National Undersea Research Program offshore emergency exercises

The number one priority for at-sea operations is safety. This is particularly important with cruises that involve using occupied submersibles to depths of 6000 m and deployments in remote areas. Although the world's submersible safety record has been excellent in the past two decades, there are procedures for ensuring that this exemplary status is maintained. One technique is to conduct emergency drills or exercises with the participants that might be involved in an emergency with a submersible in distress. Three drills were conducted during the past two years by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Undersea Research Program (NURP). These exercises involved submersible vendors, NURP Centers, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Navy. These were the first known emergency exercises of this type that have been conducted in recent times. This paper describes the safety requirements, emergency procedures, results, and lessons learned from these emergency response drills. These have implications and applicability to many offshore operations.