Australian Submarine Rescue Vehicle Remora (ASRV Remora) was a submarine rescue vehicle used by the Royal Australian Navy between 1995 and 2006.
Remora was constructed by Canadian company OceanWorks International for the RAN, based on a diving bell.[1] The 16.5-tonne (18.2-ton) vehicle is designed to mate with a submarine's escape tower, and can do this even if the submarine had rolled up to 60 degrees from vertical.[1][2] The vehicle can operate at depths over 500 metres (1,600 ft), and is generally used if the stricken submarine is below 180 metres (590 ft) (the maximum depth Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment can be used at).[1] The submersible carries seven people: the operator and six passengers.[1] Those aboard Remora are kept under about five bars of pressure, and rescued submariners exit into one of two 36-man recompression chambers carried aboard the rescue ship.[1] Remora can be controlled from a containerised facility aboard the rescue ship, with power, control, and sensors fed through an armoured umbilical cable.[3] The entire setup (Remora, control centre, and recompression chambers) can be transported by road or sea, and can be loaded into a C-130 Hercules aircraft.[3] The Defence Maritime Services tender Seahorse Spirit was designated the main tender for Remora,[4] although any vessel capable of carring the equipment can be used. The name comes from the remora, a small fish that can attach itself to larger marine life, and has the backronym "Really Excellent Method Of Rescuing Aussies".[1][2]
In December 2006, the umbilical cable parted during an exercise off Perth, trapping two men at a depth of 140 metres (460 ft) for 12 hours.[2] The men were rescued, but Remora was not recovered until April 2007.[2] The submersible was sent back to OceanWorks for repairs.[2] Although completed, Remora did not reenter service as the Det Norske Veritas classification society refused to certify the submersible as the launch and recovery equipment did not meet updated safety standards.[2] As of the end of 2008, Remora was in storage at Henderson, Western Australia.[2] To cover the capability loss, the Department of Defence arranged for the British LR5 submersible to be flown to Australia if submarine rescue was required.[2] In June 2009, LR5 was relocated to Australia on lease.[5]
Remora was the basis for the United States Navy's Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System.[6]
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