Smit Salvage has developed a new, patented wreck removal cutting system that is designed to be fast and cost effective, and was used during the successful recovery of the Russian submarine Kursk last year. The new system utilizes a special abrasive cutting wire — a series of grit-covered bushes mounted along a high-tension steel cable. This wire can then be positioned over a wreck and connected up to a drive system producing a sawing motion. Highly efficient, this cutting system can be used as an alternative option to the traditional chain-cutting method that uses heavy steel chains and floating sheerlegs. The cutting system was developed in association with Widia Nederland, a Rotterdam-based manufacturer of tungsten carbide tools, and T.N.O. Nederland.