Black Sea Fleet Adopted New Russian-Made Submersible

26.09.2011 Black Sea Fleet (BSF) Search-and-Rescue Service received new remotely-controlled submersible Obzor-600 designed for seabed exploration, reported RIA Novosti on Sept 23 referring to representative of the fleet's rescue service Igor Frolov.

After a tragedy happened to SSN Kursk in 2000, BSF rescuers received British submersibles Tiger and Panther Plus approved themselves at the fleet's search-and-rescue exercises. Trials of Russian-made submersible Obzor-600 designed by TETIS-PRO company started in 2010.

"New domestically-designed submersible Obzor-600 has successfully passed trials and was commissioned into Black Sea Fleet. It will help the fleet to conduct effective seabed exploration", Frolov said.

As for him, although Obzor-600 is a small-size unmanned submersible, it is capable to operate at depths down to 600 meters. Having own mass of 15 kg, the submersible takes a 20-kg underwater objects by manipulator. Thanks to small sizes, the submersible easily gets to hard-to-reach places under water, said the interviewee.