COURTESY OF U.S. NAVY The Navy is set to introduce its newest dive suit, Hardsuit 2000, shown here. The suit weighs 1,700 pounds and features hand pods for gripping tools.

Suits take
pressure off dives

The Navy's new purchase will
facilitate underwater ventures
at a depth of 2,000 feet

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By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

The Navy next year will introduce a dive suit, Hardsuit 2000, that is certified to operate at a depth of 2,000 feet -- 800 feet lower than previous models.

Pat Dolan, spokeswoman for the Naval Sea Systems Command, recently told the Star-Bulletin that such a suit could have been used in the unprecedented $60 million recovery of the Japanese fisheries training vessel Ehime Maru which sank to a depth of 2,003 feet after being rammed by the attack nuclear submarine USS Greeneville on Feb. 9.

The operator inside the Hardsuit's 1,700-pound rigid shell breathes the same mixture of gases as anyone outside on land. This reduces the potential decompression problems such as the bends.

Dolan said the suit along with its launch and recovery systems are being bought to support the Navy's submarine rescue operations.

"The intent of this acquisition," she said, "is to allow the suit to dive onto a disabled submarine to ascertain the condition of the submarine, clear the submarine rescue mating hatch of any debris and attach the submarine rescue chamber."

Survivors would be evacuated through the rescue vehicle.

COURTESY OF U.S. NAVY The Navy's new dive suit is certified to operate at a depth of 2, 000 feet. The new suit also reduces the threat of decompression problems.

During a rescue mission, divers wearing the suit would be lowered to within 30 feet of the sunken vessel on a frame assembly. Although extremely bulky and heavy on land, the suit is maneuvered underwater using a pair of thrusters mounted on the sides. Pitch and control are controlled by footpads inside the suit.

The suit also features hand pods for gripping tools, and oil-filled joints for greater arm and leg flexibility. Adjustable spacer rings on the suit's arms, legs and waist enable divers of various sizes to wear the suit.

The helmet also features a sonar device and a video camera on the right side that allows workers on the surface to monitor the operations. The sonar device is to help the diver hone in on an object.

Underwater operations in the Hardsuit 2000 can be maintained from eight to 10 hours depending on how the diver regulates his air supply.

Four of these suits, at $2.7 million each, including the frame, will be delivered to the Navy next year by Vancouver-based Hard Suits Corp.

The suits are certified to work to 2,000 feet, Dolan said. But have gone to as deep as 3,000 feet on test dives.

All of the underwater operations to prepare the Ehime Maru to be lifted and transferred to shallower waters had to be done by remotely controlled vehicles because divers could not work safely at such depths. That caused problems and delays for the Navy salvage experts.

Although these suits are dedicated to submarine rescue work, they could be employed by other users for many purposes, Dolan said.

Dolan said the deck of the Ehime Maru was at the certified limits of the Navy's new dive suits and they could have been used in the salvage operations. The Navy hired a private contractor to raise the 830-pound vessel.

The Ehime Maru sank nine miles south of Diamond Head. Twenty-six crewmen, high school students and teachers were rescued. The bodies of nine others were missing. The 190-foot Japanese vessel had to be moved to shallower waters where divers recovered eight of the nine bodies.