Mobile Diving And Salvage Unit News

A multinational group of Sailors and scientists from a variety commands, organizations and militaries searched for the wreckage of Revolutionary War ship Bonhomme Richard, Sept. 2-9. Underwater archaeologists from the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit(MDSU) 2, Sailors from Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center (NOMWC), Sailors from the French Mine Clearance Dive Unit (MCDU) and members from Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (GFOE) embarked upon Military Sealift Command rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp (T-ARS 51) to survey a late 18th or early 19th century-shipwreck off the coast of England in the North Sea.

USS Sampson (DDG 102) and USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) concluded their assistance efforts January 15 after contributing more than 650 search hours to the Indonesian-led search effort for AirAsia flight QZ8501, The U.S. Navy reported. Working in coordination with the Government of Indonesia, the U.S. 7th Fleet assigned USS Sampson and USS Fort Worth to the mission shortly after the December 28 crash. USS Sampson departed from Singapore December 29 and arrived on station in the Java Sea December 30.

An eight-member team from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 onboard USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) is supporting the ongoing Indonesian-led search effort for AirAsia flight QZ8501 with advanced Tow Fish side scan sonar systems capable of providing high-resolution images of the ocean floor. The Tow Fish side scan sonar system is used to identify objects on the seafloor and provide accurate imagery for analysis. The sonar carries a passive listening device for detecting an acoustic pulse and is towed behind a vessel between 1-5 knots.

U.S. Navy underwater archeologists, in conjunction with Indonesian Navy divers, have assessed in an interim report that the wrecked vessel surveyed in the Java Sea in June is "consistent with the identification" of the World War II wreck of the cruiser USS Houston (CA 30), and that divers documented conclusive evidence of a pattern of unauthorized disturbance of the gravesite. "We're grateful for the support of our Indonesian partners in determining the condition of the USS Houston," said Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. "Surveying the site, of course, was only the first step in partnering to respect those Sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the freedoms and security that we richly enjoy today," he added. U.S.

Navy sailors and divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2, embarked aboard the Navy's rescue and salvage ship 'USNS Grasp' (T-ARS-51), find and salvage a downed F-16 aircraft off the coast of Virginia. The downed aircraft was one of two F-16 fighter jets from the 113th Wing, D.C. Air National Guard that clipped wings mid-air during a routine training mission 35 miles southeast of Chincoteague, Va., on 1, August 2013. The other aircraft involved in the incident was able to fly back to Joint Base Andrews in Md. without further incident.

The Navy's first littoral combat ship, USS Freedom (LCS 1), departed Changi Naval Base June 11 to participate in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Malaysia 2013. CARAT Malaysia is among the key maritime exercises and exchanges Freedom will conduct with regional navies and U.S. 7th Fleet units while deployed to Southeast Asia. In May, Freedom participated in the International Maritime Defense Exhibition (IMDEX) and the Republic of Singapore Navy's Western Pacific Multilateral Sea Exercise (WMSX).

Units of the U.S. Navy Northern Command continues to work closely with civil authorites in Sandy clear up operations. Continue to clear debris from NJ Barrier Islands. Continue to provide afloat staging base and support to USCG District 1. Continue to rebuild Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook. Continue dewatering [or pumping out] of Rockaway Beach, NY, and Brooklyn public housing. Continued support by NMCB-11 and CRS-4 at Hoboken Ferry Terminal Port Authority. NECC’s Fleet Survey Team will go ashore in order to complete tasking in Jamaica Bay.

Naval Sea Systems Command's (NAVSEA) Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV), in a U.S. Coast Guard directed initiative, provided a key operational and technical role in removing 60,546 gallons of petroleum products from the sunken ex-USS Chehalis (AOG-48) , concluding, April 6. Ex-USS Chehalis sank in Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa, Oct. 7, 1949, as a result of a gasoline tank fire and multiple explosions on the ship. The fire caused the ship to sink and subsequently capsize in more than 160 feet of water. The Coast Guard requested SUPSALV expertise to support American Samoa's request for assistance by conducting a ship diving survey, detailed planning for, and the safe removal of the petroleum products from ex-USS Chehalis that represented a potential threat to Pago Pago Harbor.

Sailors of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1, based out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 Platoon 501 based out of Sasebo, Japan, are diving in the Yellow Sea in support of the recovery and salvage of the Republic of Korea Ship (ROK) Cheonan. "We're here to offer all the help we can. We're ready to step in anytime and dive or assist hands-on in any way we can," said Navy Diver 3rd Class Andrew Kornelsen, a Madison, Wis., native.

Commander, Amphibious Force Seventh Fleet, Rear Adm. Rich Landolt, has assumed the duties as the senior naval officer in charge of U.S. Navy assistance to the Republic of Korea (ROK) in their salvage efforts for the ROKS Cheonan Apr. Landolt has been on-site for several days to assess the situation and acclimate his staff to the mission. Additionally, he has met with the ROK lead for the salvage efforts, Vice Adm. Kim Sung-Chan, and his staff aboard ROKS Dokdo several times to coordinate future plans. His ship, USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49), will serve as the U.S. Afloat Staging Base for this operation and he has brought with him portions of his staff and portions of Amphibious Squadron 11, commanded by Commodore Mark Weber. Landolt will command of all U.S.

Divers from the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and the U.S. Navy have been working cooperatively over the course of this week to assess the extent of the grounding scar from USS Port Royal (CG 73) and to undertake emergency restoration activities on the impacted reef. Meanwhile, the guided-missile cruiser entered drydock at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Feb. 18 to repair damage sustained when it ran aground the night of Feb. 5 a half-mile off Honolulu Airport's Reef Runway. After three unsuccessful attempts, the Pearl Harbor ship was refloated early Feb.

Naval Sea System Command's (NAVSEA) Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) conducted the recovery of the engines and other components of an EA-6B "Prowler" Aug. 17-20. The plane crashed near Feb. 12. The recovery utilized the Navy's remotely operated vehicle (ROV) "Deep Drone" operating from the Military Sealift Command's USNS Salvor (T-ARS 52). The EA-6B crashed into the in 6,500 feet of water while conducting night landing qualifications. The recovery operation was performed in order to assist the crash investigation in determining the cause of the accident and the possible implication it may have on the rest of the EA-6B inventory. Deep Drone is the Navy's workhorse ROV designed to meet the Navy's mid-water salvage requirements down to a maximum depth of 8,000 feet of seawater.

Civil service mariners from Military Sealift Command rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp completed three days and more than 445 man-hours of improvement projects at the for the Deaf and for the Blind Unit in yesterday. Grasp arrived in Antigua July 4 as part of a four-month international outreach mission to the . While the ship’s embarked team of 15 Navy divers conducted tailored training and security operations with military divers from , and , Grasp’s civil service mariners sought out an opportunity to do a goodwill project ashore. The 60-year-old, 3,400 square foot school is attended by 18 deaf and three blind children. Over the course of July 15-17…

Recovery efforts began March 1 when Grasp arrived in the vicinity of the crash site to locate the wreckage, and ended March 22 when the last recoverable debris from the second aircraft was lifted onto the ship’s weather deck. Salvage operations, which could normally have been conducted within a week, were delayed by severe weather conditions that twice sent the ship back to port. The first aircraft was recovered March 12 from a depth of 177 feet and the second aircraft was recovered March 22 from a depth of 185 feet. More that half of each aircraft was salvaged including their engines, data collecting devices (flight recorders) and main computers. These items are vital to the Air Force’s investigation to determine the cause of the crash.

Seattle-based Crowley Marine Services continues to support the U.S. Navy's Office of the Superintendent of Salvage (SUPSALV) as prime contractor for Phase II of its Ehime Maru recovery project. Phase II, which began in mid-October, involves support of the Navy's Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One (MDSU) for recovery operations of the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru, which sank in February after a U.S. submarine resurfaced beneath it off the coast of Honolulu. State and federal laws do not allow for the ship to be left in shallow water or returned to its original location when the Navy's recovery operations are complete. Therefore…

Crowley Marine Services has successfully concluded work as prime contractor for the U.S. Navy’s Ehime Maru recovery and relocation operation this week with placement of the ship at its final resting site approximately 12 miles off the island of Oahu in Hawaii in more that 6,000 ft. of water. The Navy contracted with Crowley to design, engineer and execute the plan to lift the Ehime Maru from the shallow water recovery site, transport it to deepwater and lower it to the ocean floor. The Ehime Maru sank in 2,00 ft. of water on February 9, when it was struck by the USS Greeneville, a Navy submarine practicing an emergency-surfacing maneuver off Diamond Head.

Navy divers are enroute to Cape Hatteras, N.C. to continue salvage operations to recover the gun turret from the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor. One hundred twenty divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two in Little Creek, Va., and other Navy diving commands, including the Naval Sea Systems Command's Supervisor of Diving and Salvage, will participate in this year's Monitor Expedition. For the fifth consecutive year, the Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Va. are working together at the dive site to recover Monitor artifacts. The mission will begin later this month and run until early August.

The rescue of the nine coal miners in Somerset, Pa. last weekend involved the efforts of several local, state and federal agencies working together. This team included members of the Navy’s diving and salvage community, including divers from Naval Sea Systems Command’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) directorate and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technical Division in Indian Head, Md. When the Navy learned of the mine collapse, the Chief of Naval Operations’ Office directed SUPSALV to support the rescue operations by providing assistance and equipment to treat the miners for possible decompression problems. SUPSALV quickly assembled a team of diving and medical experts from the Fleet – from commands including Underwater Construction Team One…

NOAA and the U.S. Navy have succeeded in raising the world’s first armored revolving gun turret from the wreck of the famous Civil War ironclad USS Monitor, which rests below 240 feet of water 16 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., in the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Also recovered today were the vessel’s two large Dahlgren cannons. Yesterday’s retrieval of the turret and cannons marks the end of a multi-year effort by NOAA, the Navy and The Mariners’ Museum to preserve key components of the revolutionary ship before sea water corrodes the vessel beyond recognition. The turret, with the cannons inside, was hoisted from the sea floor by a 500-ton crane aboard the Derrick Barge Wotan, owned and operated by Manson Gulf Industries.

Air Force Reserve C-130 Hercules aircraft are rushing equipment needed to rescue six miners trapped in a cave-in in Huntington, Utah, and Navy divers are ready to begin work at the site of the collapsed bridge in Minneapolis. The Department of Labor asked for the aircraft to move a seismic vehicle, a shelter, an auxiliary truck and a small number of people to Utah. In Minneapolis, about 30 Defense Department personnel are working in support of state and local authorities. "The Navy diving detachment is on site and the salvage team consists of 18 personnel and six-man support team," said Bryan Whitman, Pentagon spokesman. The divers, part of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 in Little Creek…

Navy Diver 1st Class Josuha Harsh of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., surfaces after completing a salvage dive in the Mississippi River as the vehicle he and his team rigged is lifted from the water. MDSU-2 is assisting other federal, state, and local authorities managing disaster and recovery efforts at the site. U.S. Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek are bringing unique expeditionary diving and salvage capabilities to the search and recovery efforts at the site of the I-35 bridge collapse. MDSU-2 divers and a command and control element that includes representatives from Naval Sea Systems Command and Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 1 have been in Minneapolis since Aug.

Navy Diver 1st Class Joshua Harsh attached to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., prepares to leave the surface on a salvage dive in the Mississippi River. MDSU-2 is assisting other federal, state, and local authorities managing disaster and recovery efforts at the site of the I-35 bridge collapse. U.S. President George W. Bush thanked the divers of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 on Aug. 21 for their hard work during search and recovery operations at the site of the Interstate 35 bridge collapse here. President Bush arrived at the 934th Air Reserve Base aboard Air Force One. Following a briefing on the search and recovery operations with state and federal officials, Bush was escorted to a hangar bay where he met with the divers.

Navy Divers 1st Class Phil Hartman (left) and Brian Bennett attached to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2, enjoy a dive at Underwater Adventures Aquarium at the Mall of America. The MDSU-2 divers returned to the area to participate in Twin Cities Navy Week after spending much of August assisting local, state and federal authorities find missing victims in the wake of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Navy Weeks are designed to show Americans the investment they have made in their Navy and to increase awareness in cities that do not have a significant Fleet presence. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Robin Nelson)