Pressinbjudan ubåtsräddningsövning Northern Crown -25

The submarine rescue exercise Northern Crown-25 will be conducted in the Bay of Hanö from May 1 to May 15.

The exercise is part of the agreement that Sweden has on joint submarine rescue together with the three nations Norway, France and the United Kingdom, which together own the NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS). The system consists of a submarine rescue vessel (Nemo) similar to Sweden's URF, trained personnel, and a container-based pressure chamber system.

During the exercise, personnel from the Swedish Navy's medical submarine rescue group will be trained together with the crew of HswMs Belos and personnel from NSRS. A major part of the exercise is that the submarine rescue vehicle will connect to the Swedish submarine to practice evacuation of submarine crew.

The exercise ends with HswMs Belos transporting NSRS equipment to Scotland where it is unloaded.

Media will be invited to participate on board HswMs Belos at sea to see the submarine rescue vehicle Nemo, how launching and recovery is carried out and how the submarine rescue system on board works.

There will be opportunities for interviews with both Swedish and British personnel.

When and where: Wednesday 7 May 0700 departure, Kungsbron, Karlskrona approx 1800 arrival, Kungsbron, Karlskrona

The number of places is limited and the First Submarine Flotilla reserves the right to prioritize if the need arises.

Registration to participate on board HswMs Belos is made to:

Sofia Löveborn Head of Communications, First Submarine Flotilla, sofia.loveborn@mil.se No later than Monday, May 5 at 1000.

The registration must include name and social security number, bring a valid ID card.

For any questions contact the above on 0046 70 550 1915.

Facts: NATO Submarine Rescue System

NSRS (NATO Submarine Rescue System) is a multinational submarine rescue system jointly owned by France, Norway and the United Kingdom. Developed in direct response to the Russian Kursk submarine tragedy in 2000, the system aims to rescue submarine crews from wrecked submarines lying on the seabed - down to a depth of 600 meters.

NSRS consists of three main parts:

1. IROV (Intervention Remotely Operated Vehicle) - a remotely operated underwater vehicle that can deliver vital supplies to a damaged submarine.

2. SRV (Submarine Rescue Vehicle), also known as “Nemo” - a small rescue submarine that can transport up to 15 submariners at a time from a damaged submarine to the surface.

3. TUP (Transfer Under Pressure) and Decompression Chamber - a pressurized chamber facility that allows up to 72 people to be decompressed simultaneously, which is crucial to avoid decompression sickness after a rescue.

The system is owned by the three countries but operated by a UK company, JFD, based at HM Naval Base Clyde in the UK. Around 130 personnel (military and civilian) from the participating nations are involved in the operational use of the system. Training takes place year-round, both in parts and as a whole, with a major international NATO exercise, Dynamic Monarch, taking place every three years.

In 2009, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with Sweden, which allows the NSRS and the Swedish submarine rescue system to support each other in the event of maintenance or other unavailability. As part of this, the NSRS regularly participates in the Swedish submarine rescue exercise NORTHERN CROWN, practicing joint operations, including using the Swedish rescue vessel HMS BELOS to launch the rescue submarine and conduct rescue operations with Swedish submarines off Karlskrona.

The aim of the whole cooperation is to strengthen the safety of submarine crews within the participating nations, NATO and other partner countries by ensuring that the rescue systems are interoperable and co-trained.