped over the submarine was not aligned precisely on the cradles when the team pulled it ashore as the tide went out the precariously balanced vessel toppled over [Music] i haven't gathered all my emotions yet to figure exactly what i feel like sad it's like losing our baby in a way you know after eight years of work we see it like this they inspect the hull for damage cowboy spiderman to their relief the hull is still watertight so donald can embark on a rescue attempt the team works frantically over the next two weeks to repair and reposition the craters they must right the vessel as quickly as possible and pull it up to the headland before the port freezes over this winter they attach a tugboat to the rear to pull the derailed submarine back in line with the tracks [Music] but the team are over anxious and pull too far too fast overshooting the tracks they use a winch truck to haul the tail back the other way but the erratic maneuvers throw the submarine off balance this is donald's worst nightmare it's positive we're gonna have it today stubborn the whole lady she is just didn't want to move the rescue is delayed once more a month later the team are ready for a final try [Music] bring it back fall on the side again bring it down hold it up yeah it will do the job as winter looms donald makes his final checks they are very happy when it be finished not only me everybody the same time from christmas [Music] they cross their fingers maybe this third time they will be lucky okay the o boat finally rides up the rail smoothly reaching the harbour front where it will be transformed into canada's first submarine museum [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] they make it just as winter draws in [Music] wow [Music] hey

Channel: Spark

Views: 535,549

Rating: 4.7366195 out of 5

Keywords: Spark, Science, Technology, Engineering, education, documentary, factual, mind blown, construction, full documentary, space documentary, bbc documentary, Science documentary, huge moves, monster moves, moving a building, building move, renovation old house, moving big buildings, technology 2021, construction management, engineering design process, full documentary channel, science experiments, engineering documentary, national geographic, Building Relocation, submarine documentary

Id: gdV7UGkoqAM

Length: 44min 50sec (2690 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 17 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/cpltossaway]

Still moved faster then naval procurement.