PLA Navy carried out a large-scale submarine rescue drill with the participation of naval search and rescue flotilla affiliated to the Northern Theater Command, local search and rescue forces, and other surface and air assets between 17-20 May in the Yellow Sea.
The multi-course drill lasted for 74 hours uninterruptedly and aimed to test the participants’ ability to perform submarine rescue missions and emergency treatment.
During the drill, the application of multi-type submarine rescue equipment has highlighted the breakthroughs made in the PLA Navy’s core rescue capabilities.
It is mentioned by the Chinese Military portal that a total of one helicopter and nine vessels, including the PLA Navy’s streamlined, comprehensive supply ship Hongzehu (Hull 881), were jointly dispatched to participate in the drill, marking the largest multi-dimensional joint rescue drill in recent years.
Submarine rescue is a global problem worth solving and also the highlight of this drill. The joint search and rescue fleet searched for a simulated disabled submarine under the water late at night. The divers on the Ship Hongzehu carried delivery tubes to conduct supply and exhaust ventilation and dropped life supplies for the wrecked submarine.
On the next day, the sea tugboat BeiTuo 739 carried a motorized submarine rescue chamber docked with the target, and the simulated wounded personnel could be treated in time.
After the dramatic loss of the Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala last month, the PLA Navy sent a rescue ship to provide assistance in find and rescue efforts for the sunken sub.
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