Hoo-Yah Deep Sea! Our U.S. Navydiving and salvage forces recently

responded to calls from around the globe

to exercise nearly every skill set in our

inventory...simultaneously.

It started in late 2002 with the

marshalling of forces into areas surrounding the Iraqi theater of operations

as the prelude to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Then in January 2003, a well-planned

deployment to the remote atoll Ulithi by

USS SALVOR (ARS 52), MDSU ONE,

and SUPSALV commenced to reclaim

nearly two million gallons of fuel oil

from the sunken WWII Fleet Oiler USS

MISSISSINEWA (AO 59). This complex

operation in 135 feet of water executed

even better than planned, and saved the

Ulithi population from the possible

catastrophic release of MISSISSINEWA’s

bunkers, which could have devastated the

fragile environmental balance of the entire

atoll.

Nearly concurrently, a national

disaster occurred. On 1 February 2003,

Space Shuttle COLUMBIA disintegrated

upon re-entry, killing all seven astronauts

and leaving a 240 nautical mile long by 10

nautical mile wide debris field across

Texas. One week later NASA asked

SUPSALV to provide operational command

and control of the underwater search and

recovery phase, and asked for U.S. Navy

diving teams as well. MDSU TWO

provided one active duty detachment and

reservists from four of their reserve

detachments to augment the multi-agency

dive teams which were already on-scene.

The search environment was a nearlyimpossible-to-penetrate reservoir filled

with both standing and fallen trees from

the Sabine National Forest. Nine dive

teams (including four Navy teams)

conducted over 3100 dives in the reservoir

after a NAVSEA 00C search team

coordinated an underwater electronic

survey of over 20 square nautical miles of

flooded forest, securing operations on 18

April 2003.

A nd t hen war began. With

MISSISSINEWA hot tap operations

underway in the Pacific, and a major

underwater search and recovery operation

for COLUMBIA underway in East Texas, a

combined Task Group of MDSU, EOD,

Underwater Construction Teams, USCG

Strike Team and SUPSALV representatives and contractors were in and

around Iraq conducting operations in

direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Elements of Task Group 56 (commanded

by COMEODGRU ONE) participated in a

wide range of clearance, diving and

salvage including aircraft search and

recovery, and harbor-clearance operations

in Umm Qasr using both conventional and

expeditionary tactics.

The flexibility and agility of the USN

diving, salvage, EOD, SEAL, and UCT

forces during these vastly different

operations conducted simultaneously

while thousands of miles apart, is

testimony to the strength and dedication

of our diving Navy...and the foundation

of our diving Navy is our Navy Divers.

Keep up the great performance, and never

stop looking for opportunities to conduct

realistic training and improve even further

on our operational capabilities.

Captain Jim Wilkins

Director of Ocean Engineering

Supervisor of Salvage and Diving

In This Issue

SUPSALV Sends ........................................... 2

Missles Inbound! Ok Red?............................. 3

MDSU ONE Det 3 in Iraq................................. 4

Space Shuttle COLUMBIA

Water Recovery Operations ......................... 7

USS MISSISSINEWA

Oil Removal Operations ............................... 10

USS MISSISSINEWA Diving Operations ...... 14

Misery Loves Company ............................... 16

Bits and Pieces ............................................ 17

Command in the Spotlight ............................ 18

The Old Master ............................................ 19

Jake’s Corner............................................... 19

From the Supervisor of Diving .................... 20

FACEPLATE is published by the Supervisor of

Salvage and Diving to make the latest and most

informative news available to the Navy diving and

salvage community. Discussions or illustrations of

commercial products do not imply endorsement by

the Supervisor of Salvage and Diving or the U.S.

Navy.

Articles, letters, queries and comments should be

directed to the Commander, Naval Sea Systems

Command, NAVSEA 00C, 1333 Isaac Hull Ave.

SE Stop 1070, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20376-

1070. (Attn: FACEPLATE). Visit our website at

http://www.supsalv.org. To view an electronic

version of Faceplate in PDF format go to our website

and click on the word “Faceplate” located in the left

hand column. This link will direct you to our list of

Faceplate issues.

Captain Jim Wilkins, USN

Director of Ocean Engineering

Supervisor of Salvage and Diving

NAVSEA 00C

wilkinsjr@navsea.navy.mil

Captain Chris Murray, USN

Supervisor of Diving

murraycc@navsea.navy.mil

BMCM (MDV) Steve Smith, USN

BMCM(SW/MDV) Fred K. Orns, USN

Fleet Liaison Editors

smithss@navsea.navy.mil

ornsfk@navsea.navy.mil

Otto C. Adams

Graphic Designer

oadams@roh-inc.com

Mark Whitaker

Zoya Gorbunova

Managing Editors

whitakermc@navsea.navy.mil

zgorbunova@roh-inc.com
	 
 
 

Air raid sirens screamed as nearby Patriot batteries launched at incoming

Iraqi Al Samut missiles. Unsure of the missiles’ intended target, Navy Divers from

MOBILE DIVING AND SALVAGE UNIT

TWO DET DELTA donned gas masks and

took cover under gear laden trucks. Local

port stevedores wrapped scarves around

their faces and frantically searched for

cover. After the missiles were intercepted

or had fallen harmlessly into the Kuwait

desert, the reassuring “All Clear” signal

was broadcast and both Divers and stevedores went back to loading diving and salvage gear aboard the leased GAC 65, a 275

ft. by 75 ft. flat barge. Tasked with recovering two British Sea King helicopters

crashed in the Northern Arabian Gulf in

approximately 80 fsw, MDSU TWO Divers

somberly loaded diving and salvage systems, realizing that along with the aircraft

wreckage the aircrew must be recovered

and returned to their nation for honors

and burial.

Loading out for a salvage job is always a challenging adventure, but the

stakes grow in time of war. Force protection issues must be considered, cooperation with coalition forces and language

barriers all come together to present issues

that must be resolved. Fortunately, plan-

(MISSILES IN BOUND! continued on page 6)

ners from FIFTH FLEET, COMEODGRU

ONE, COMEODGRU TWO, MDSU ONE

and TWO, and SUPSALV had positioned

a considerable salvage force. Many issues

were resolved automatically by procedures

put in place before the war started.

Prepositioned salvage forces, including

MDSU detachments, USS GRAPPLE

(ARS 53), and British civilian Divers

formed the core salvage and expeditionary

salvage forces during hostilities. NAVSEA

contacted local contractors to supply

cranes, tractor-trailers, barges, and tugs. A

diving and salvage Task Group, commanded by CDR William (Bill) Robertson

USN, directed the deployment of salvage

forces throughout the theatre. An early

morning call from him put into motion a

four-truck convoy from Camp Patriot, Kuwait Naval Base enroute to Port Shaiwba

on the Northeast coast of Kuwait. Aboard

the heavily armed tactical convoy were

just eight U.S. Navy Divers and a civilian

contractor.

Traveling the roadways in Northern

Kuwait required defensive postures not

normally encountered by U.S. Navy

Divers. The convoy must proceed tactically. Communication, checkpoints, encounters with the enemy all must be included in planning a tactical convoy. Fortunately the coalition forces were doing a

great job sweeping up any enemy so the

convoy proceeded without incident. Only

upon arrival at the port did Divers come

under the threat of enemy action as the

elusive Iraqi mobile missile launchers

crudely aimed their projectiles toward coalition forces positioned in Kuwait.

While Divers loaded gear aboard the

GAC 65 barge, Master Diver Jim

Mariano, already on scene aboard the

USNS CATAWBA (TATF 168), fought

heavy seas and strong currents in search of

the aircraft and crew. Joining him in his

efforts were eight Divers from MDSU

TWO Detachment DELTA, the British

minesweeper HMS GRIMSBY and civilian

Divers from British Royal Auxiliary Forces.

Two days later, the remaining DET DELTA

Divers aboard the GAC 65 barge arrived at

the salvage site. The barge equipped with

a 20-ton crane and MDSU TWO’s Light

Weight Dive System focused on recovering both the crew and the twisted wreckage from the murky waters of the Persian

Gulf.

Lightweight expeditionary salvage

requires salvors to sacrifice some of the

standard dive station luxuries. The onsite

chamber could not be physically positioned to support surface decompression.

Lack of a stage required Divers to complete lengthy decompression stops, hanging from their umbilicals while wrapped

around the descent line. The surprisingly

cool waters added to the discomfort and

frustration because the portable hot water

heater had been removed from the load list

prior to deployment to save weight and

space on the fully loaded C5 aircraft.

Lacking a mooring system, the GAC 65

barge was positioned between three tugs.

The tugs attached towlines to three positions fanned around the barge and dropped

their anchors 120 degrees apart. Warping

the barge through the debris field required

paying in or out on towlines and sometimes taking up chain on the tugs’ anchors.

The detachment’s OIC and On Scene

Commander (OSC) monitored tides, winds

HTC (DV) Brad Fleming dons a MK 12

outergarmet for protection from jagged metal

wreckage as GMI (DV) David Jones tends

and Master Diver Jim Mariano briefs the

side.

The GAC 65 salvage barge lies moored

between the USNS CATAWBA (foreground),

LUTHER, and NINA (not shown).
 	
   

(MDSU ONE in IRAQ continued on page 5)

By: CWO2 Eric MacDonald

On 24 February 2003, MDSU ONE DET3 deployed to Kuwait in support of

Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Fifteen

personnel and equipment flew in a USAF

C-17 from Hickam AFB, Hawaii to Kuwait

International Airport. Equipment was selected to support DET 3 in its anticipated

operational environment, enable the success of operations, and enable rapid intratheater movement. In accordance with

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), the

MK III system and all support equipment

were loaded in ISU-60 and ISU-90 shipping

containers. Additionally, DET 3 deployed

with three LSSV/CUCV-III tactical vehicles,

an Air System Rack Assembly, TRCS, two

dive boats, individual infantry equipment,

and detachment field gear.

Upon arrival in Kuwait, DET 3

offloaded their equipment and conducted a

tactical convoy to Camp Patriot, ‘tent city.’

Each day the team attended briefings, operationally tested equipment, conducted

unit level training, and participated in

SCUD missile attack drills. The simulated

attacks occurred at all hours of the night

with the announcement, “ALL KNB -

LIGHTNING, LIGHTNING, LIGHTNING”

over the camp PA system. In response to

this alarm, all hands donned their gas

masks, double-timed to their assigned

bomb shelters (20-foot long CONNEX

shipping containers buried 6 feet in the

sand) and donned full Mission Oriented

Protective Posture (MOPP) gear.

Within two days of MDSU ONE DET

3’s arrival in Kuwait, they were tasked with

their first mission of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. A coalition ship was

damaged when it struck a shoal in the Arabian Gulf. After EODMU TWO Divers

conducted an initial inspection in

SCUBA and provided digital imagery,

COMFIFTHFLT ordered a more detailed

investigation to support a decision regarding the ship’s final disposition. DET 3 and

LCDR Matthew Long, COMFIFTHFLT Engineering Duty Officer,

conducted the detailed

inspection and provided

the data and recommendations to higher authority.

Next, MDSU ONE

DET 3 was joined by a

seven-man element from

MDSU TWO. Together,

the two teams completed

a three-day ship husbandry mission on the

HSV-X1 JOINT VENTURE, an experimental

high-speed vessel operating in support of Naval

Special Warfare. Divers removed two

5,000 lbs T-foil fin stabilizers from the

ship’s twin aluminum hulls and replaced

them with 500 lbs clamshell hull fairings

that housed the stabilizers, decreasing the

ships draft and enabling HSV-X1 to operate in the shallow and poorly charted waters of Khawr Abd Allah to more readily

support Naval Special Warfare missions.

After weeks of drills, briefings,

wearing MOPP gear and waiting,

Operation IRAQI FREEDOM began. On

22 March 2003, coalition ground forces

crossed into Iraq. SCUD drills at Camp

Patriot were replaced by Iraqi missile

attacks. Th e ala r m “A L L KN B -

LIGHTINING, LIGHTNING, LIGHTNING”

became more urgent, bomb shelters filled

up more quickly, no one complained about

the heat. The detachment donned their

MOPP gear in half the time it took during

the drills. Fortunately for Camp Patriot, all

missiles were shot down by Patriot Missile Batteries or landed harmlessly in the

desert or sea. Spending hours with shipmates huddled in bomb shelters while real

missiles were inbound significantly increased DET 3’s respect for CBR defense,

MOPP gear, first-aid, and buddy-aid

training.

When Marines from the 15th Marine

Expeditionary Unit quickly secured Umm

Qasr, Iraq’s southern-most port, the Commander-in-Chief announced that humanitarian aid would be delivered within days.

Although no major ships were scuttled at

Umm Qasr, six Iraqi Mine Layers, PB 40s,

were fouling the quay in the southernmost portion of the port and had to be

cleared. Naval Special Operations Task

Force (CTF 56) ordered MDSU ONE DET 3

to report to Umm Qasr, Iraq.

MDSU ONE DET 3, with Underwater

Construction Team ONE (UCT ONE) and

Naval Coastal Warfare (NCW), planned

and conducted a tactical convoy from

KNB to Umm Qasr through the Iraqi/Kuwait De-Militarized Zone (DMZ). The convoy crossed the DMZ and entered Iraq

just after sunset 26 March. The destruction

left in the wake of the USMC advance was

surreal. In the moonlight, innocent trees

cast ominous shadows, routine sounds

became threatening, the landscape was littered with demolished enemy fighting positions - perfect hiding places for enemy

snipers. The focus of every member of

DET 3 was at a new peak. They maintained scrutiny over their assigned fields

of fire, mentally reviewed their rules of enQM1 Coy Everage posting watch during RECON of Az Zubayr

river.
	
   


(MDSU ONE in IRAQ continued from page 4)

gagement, and continually checked the

status of their weapons and ammunition.

The expeditionary warfare training conducted at Pearl Harbor earned heartfelt appreciation.

PB and subsequently remove the mines,

CTF 56 ordered the removal of the obstacles to enable access to EOD Divers.

After HMC (DSW/FMF) John Richardson,

ENC (DSW/SW) John Sullivan, QM1

(DSW) Coy Everage, and GM2 (DV)

Matthew Sabin removed the frame from

the PB 40, Royal Australian Navy EOD

Divers from Clearance Diving Team

THREE raised, towed, and beached the

mines. With the mines removed, the harbor

clearance team used chain to make fast a

30 ft. workboat and two 2,000 lbs

Yokohama fenders above the craft, and

using the MTVR, pulled the PB ashore

(MDSU ONE in IRAQ continued on page 6)

Master was forced to beach the MK-5

SOC on the A1 Faaw peninsula to save it

from sinking. MMC Perkins and a three

man repair team immediately deployed up

the river to render assistance. Two days

and three nights were spent repairing the

damage while constantly pumping the

craft to prevent it from sinking at high tide.

The damage was so extensive that

patches, plugs and epoxy could only stop

80% of the flooding. Repairs were made

with makeshift patches and finished off

with concrete poured in the bilge enabling

the MK-5 to transit back to Kuwait for repairs. During repairs the Divers augmented the MK-5’s crew in maintaining

security by standing watch and manning

CBR Gear.

MM1 William Sinrich transfering a line

during Patrol Boat recovery.

Upon arrival, DET 3 was tasked with

clearing the port of all six mine layers (PB

40s), two of which were sunken. The team

convoyed from the CTF 56 Command Post

to the quay at the Old Port daily. Hearing

sporadic small arms fire and operating in

the immediate vicinity of the Iraqi Coast

Guard Station, the team was acutely aware

of the high threat from Fedayeen Sadaam

and other paramilitary forces. To bolster

security during convoy and harbor clearance operations and to enable the progression of work, 33 personnel from

MDSU ONE DET 3, UCT ONE and CTF 56

EOD were incorporated into the harbor

clearance team. Daily the team cleared

buildings that could be used by snipers.

With security in place, primary and secondary tactical communications established, and all Task Force operations

deconflicted, the team commenced clearance work. First they conducted battle

damage repair and grounded the four PB

40s that were still floating. The team then

removed and demilitarized the mine deployment racks utilizing OXY-ARC cutting

techniques. Next, Divers scrounged materials at the port, created and rigged a towing

bridle to the first sunken PB 40 and pulled

the boat 80 feet across the bottom with a

MTVR (6-wheel tactical vehicle) to a

grounding site at high tide.

The second sunken PB recovery was

not as simple. It was sunk in the channel

with four LUGM-145 sea mines onboard.

MMC (MDV) Tom Perkins and MM1 (SS/

DV) William Sinrich conducted the initial

reconnaissance of the PB 40 and confirmed

the mines were still on board, not secure,

and probably damaged. The mines significantly complicated the recovery effort;

blowing them in place would have damaged the pier facility being cleared. Riverine and tidal currents combined could

reach six knots, visibility was near zero,

and a steel pipe frame on the PB prevented the safe removal of the mines in the

water. After several attempts to beach the

the MK-5’s crew-served weapon system.

Throughout Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, DET 3 Divers assisted EOD team

leaders during their missions. The Divers

destroyed fighting positions and weapons caches and helped dispose of tons of

ordnance, they jumped at the chance to

operate in the field with EOD. Conversely,

the EOD technicians enthusiastically

supported harbor clearance teams by

providing security, demolitions expertise,

and by helping sling chain and wire rope.

The interoperability between the Fleet

Divers and EOD technicians throughout

Operation IRAQI FREEDOM was

essential to mission success.

during high tide.

During the PB recovery operation a

MK-5 Special Operations Craft (MK-5

SOC), operating in the Khawr Az Zubayr,

struck a submerged wreck that ripped a

15-inch tear in the aluminum hull and partially separated the transom from the keel.

The damage was so severe that the Craft
 	
   

plotted the position of each ship using a

hand-held GPS PLGR. The team determined that 16 derelict vessels and one submerged wreck blocked the channel. Additionally, 30 vessels needed to be removed

from the Az Zubayr piers.

During the reconnaissance, the team

discovered a new construction, a 90-foot

Iraqi Patrol Boat (PB 90) taking on water

and sinking pierside at Az Zubayr. To prevent the PB 90 from sinking and becoming

a difficult harbor clearance project, EN1

(DSW) Gregory Lee led a four-man repair

team that remained overnight in Az Zubayr

to de-water and repair the craft.

Upon completion of the reconnaissance and surveillance mission, the enormity of the required clearance effort was

clear. To complete the mission, two salvage tugs, a large quantity of wire rope,

two towing hawsers and at least three

weeks of solid operating time was needed.

Fortunately, during the return trip to Umm

Qasr, the team discovered a 60-foot pusher boat adrift in the river. Necessary repairs

were made and we christened her “ARS

60”, positioned coalition identification

panels and got underway for Az Zubayr to

start clearing smaller vessels and barges

from the pier to make room for the larger

ships from the channel.

After weeks of backbreaking work

under the threat of enemy engagement,

the mission was completed successfully

utilizing multiple salvage and towing

assets including the US Army and a

commandeered Iraqi tug. Twenty-five

hundred feet of pier space and the Khawr

Az Zubayr were free of obstruction and

open for coalition shipping.

MDSU ONE DET 3 unceremoniously

restowed its gear and convoyed back to

Camp Patriot, Kuwait. The mood of the

team on the convoy departing Iraq was

considerably different from the mood

during the infiltration. Fear and anxiety

were replaced with a well-deserved

confidence in the capability of the

detachment. Shortly after reconstituting in

Kuwait, DET 3 redeployed to Hawaii. The

Detachment, their shipmates, their

Commanding Officer, and their families

breathed a collective sigh of relief with

their journey safely completed.

Eric MacDonald is the Officer in

Charge, MDSU ONE DET THREE.

(MDSU ONE in IRAQ continued from page 5)

 With the Port of Umm Qasr cleared

and humanitarian aid successfully delivered by RFA SI R GALAHAD, COMFIFTHFLT ordered CTF 56 to clear the

Port of Az Zubayr and the six-mile waterway between Umm Qasr and Az Zubayr,

the Khawr Az Zubayr. Over 50 ships,

barges and craft were stranded or anchored along the Khawr Az Zubayr, and

another 60 derelict vessels were abandoned pierside in the port of Az Zubayr.

ENC Sullivan and MDV Perkins surveyed

the damaged ships while QM1 Everage

(MISSILES IN BOUND! continued from page 3)

and positions and directed the movement

of the barge as Divers methodically swept

the debris field. As Master Diver Mariano

reported the recovery of wreckage and

crewmembers, the OSC marked off the recoveries on a sonar scan provided by the

minesweeper HMS GRIMSBY.

On the bottom, Divers fought currents over one knot and zero visibility for

over an hour per dive in a debris field 300

by 300 yards wide. By using a commercially available handheld GPS, the sonar

scan of HMS GRIMSBY, and provided

with coordinates of the targets, supervisors

were able to direct their compassequipped Divers directly to wreckage despite the low visibility. Long wire rope

slings were manufactured on site and used

to wrap around larger pieces of wreckage

for recovery. A salvage basket was used

to recover smaller items. Accident investigators from the Royal Navy scoured every

inch of the wreckage as it came aboard to

determine the cause of the collision that

doomed the aircraft. British warships sent

crews over to collect the fallen

aviators. Later the MDSU TWO

Divers watched the CNN coverage of the somber ceremony at

Heathrow as the fallen airmen

were returned to their loved ones.

Many of the challenges facing Divers during the recovery of

this aircraft and crew were not

covered in First and Second Class

Dive School or exercised during

Master Diver Evaluations. Salvors

manned crew-served weapons,

communicated on secure circuits,

and worked/slept in CBR gear.

MDSU ONE Divers, conducting

harbor clearance operations in

Iraq, faced even tougher expeditionary operations. Eating, drinking, sleeping, and

providing self-security consumed resources usually not required for peacetime

diving operations. Wartime is not the time

for OJT. Our Diving Navy must be able to

respond to a myriad of missions. Almost

all involve the safe conduct of operations

CWO2 Rick Cavey is currently Officer in

Charge, MDSU TWO DET DELTA.

below the waterline, but some include the

security and survival of our Sailors above

sea level. Let’s ensure we train for these

missions as well!

MDV Eric Frank, HT1 (DV) John Coffelt, and crew of the

USS GRAPPLE gage the clearance between ship and

barge prior to offloading the US Harrier jet they

recovered during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

EN1 Gregory Lee takes a break from

towing ships while AMCM helicopter

searches for mines.
	 
 
 

By: CWO2 Roger Riendeau

The last transmission from the SpaceShuttle COLUMBIA occurred on 01

February 2003 at approximately 8:59 AM

EST as she was passing over Texas at an

altitude of over 39 miles. Moments later

America would lose seven of its finest Astronauts. The debris trail was over 220

miles long, starting in the Dallas-Fort

Worth area and ending in western Louisiana. Immediately, NASA began tracking

and recording radar images, while local authorities started receiving reports of falling

debris. Officials began collecting, logging

and plotting the debris positions. It was

possible that several high interest items

from the left side of the shuttle, data recorders, cameras, and control systems may

have fallen into any of the numerous

ponds and lakes which are scattered

across East Texas. The 185,000 acre Toledo

Bend Reservoir was prime search area due

to the numerous reports from local fisherman. However, the morning was extremely

foggy and all reports with any credibility

were from fishermen involved in a bass

fishing tournament and were from hearing

debris hit the water rather than seeing it.

In the summer of 1968 the community

of Sabine County, TX stared in awe as rain

poured into the local forest and countryside. A dam across the Sabine River had

recently been completed and plans to

clear cut trees and remove all the manmade objects from the Toledo

Bend Reservoir as it filled

was set to begin. However,

two back-to-back 100-year

storms rolled through and

filled the 60 mile long reservoir in less than six months;

leaving houses, cars, trees

and even graves, under as

much as 105 feet of water.

No one at that time could

ever imagine the tremendous

obstacles that those items

would turn out to be almost

35 years later.

Dive teams from the FBI, EPA, and

the Texas Department of Public Safety

(DPS), began diving sites based upon

“ear” and eye witness accounts. These

Divers quickly discovered the difficulties

of searching in an underwater forest. The

EPA brought the first side scan sonar asset which also had difficulty operating in

the heavily forested lake. One of the side

scan sonars was dedicated to the ear and

eyewitness reports while the second was

used to start a gross survey under the

center of the flight path. As reports

came back from the dive and side

scan teams, NASA soon realized

they would need expert help to organize, prosecute, and manage the extensive underwater search effort

just getting started.

 On February 8th, CAPT Jim

Wilkins (SUPSALV) informed

NASA the Navy was ready to

provide a formal assessment of the

search environment. The Navy

assessment team arrived at Toledo

Bend Reservoir the next day to meet

with Mr. Scott Harris (EPA) and Astronaut

Steve Bowen (NASA). The team

conducted an aerial overview of the

bodies of water where debris was

suspected. After CAPT Wilkins briefed

NASA and FEMA officials on SUPSALV

capabilities, it was obvious they could use

our expertise. FEMA officially requested

SUPSALV assistance.

NAVSEA 00C and MDSU TWO were

tasked by the CNO on February 14 to support the Debris Recovery Operation with

the intent of assuming command of the underwater search effort. It would prove to

be an extremely difficult environment for

searching and diving. As SUPSALV took

over command and control, it became apparent that many hurdles needed to be

overcome before an effective search could

begin. First, was to unify the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) used by the dive

and scan teams. The second and most difficult hurdle was to identify and acquire as

many different search assets as possible

to provide the best images of the lake’s

bottom. Phoenix International brought in

the following search assets with operators: five Marine Sonic side scan sonars

with 5 degree down angle transducers, one

custom Marine Sonic side scan sonar with

the transducers turned down at 10 degrees, one Klein 3000 side scan sonar system, one Reason SeaBat 8125 multibeam

system, and one Reason SeaBat 8101

multibeam system. Additionally, two unmanned Remote Environmental Monitoring Units (REMUS), which have side scan

sonar capability, were brought from MDSU

Navy 1 Dive Team.

(COLUMBIA continued on page 8)

Trees breaking the surface of Toledo Bend Reservoir.

Space Shuttle Columbia Water Recovery Operations Water Recovery Operations

 	 
 
 

(COLUMBIA continued from page 7)

TWO. The REMUS is an untethered unit,

unlike conventional side scans, and could

run the lake bottom without fear of entanglement. With all these assets, data

analysts identified targets as they reviewed side scan imagery. Another

method of target location was from ear

witness accounts. On the morning of the

incident the reservoir was covered with a

thick layer of fog and had no less than 500

fishing boats participating in a bass tournament. Fishermen and land owners came

to authorities for weeks reporting they

heard pieces hitting the water or flying

overhead but saw very little due to the

fog. The eyewitness reports, nicknamed

“X-files”, were scrutinized and although

the reports were credible, in many cases

they did not provide specific or accurate

enough information to dive on.

Although the average depth was relatively shallow, the dense tree coverage

posed a difficult problem for the search

boats. Surface towed side scan sonars produce their best quality results when operated at depth of 10% of the selected range

scale off the bottom. Conditions dictated

that the sonars had to be directly attached

to the boat or towed as little as two feet

below the surface. This provided relatively poor quality images and only large

pieces of debris could be identified. Towing was not the only problem. The boats themselves

could not run the required

straight navigation lines

due to the dense tree coverage. The REMUS also had

its drawbacks. Designed for

open ocean where depth

changes occur gradually, it

would often run into trees,

stumps, and even the river

bed wall, providing poor

data and occasionally requiring Divers to “Free

REMUS.”

 The MDSU TWO dive

teams included Reserve Detachments from

Cleveland (409), Newport (101), and Jacksonville (608). The Navy dive teams began

arriving on 13 February with SCUBA

equipment, Lightweight Diving Systems

(LWDS), a Transportable Recompression

Chamber System (TRCS) and lightweight

salvage equipment. The Divers received

an initial in-brief from NASA which covered the numerous hazardous materials and

pyrotechnics on-board the shuttle at the

time of the incident. The search area centered on an area one nautical mile on either

side of the Columbia flight path. A secondary search area extended the original

search area out an additional one nautical

mile on either side of the flight path. This

produced a water search area of 14.69

square nautical miles. Later in the operation two dive teams were also deployed to

search a 3.14 square nautical mile area of

Lake Nacogdoches 40 miles Northwest of

Toledo Bend.

Daily dive briefs, given by

SUPDIVE, directed all dive and security

boat teams. Each morning the dive teams

received a dive package containing a dive

area, target locations (GPS coordinates), a

target picture (side scan image), and a

target description (size). Packages were

generated by the data analysts who

worked the night shift analyzing the data

from the previous day’s side scan searches. Four Navy teams joined the civilian

dive teams and together they cleared

approximately 60 targets per day. SCUBA

was the equipment of choice, with the

LWDS used for some of the deeper areas

of the reservoir. Divers frequently dove the

whole day, virtually blind, and located

nothing but tree stumps and logs. In the

hostile environment of the lake bottom the

learning curve for the data analysts was

slow. Water-soaked wood often reflected

the sonar signal well enough to fool even

the best analysts.

The question of the hour was, “If the

side scan could locate an object, how can

we confidently place a Diver at the same

location and clear the target as well as a

90-foot box around it?” The first key

objective was to place the dive team at

the location identified by the side scan

CAPT Chris Murray accepts possible shuttle debris. (COLUMBIA continued on page 9)

LWDS (Light Weight Dive System) deployed.
	 
 
 

(COLUMBIA continued from page 8)

CWO Roger Riendeau is the Officer In

Charge of MSDU TWO DET BRAVO

based out of Little Creek, VA.

 As several weeks

passed, the dive teams

and data analysts could

more readily identify logs

and tree stumps and

eliminated them from the

target packages to about a

50 percent certainty. Several questions arose, such as

“If we are using our side

scan units in such an

unconventional way, what

assurance do we have that

they will be able to pick up

a shuttle piece if one is

present and are the data

analysts able to identify

it?”

PO Le and PO Gilkey loading the sector scanning sonar.

 The COLUMBIA recovery team continued to plumb the depth of Toledo

Bend Reservoir for 54 days. Once a week

dive leaders from both Navy and civilian

teams met to discuss what current procedures worked and what did not. As

weeks passed, dive teams began to see

images of the reservoir’s past inhabitants. Houses, barns, bridges, and roads

were all frequent stops made by Divers.

Outside the command post was a pile of

recovered debris. Car tires, batteries,

boat engines, anchors, fishing boxes,

perch traps, refrigerators, and the all too

plentiful beer can became constant reminders to each dive search team that

even though shuttle parts remained elusive, if they were out there, they would

find it. After two months of intensive

search and recovery efforts, dive operations were completed on 12 April with a

handful of recovered pieces turned over

to NASA officials as possible shuttle

debris. All pieces deemed high priority

by NASA, that were thought to reside

in the reservoir were eventually found

by Texas Forest Service ground walkers.

In all, the search and recovery assets

consisted of two Navy and six contracted side scan or multibeam sonars. Nine

dive teams (four Navy and five civilian)

involved over 140 Divers and searched

17.8 square nautical miles. Fifty-one eyewitness reports involving private ponds

and cisterns were cataloged, tracked,

and cleared. The operation closed out

with 3,100 targets cleared, 3,019 dives,

825 hours of bottom time, and a farewell

send-off from the local tavern “The

Bloody Bucket”.

 As a final note, when NASA called

and enlisted the assistance of the Navy,

they wanted the best and were convinced that nobody could pull an effort

together better. When the final search

and recovery teams departed on 14

April, NASA could rest assured that, although substantial debris had not been

found, nobody else could have done a

better job than Navy Divers. Hooyah.

Houston Police Divers had been

field-testing a stationary sector scanning

sonar from Kongsberg for several -

months. The units could be deployed by a

dive team and are set in the middle of a tripod. Before Divers were deployed, the

diving supervisor, via laptop computer,

mapped out the bottom to a maximum

range of 120 meters. A 30-meter swath or

less produced the best image. The advantage of this new tool was the ability to

provide the same images that the side

scan produced whereby a positive target

identification could be made. The units

could also scan the bottom simultaneously navigating the diver around obstacles

from topside. In addition to this procedure, Navy teams carried a hand-held AN/

PQS 2A and the civilian teams used metal

detectors to complete a 100+ percentage

of area coverage.

sonars. This was accomplished by using a

Garmin GPS that was Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) capable. These

units often placed the dive team within

feet of the target location. The second key

objective was to place a Diver with 100%

confidence on the exact target.

 A test range was set

up containing four pieces

of actual shuttle debris

ranging in size and shape,

various pieces of trash,

and several boxes made to

replicate the OEX recorder. The recorder was the

most important missing piece and it was

hoped that it retained information from

the final seconds of flight. The test

range was set up in a 30-foot deep, uncluttered area of water. A second test

range, replicating the first, was set up in

a 75-foot deep cluttered area representative of the normal conditions in the reservoir. Each scanning asset took turns

running the cluttered and uncluttered

test ranges. Three days of testing

showed that even on a good day in optimal water conditions, the processors

could accurately identify only the largest

of the debris pieces measuring 4 ft. by 5

ft. All other pieces showed some reflectivity but would have been dismissed in

real time video as other than shuttle debris. The result was, to say the least, discouraging. Experts were then brought in

to evaluate the current search techniques,

equipment presently in use, data, and the

reservoir’s conditions. After a day of discussion it was determined that we had the

best equipment, the most experienced operators, and there was nothing more they

could recommend to further enhance what

was already in place.
 	
  

INTRODUCTION

	
 	


By: Bill Walker 	


  	
 



(USS MISSISSINEWA continued on page 11)

I

n February 2003 a joint U.S. Navy team

consisting of Fleet units, SUPSALV and

contractor personnel removed nearly 2

million gallons of oil from the leaking

World War II oiler USS MISSISSINEWA

in the remote Ulithi Atoll, Yap state, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Following two previous Navy operations to

patch MISSISSINEWA’s leaks in late 2001

and early 2002, and in response to a request from the Governor of Yap, via the

State Department, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) initiate oil removal operations. CNO directed the office of the Supervisor of Salvage (SUPSALV) of

the Naval Sea Systems Command, to undertake planning and implementation of

the oil removal, pending the results of an

Environmental Assessment (EA) of the

proposed oil removal. When the EA resulted in a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), in August 2002, CNO directed SUPSALV to proceed with oil removal and directed Commander Pacific

Fleet (COMPACFLT) to provide Navy

Divers and a diving vessel to support the

operation. USS SALVOR (ARS 52) was

assigned to provide diver support and her

Commanding Officer LCDR John Carter

was designated the Navy’s On-Scene

Commander under a Commander Seventh

USS MISSISSINEWA sinks, November 1944.

leak. A State of Emergency was declared

for the spill site. The U.S. Coast Guard

(USCG) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sent a

team to assess the impacts of the spill and

the need for shoreline cleanup. At the direction of CNO, SUPSALV rapidly mobilized a contractor scuba dive team to

verify the source of the oil release. While

on site, the SUPSALV team quantified the

release rate, plugged the leak source and

removed trapped oil likely to be released

with the next storm. In late December

2001, the vessel started leaking again, and

CNO dispatched a more robust team,

adding MDSU ONE surface-supplied air

Divers to the SUPSALV/contractor mix.

SUPSALV’s Emergency Ship Salvage Material (ESSM) and Pollution Response

contractor “GPC – a Joint Venture” (GPC)

mobilized the sub-contracted support

vessel SMIT PIONEER from Singapore

to serve as the support platform. This USS SALVOR crew rendering honors to

MISSISSINEWA crew.

Fleet chain of command. Mobile

Diving and Salvage Unit ONE

(MDSU ONE) and Explosive

Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit

FIVE (EODMU FIVE) in Guam

were directed to provide additional Divers and diving equipment to support the mission. Ultimately, resources were mobilized from Pearl Harbor, Guam,

Singapore, Williamsburg, VA,

Port Hueneme, CA, Anchorage,

AK, New Orleans, LA, and

Washington, DC to undertake

the oil removal operation.

BACKGROUND

USS MISSISSINEWA wassunk by a Japanese manned

suicide torpedo, or “kaiten,” on

the morningof 20 November 1944, while

anchored in the lagoon at Ulithi Atoll,

approximately 360 miles southwest of

Guam. Sixty-three members of her crew

were lost in the attack. At the time

of sinking, the MISSISSINEWA was

carrying a full load of Navy Special Fuel

Oil (NSFO), aviation gasoline, and diesel

fuel. The actual location of the wreck was

uncertain until 6 April 2001, when

Divers from the San Francisco Bay

area located and were the first to

dive on the wreck of the 553-foot

MISSISSINEWA in Ulithi Lagoon.

 On 6 August 2001, the Yap government received a report of an oil

spill in Ulithi Lagoon. Surveys by

government officials dispatched

to the site on 7 August confirmed

that the oil was leaking from

MISSISSINEWA. A storm had recently passed over the area and may

have been a factor in the start of the

U
	
   

THE OIL REMOVAL

OPERATION

(USS MISSISSINEWA continued from page 10)

(USS MISSISSINEWA continued on page 12)

The Oil Planning

Planning for USS MISSISSINEWA oilremoval operations commenced informally following the two Navy survey/

patching operations when it was determined that sporadic small oil releases were

likely to continue and that a catastrophically large release was possible. Formal

planning began with development of the

“Proposed Action” portion of the Environmental Assessment. An EA requires a presentation of the Proposed Action, in this

case the oil removal, in sufficient detail to

determine the action’s potential impact on

the environment. Following the Finding of

No Significant Impact (FONSI) and direction from CNO to proceed, a detailed Operations Plan was developed, based on the

EA’s Proposed Action, and further

specifying personnel, equipment, and procedural requirements.

As noted above, CNO formally

tasked SUPSALV with planning and executing the offloading operation and tasked

Commander Pacific Fleet (CPF) with providing a diving support platform and

Navy Divers to support the effort. The

involvement of Navy Fleet units triggered

Navy Fleet planning in the form

of several Concepts of Operation

(CONOPs), addressing diving operations,

medical evacuations, and related Navy

operational requirements. These CONOPs

are beyond the scope of this article.

SUPSALV tasked GPC with developing the detailed oil removal operations

USS MISSISSINEWA concept of operations schematic.

plan, assembling

the offloading systems using Navyowned, SUPSALV

Emergency Ship

Salvage Material

(ESSM) equipment,

providing appropriate commercial support vessels, and

providing an operations team to support the on-scene

SUPSALV representative with technical advise, topside diver support (of ESSM equipment),

and a pumping crew.

The concept of operations for offloading MISSISSINEWA relied upon an

experienced salvage team with surfacesupplied air Divers using hot tap tools

(described below) to access the ship’s cargo and fuel tanks through the inverted

hull that rested in 130 feet of water. Divers

would then rig submersible pumps and

discharge hoses to transfer oil from

MISSISSINEWA’s tanks to a tank vessel

moored over the wreck. The diving support platform, USS SALVOR, would be

moored alongside the tank vessel. Three

twin-drum mooring winches on the tank

vessel would allow controlled movement

of the vessels in the six-point moor and

thus precise positioning of diving stations

on SALVOR directly over target locations

on MISSISSINEWA’S hull. Upon completion of offloading, the recovered oil was to

be transported in the tank vessel to a receiving port to be sold for power plant

fuel or refinery feedstock.

The EA and subsequent briefings for

the Governor of Yap and his environmental staff had made it clear that even if all

tanks could be tapped and pumped as

planned, approximately one half of one

percent of the pre-offload volume of

MISSISSINEWA oil would likely remain

on board at termination of oil removal

operations. Remaining oil would include

oil clinging inside the emptied tanks or in

inaccessible piping or other inaccessible

areas of the wreck. The offloading operation would not preclude further minor

releases, but should prevent future significant releases.

A hot tapping is a process in which

a pipe flange and valve are bolted or welded to the shell plating of the hull over the

high point of a tank. With the valve

opened, the hot tap device (like a hole

saw) is secured to the valve, and the cutter head advanced through the valve and

against the hull and then rotated to cut a

hole (in our case a 3.5 inch diameter hole)

through the hull. The cutter is then

retracted back through the valve, the

valve closed, and the hot tap device

removed and replaced by a hose to the

suction end of a submersible pump. With

a hose then attached to the discharge end

of the pump, the valve is opened and

pumping can commence. In some cases

(e.g. tank vents no longer open), a second

hole must be cut low in the tank to allow

ingress of water to replace the oil

removed.

For purposes of discussion, the

MISSISSINEWA oil removal operation is

divided into four phases – Planning,

Mobilization, On-Scene Operations, and

Demobilization.

second team arrived at the site in early

February 2002, to conduct further assessments. Again, they were able to plug the

leak (at a different point this time) while on

scene. Through tank sampling and extrapolation the Navy surveys revealed

that up to 2.8 million gallons of oil remained

in MISSISSINEWA’s tanks.

Mobilization for MISSISSINEWAoffloading included the movement

of five support vessels from Hawaii and

Singapore, Navy diving equipment from

Hawaii and Guam, and other Navy and

commercial support equipment from Virginia, Louisiana, Hawaii, and Singapore.

Navy, Navy contractor, and sub-contractor personnel were mobilized from Hawaii,

Guam, Washington, DC, Williamsburg, VA,

Port Hueneme, CA, Anchorage, AK, and

Singapore.

Mobilization for Offloading
  	
  

(USS MISSISSINEWA continued from page 11)

(USS MISSISSINEWA continued on page 13)

USS SALVOR proceeded from her

home port of Pearl Harbor in mid-January

2003, with SUPSALV Pearl Harbor ESSM

support equipment, and MDSU ONE diving equipment, as well as her own allowance of diving equipment, including her

installed recompression chamber. USS

SALVOR stopped in Guam to pick up

MDSU ONE and EODMU FIVE Divers,

and additional diving equipment, including an EODMU FIVE Fly-Away Recompression Chamber (FARC). She then proceeded to Ulithi Atoll, arriving toward the

end of January 2003.

After an exhaustive search for support vessels, GPC hired two tank vessels

(barges) out of Singapore, rather than one,

to receive MISSISSINEWA oil and to provide primary salvage support. A pair of anchor-handling tugs were hired to tow the

two barges, provide additional hotel services for SUPSALV and contractor personnel, and to install the six-point moor.

One barge, FELS 20, went to a shipyard in

Singapore to be outfitted with all salvage

support equipment – mooring winches, 60-

ton crane, berthing modules (for the additional Divers), and related support systems, including a sanitary wastewater treatment plant for USS SALVOR, and for her

own on-board berthing modules that included showers and toilets.

ESSM salvage and spill response

equipment from Williamsburg, and

Singapore and support equipment, including leased marine sanitation devices (for

wastewater treatment) from Louisiana were

transported by ship to Singapore for installation on FELS 20. The second barge,

FELS 21, was to be the primary reception

vessel for MISSISSINEWA oil and required no significant preparation prior to

deployment. In mid-January 2003, the

larger tug, SEACOR ROVER with FELS 20,

and the smaller JAYA MARLIN with FELS

21 departed Singapore for the approximately 2-week transit to Ulithi Atoll.

SUPSALV and GPC personnel based

in Washington, DC, Williamsburg, VA,

Port Hueneme, CA, Anchorage, AK, and

Pearl Harbor, HI, flew from their respective

bases to Yap, Federated States of

Micronesia (FSM) and then on to the island of Falalop at Ulithi Atoll in a small Moore Barge FELS 20 with nested support vessels.

Pacific Missionary Airways aircraft. From

Falalop, it was an exciting, small,

open boat transit of eight miles to the

MISSISSINEWA site to meet SEACOR

ROVER.

On-Scene Oil Removal Operations

Response vessels and personnel rendezvoused at Ulithi Atoll around 1

February 2003. SEACOR ROVER arrived

first with the primary support platform,

Barge FELS 20, met with an advance SUPSALV/ GPC team and commenced positioning FELS 20 in the six-point moor. USS

SALVOR then moored alongside FELS 20

and commenced setting up dive stations

on her fantail. The 60-ton crane and a

small forklift truck on FELS 20 were used

to transfer shipping containers and equipment between SALVOR and FELS 20, and

to set up pumping stations and support

equipment on the support barge. The second barge, FELS 21 was moored alongside

FELS 20, opposite SALVOR to receive oil

pumped from MISSISSINEWA.

All vessels were positioned over

MISSISSINEWA and rigged for pumping

operations on 4 February 2003, and Navy

Divers on SALVOR commenced diving

operations. After an initial scuba survey,

Mark 21 Divers positioned a “navigation

grid” on MISSISSINEWA using a network

of wires and magnets to assist Divers in

positioning hot taps at precise, pre-determined locations (the highest point in each

tank to be pumped). Divers then secured

a pumping manifold to one of MISSISSINEWA’s bilge keels, with a 4-inch discharge hose to the surface. A lightweight,

4-inch submersible pump with suction

and discharge hoses were rigged between

hot tap accesses and the manifold as offloading progressed.

The manifold isolated the relatively

weak hot tap flanges from the stresses of

topside vessel motion transmitted through

the discharge hoses.

With the navigation grid in place and

initial pump rigging in place, the Divers

proceeded with implementation of the offloading plan, sequentially hot tapping

each tank and space known to contain oil

from the previous surveys. The Divers hot

tapping procedure at each location was as

follows: clean marine growth from the designated hot tap location on the hull, position a flange against the cleaned hull with

magnet-clamps, drill and install self-tapping bolts to secure the flange to the hull,

mount a shut-off valve on the flange, secure the hot tap (hole saw) device to the

valve’s oil/water-tight cam loc fitting,

open the valve, advance the cutter head

through the valve to the hull, rotate the

cutter head using a hydraulic tool as the
	 
 
  

Bill Walker (NAVSEA 00C25B) is a

Salvage Specialist and Environmental

Engineer at NAVSEA 00C.

CONCLUSION

(USS MISSISSINEWA continued from page 12)

A Diver taking an oil sample.

cutter head is advanced through the hull,

secure cutting when through the hull and

retract the cutter head from the hull back

through the valve, close the valve, replace

the hot tap device on the valve cam loc

coupling with a short suction hose to the

submersible pump. Oil floating at the top of

the tapped tank can now be pumped to

the moored vessels, to be replaced by ingress of seawater through open tank vents

or other tank openings.

Each tank confirmed to contain oil

was hot tapped and pumped off in this

manner. Pump discharge was sampled

continuously as it was discharged into

FELS 21. As the bulk of the oil was

removed from each tank during initial

pumping, when a significant percentage

of water was detected, pumping was

secured on that tank to allow remaining

oil to migrate through internal tank structures to the top, and water to settle out

from the oil. A series of pumping and settling cycles were required, more on some

tanks than on others, before salvors were

confident that as much oil as possible

had been removed from each tank. All oil

and water pumped (about 7 % of the total

volume pumped was free water) was

retained on the receiving barge for transport and sale/disposal in Singapore.

When all removable oil had been pumped

from each tank, all fittings were removed

from each hot tap flange and the holes

were capped in a manner preventing

future access by unauthorized personnel.

Demobilization

Upon completion of oil removal operations, Divers performed a final

survey of the hull to ensure that all hot tap

caps were securely in place and there was

no indication of further oil release.

SALVOR then secured from diving

operations, re-stowed all gear, transferred

equipment to and from FELS 20, and got

underway for return to Pearl Harbor, via

Guam to disembark EODMU FIVE

personnel and equipment.

Three additional days were required

to recover the 6-point moor and re-pack,

re-stow, and secure all gear on FELS 20

for the return transit to Singapore. SUPSALV and GPC personnel assisted prior to

small boat transit to Falalop for return

flights home. For the return to Singapore,

the larger, more capable SEACOR ROVER

towed the FELS 21 with her full load of

MISSISSINEWA oil and JAYA MARLIN

towed the FELS 20 with her deck load of

salvage equipment. ROVER and MARLIN

departed Ulithi Atoll with their tows at

midnight on 1 March 2003, two weeks

ahead of schedule, after just about a

month of MISSISSINEWA offloading op

erations. It was about three months before all equipment was returned to the

SUPSALV ESSM bases and other suppliers around the world. ESSM equipment

refurbishment continued for about another month after that.

Divers on stage during MISSISSINEWA oil

recovery operations.

The MISSISSINEWA offloading operation was highly successful in all

respects. The threat of a significant future release of oil into the pristine Ulithi

Atoll was eliminated. While small, inaccessible volumes of oil remain on board,

it is unlikely that even minor future releases will be detected. Nearly 2 million

gallons of potentially damaging cargo

and fuel oil were removed through the

joint, on-scene efforts of a team consisting of Navy Fleet Sailors and Divers

from three Navy commands, NAVSEA

SUPSALV, SUPSALV’s contractor -

GPC, a major subcontractor, four commercial vessels and a Navy salvage vessel. A little-known relationship between

the United States government and the

Federated States of Micronesia (FSM),

under a formal “Compact of Free Association” was cemented. Ulithi Atoll islanders of the four inhabited islands

around the lagoon, as well as officials of

Yap state of the FSM, were delighted

with the successful oil removal. The

Ulithi islanders rely on the bountiful

waters of the Ulithi lagoon for subsistence fishing as well as to support a

fledgling tourism industry. Relatively

new ESSM hot tap equipment was procured, systems assembled, support

items identified and all components

successfully exercised with the support

of Navy Fleet Divers and Salvors. Finally, in addition to the operational successes, we should note that the Navy

successfully implemented requirements

under the National Environmental

Policy Act (NEPA) for preparation of an

Environmental Assessment (EA) leading

to a Finding of No Significant Impact

(FONSI). Through the EA and FONSI,

NAVSEA and Fleet salvage forces not

only met regulatory requirements, but

also perhaps more importantly, engaged

in environmental planning that facilitated a successful salvage operation

with minimal impact on the environment.
 	
    


By: HTC (MDV) Michael E. Moser

Divers hot tapping a cargo tank on

MISSISSINEWA.

Samples of contaminated water.

(USS MISSISSINEWA continued on page 15)

On 3 February 2002, a Mobile Divingand Salvage Detachment from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit ONE (MDSU

ONE) was deployed to Commander Seventh Fleet area of responsibility. The

MDSU ONE Detachment and an element

from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit FIVE (EODMU FIVE), with technical and contracted support from

NAVSEA, located and patched a damaged service pipe, securing the source of

the leak. The task organization completed

a thorough survey and gathered data to

support the decision to remove MISSISSINEWA’s remaining cargo. Engineers determined that the oil had to be

pumped out of MISSISSINEWA and collected prior to a catastrophic release. In

conjunction with MDSU ONE, USS SALVOR, NAVSEA, and COMPACFLT developed a Concept of Operations to mobilize

forces to Ulithi, remove and collect MISSISSINEWA’s cargo.

On 3 February 2002, a Mobile Diving and Salvage Detachment from Mobile Diving and

Salvage Unit ONE (MDSU ONE)

was deployed to Commander

Seventh Fleet area of responsibility. The MDSU ONE Detachment and an element from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile

Unit FIVE (EODMU FIVE), with

technical and contracted support

from NAVSEA, located and

patched a damaged service pipe

securing the source of the leak.

The task organization completed

a thorough survey and gathered data to

support the decision to remove

MISSISSINEWA’s remaining cargo. Engineers determined that the oil had to be

pumped out of MISSISSINEWA and collected prior to a catastrophic release. In

conjunction with MDSU ONE, USS SALVOR, NAVSEA, and COMPACFLT developed a Concept of Operations to mobilize

forces to Ulithi, remove and collect

MISSISSINEWA’s cargo.

On 13 January 2003, USS SALVOR,

as designated on-scene commander, deployed from Pearl Harbor with an element

of MDSU ONE DET FIVE. On 28 January,

SALVOR arrived in Guam where she

embarked additional equipment, including

a chamber and Divers from EODMU FIVE,

arriving at the objective on February 2nd.

 The first task was to establish a marked

grid system to support the location of various points along the hull. The grid system

consisted of a main wire running fore to aft

along the center of the hull. Several

branch wires were run athwartship. With

any point on the hull defined by the grid

system, Divers were able to accurately locate targeted tanks under the two inches

of sea growth covering the hull.

MDSU ONE DET FIVE was particularly well suited for participation in this

operation. During previous recovery

operations, several members of the

detachment gathered invaluable experience operating “Hot Tap” equipment.

Hot tapping equipment enables Divers to

penetrate the hull or any bulkhead of a

ship to access and collect liquid cargo.

The system is designed to prevent release

of the cargo to the environment while

breaching the integrity of the hull. In order

to access the cargo in MISSISSINEWA,

Divers first cleared over 50 years of marine

growth from designated 2-foot diameter

sections of the hull at each of the targeted

oil tanks. They then attached a flange to

the cleared area, and screwed a 4-inch ball

valve onto the male threads of the flange.

Divers then opened the ball valve,

clamped the “Hot Tap” tool to the valve

assembly, and advanced a hydraulicallypowered hole saw blade through the

center of the ball valve assembly and into

the hull of MISSISSINEWA. Once the bit

was through the hull, Divers slowly

retracted the tool and closed the ball valve

preventing escape of the liquid cargo. With

seawater, oil and air inside several of the

tanks, Divers were often required to cycle

the ball valve and permit the air (lightest

medium) to escape prior to connecting

collection hoses. Finally, 4-inch collection

hoses were connected, and the oil was

recovered as pumps on the barge lifted the

oil into collection tanks. Later, pumps in

the water column were added to help push

the oil to the surface.

Fuel oil, still in MISSISSINEWA’s

service and storage systems, had to be

removed as well. HT1 Rick Pelton, an expert at underwater cutting and welding,

made the first cut into the ship’s hull to

access the interior fuel tanks. Using
	 
 
  


HTC (MDV) Michael E. Moser, MDSU

ONE DET FIVE, Pearl Harbor, HI.

This year’s MDV/CWO conference was

held 14-16 May in Panama City, FL and

covered a variety of topics. A sampling of

some first day presentations are: MDV

Heineman’s review of the DSWS program

and the newly approved OPNAV1414.3A

(Diving Salvage Warfare Specialist Qualification), BMCM Prat covered SEA WARRIOR 21, MDV Briggs reviewed the manning situation, and MDV Curtis covered

the 5V model including the pros and cons

of the Diver rate. On the second day we

broke up into four working groups of Salvage, UWSH, Personnel & Training, and

SPECWAR/EOD/USMC. From these

groups, point papers were presented, discussed, and action items and deadlines were

assigned. These point papers and the resulting action items (with responsibility

and due dates) are available for review at

http://www.supsalv.org. Please take the

time to review. If you have input or suggestions please call or e-mail any of us here

at NAVSEA.

MDV/CWO Conference 2003

Shipfitter First Class Bill Delanoy, USS GREENLET

(ASR 10) in 1956.

exothermic techniques, he cut a six by sixfoot door into the side of the hull. Next,

investigative holes were drilled in cargo

holds. No oil was found, and upon

completion of the internal work, LT (jg)

Christopher Reece, SALVOR’s Diving

Officer, welded a steel cover over

the opening to prevent recreational

Divers from entering MISSISSINEWA.

With the oil removed from the tanks,

an arduous task remained; the oil service

piping inside the hull needed to be

 drained. MM3 Paul Odermann and HT2 

Luke Johnson entered MISSISSINEWA

through a damaged section of the hull

where the Japanese “kaiten” hit. Working

around jagged and twisted steel, the

divers advanced 50 feet into the wreckage

where they found the patch MDSU ONE

Divers placed in December 2001. They

replaced the deteriorated flange and

attached a pumping hose to remove the

remaining oil. With the oil transfer completed, a new flange was installed to seal

the pipe.

Each unit involved contributed significantly to the successful completion of

this operation, from leadership and technical expertise to the well-maintained life

support equipment. Additionally, this operation took three weeks to complete; the

mission was accomplished successfully

two weeks ahead of projected schedule.

No personnel were injured, and no liquid

cargo was released to the environment.

As a result of the salvage team’s

efforts, 1.96 million gallons of crude oil

was removed as a potential hazard from

the pristine Ulithi Lagoon.

(USS MISSISSINEWA continued from page 14)

With sadness, we note the passingof a U.S. Navy Diving Legend -

CDR (ret) Billie L. Delanoy, who passed

away recently at his home in California.

His name was synonymous for many

years with all the best of which was and

has become Navy Diving and Salvage.

Born in 1928, he enlisted in the U.S.

Navy in 1946 and was designated a Diver

in 1947. Prior to his commissioning in 1958,

he served on almost every possible

salvage ship and repair tender in the

Pacific. Following his commission, he

served in many diving related billets

including: Training Officer at the Naval

School of Diving and Salvage, NSDS

(Washington, DC), XO of the USS

SAFEGUARD (ARS 25), CO of the USS

UTE (ATF 76), and XO of Harbor

Clearance Unit ONE during which he

helped author the first official salvage

manual. He then served as XO of the Dive

School in Washington, DC before

assuming duties as Commanding Officer

in 1969. After command of the USS

GREENLET (ASR 10) his final tour

was as Commanding Officer of the

Man-in-the-Sea Program in San

Diego.

Upon his retirement from active

duty in 1971, he continued to work in

the diving community as Vice President of Taylor Diving and Salvage involved with work in the oil field and

commercial diving. In addition to serving as a Salvage and Ocean Towing

consultant for many maritime firms,

the US Navy hired him as a consultant to develop and conduct the initial

crew training for the new ARS 50

SAFEGUARD class salvage ship.

A recognized expert in diving

and salvage, he served as the Lloyd’s

of London’s insurance firm’s expert

witness in over 20 court cases involving maritime disasters. He was larger

than life to many and the epitome of

honesty and the embodiment of a

gentleman. His contributions will be

long remembered.
  	 
 
 

By: LT ( jg) Sara H. Olson

MISERY LOVES COMPANY

Misery loves company – just ask anyof the eleven Master Diver (MDV)

candidates that attended Mobile Diving

and Salvage Unit TWO (MDSU TWO)

MDV pre-screening in the freezing rain

from October 27-31, 2003. They endured

the biting rain, heavy current, and reduced visibility of the Patuxent river to

learn where they “...stand with achieving

the goal of becoming a MDV,” said candidate HTC Fleming.

Warrant Officer Riendeau, Project

Diving Officer, and BMCS (MDV)

Mariano, Project Master Diver, spent

weeks developing drills that would challenge the candidates to think beyond

what is explicitly stated in the Dive

Manual. MDSU TWO Master Divers

Mariano, Mallet, and Daniels enlisted the

expertise of MDVs Orns, Roberson, and

Heater to ensure this year’s pre-screening

accurately reflected what the candidates’

will experience during MDV evaluations.

The result was an learning experience for all.

“We try to present reallife scenarios, that are

slightly more challenging

than those presented during evals,” explained

MDV Mariano. One candidate, who attended prescreening three previous

times, testified that this

was the most educational

and well organized one

he has attended. Another

candidate described the

two weeks of diving and

drills as “by far the most educational experience in my diving career.” That sentiment was echoed by all the candidates and

Divers present.

Four of the eleven candidates were

designated as primaries and selected to

supervise drills throughout the free and

graded weeks. Divers from MDSU TWO

repeated the exact same scenarios for each

candidate whose responses were graded

by the MDVs. The enthusiasm and motivation demonstrated by the MDSU TWO

Divers in faithfully repeating each scenario contributed directly to the successful completion of the entire two weeks.

The seven secondary candidates observed each scenario and freely discussed and debated the “correct”

course of action. In addition to the

MDV evaluation, FMGS and dive station training were conducted for the entire dive team throughout the two weeks

and contributed directly to two First

Class Divers qualifying as Unlimited

Mixed Gas Diving Supervisor during

the pre-screening.

MDSU TWO conducts two MDV

pre-screenings per year to prepare candidates for MDV evaluations at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center

in Panama City, FL. This year, over half

the candidates traveled cross-country

for the chance to perform and learn in

“real, on-the-side situations.” It was a

great learning experience for all involved and as stated by MMC Brustad,

“you could not buy this kind of training.

FANTASTIC!”

MDV Mariano briefing MDV candidate, HTC Fleming.

Deploying MK 20 Diver (SUPDIVE) during Underwater Ships Husbandry Drill.
	 
 
  


• For commands interested in expanding their TRCS system, Cowan

offers the Modified Transfer Lock

(MTL) that accommodates 5 people

and was initially designed as a

component of the US Navy SRDRS

Submarine Rescue System.

 • Commands are authorized to use any

ANU approved O2 or CO2

 monitoring system. Revisions to drawing

and tech manual will reflect this.

• NAVSEA is in the process of reviewing and revising technical manuals,

drawings, OPs, and EPs.

• Flask racks for the TRCS system

require tipping to remove excess

moisture from the flasks after being

charged. The one exception is, if you

have an ANU approved purification

cartridge system installed on your

compressor, tipping is not required.

ESSM has reported that TRCS flasks

that they have received recently

have an excess amount of water in

them, which equates to PMS not

being performed. Those commands

with TRCS systems permanently

installed in ISO containers or buildings will be required to have an ANU

approved purification cartridge

system installed prior to next certification.

TRCS

Step-by-Step

NEDU has certified clean and ready to

install HP/MP/LP hose assemblies.

Examples include but are not limited to

FADS, MK3 MOD 0, TRCS, and SCUBA.

All hoses are pressure-tested and cleaned

to required cleanliness standard for

system requirements. Commands will

receive all required testing, cleaning, and

objective quality evidence for inclusion in

their hose log. Hose assemblies can be

supplied with or without strength member

married in place with caps or plugs permanently attached to each end of the hose

for foreign material exclusion devices.

Viewports

Buoyancy Compensators

Due to the rapid advances and everchanging world of BCs, Commercial Off

the Shelf (COTS) BCs not listed on the

ANU list, that meet the following four

requirements, will be authorized for Navy

use:

1. Has an oral inflation tube

2. Has a power inflation device

3. Has quick release of weight w/o

chance of fouling

4. Has 10 lbs positive lift at maximum

depth.

Commands are responsible to ensure that

these requirements are met prior to use.

To download Luxfer’s SCUBA Cylinder

Visual Inspection Guide that is required to

perform the A-6R on 5921/019, please

follow the instructions below:

Questions have been raised about O-ring

hardness, specifically in the Transportable Recompression Chamber System

(TRCS). The TRCS O&M Manual and

drawings call for M83248/1, where /1 designates 75 durometer and /2 designates 90

durometer. The Joint Fleet Maintenance

Manual (JFMM) calls for 75 durometer on

LP systems and 90 durometer on HP systems. In specific diving applications, the

hardness of the O-ring depends on a number of factors and an across-the-board

hardness is not always the best fit. In

cases of conflict, follow the system’s specific technical manual and drawings as

closely as possible. Use of a different

durometer O-ring requires a Minor Departure from Specifications to be signed out in

accordance with the Divers Re-Entry Control System.

1. Type in URL: www.luxfer.com

Transportable Recompression Chamber System (TRCS).

Relief Valves

MIP 5921/034-73, MRC 36M-6R allows for

in-place testing of relief valves. This MRC

must be accomplished with a controlled

work package with appropriate safety

precautions. This MRC is not authorized

for use on recompression chamber or

compressors.

Process Instruction 00C3-PI-006 (Viewports) will be in effect soon and will cancel

AIG 03-05. It changes the following MIPS:

H-012/006, 5921/020, and 5921/177.

2. Click on “Luxfer Gas Cylinders”

4. Click on the “Downloads” link

5. Click “Register” (Highlighted in red)

6. Enter the required data

7. Download the Luxfer’s SCUBA

Cylinder Visual Inspection Guide.

3. Under “Gas Cylinder Divisions”,

click icon to enter site

This page is designed to give the readers “Bits and Pieces” of various topics in regard to diving and its systems.

O-ring

HP/MP/LP Hose Assemblies

“Service to the Fleet”
 	
    


By: DC1 DV Jon Sommers

NAVIMFAC PACNORWEST DET Everett

Nestled between two piers, on a floating Vietnam-era barge which used to

serve as a makeshift morgue, lies the Dive

Locker of NAVIMFAC PACNORWEST

DET Everett. Located about 45 miles north

of Seattle, WA, Naval Station Everett was

opened in 1994 for the sole purpose of

berthing the aircraft carrier USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN. NAVSTA Everett is now

home to three FFGs and one new Arleigh

Burke DDG as well as supporting an ongoing rotation of various support craft and

PCs for homeland security purposes.

IMF Det Everett is the surface force detachment of IMF Bangor. The R6 Division

Dive Locker is part of that detachment. For

those of you who have been around and

understand limited resources, that makes

us the step-children of the step-children.

Monetary assets aside, the Dive Locker at

IMF Det Everett gets the job done.

Billeted for 15, the locker’s current

tally is 10. Three 1st Class Divers, six 2nd

Class Divers, and MDV Winter. Our assets

include one MK-3 LWDS, one

ROPER cart, and a 22-ft Boston Whaler used extensively

for SCUBA and Force Protection tasking. Our primary job is

UWSH plus the multitude of

security swims involved with

force protection.

The jobs completed by

this locker have included:

waterborne propeller replacements on an aircraft carrier,

CPP blade replacements, CPP

hub seal repairs, APU repair

and propeller replacement, sonar dome rubber window repair, shaft stern tube seals, numerous cofferdam jobs, and the bread and

butter hull inspections and cleanings.

The first half of this year has been

busy. One of our FFG’s tangled with some

KEVLAR fishing netting, ripping off half

of her upper ropeguard, sending it bouncing off the churning blades of her screw.

One of the blades required replacement, the

rest required extensive

grooming to their leading

edges and a new ropeguard needed to be

manufactured. The blade

replacement and CPP

hub seal repair went

as smoothly as they

should, taking around

two days. The ropeguard

took four tries to get a

match, taking the better

part of a week. In the middle of this, the locker

wrote and completed 27

RECs for the certification

of a newly acquired TRCS.

 June would see two

more shaft seal jobs (five

CDR Rosner, DC1/DV Sommers, QM1/DV Stewart pose

as heroes of the last dive.

Divers complete debrief during clean time.

From left to right: EM1/DV Rowles, EN2/DV Ayers, HT3/DV

Douglas, BM2/DV Keezer (seated), BM2/DV Roberts (seated),

DC1/DV Sides, MDV, DC1/DV Sommers, CDR Reimers XO

SUPSHIP listens intently, he’s the next diver in the water.

in four months), at NISMO Bremerton,

WA. The first day of the job, a request

was received from a local family for a

body recovery in a nearby lake. The day

before, the local law enforcement dive

team had searched for 4.5 hours to no

avail. The Navy dive team recovered the

body in just under an hour. Another testament to the organizational skills, team

work, and professionalism of Navy

Divers.

If you are looking to relax and retire in the Northwest, this is not your

place. Every boot is shined and the

decks look like glass. The old school

ways still live on. Overtime is authorized. It’s the right way to do business.

Navy Divers are the cream of the crop,

the king of the mountain. It is up to us

to ensure we do not rest on our laurels,

to constantly challenge ourselves and

our community to aspire to even higher standards. The diving community is

currently in a state of great change.

Our future is in OUR hands. The future

will be what WE make it. Are YOU

ready? Hoo Yah Navy Deep-Sea

Divers!
	
    
 

The day of my retirement is getting

closer than I would like to believe. These

last thirty-one years have passed in a blink

of an eye. So, here is my chance to do a

little article for FACEPLATE. As most of

you know, I have not pursued a career in

writing, but here it goes.

The U.S. Navy Diving program is the

best in the world. We have proved this by

always being ready for any situation that

may arise, whether it takes place here or in

some other country. The way that we have

done this is with professional personnel

excelling with the equipment at their disposal. Also, our young Divers just coming

to us from Dive School are no longer just

knuckle dragging brutes, they are Divers -

well-trained and educated. We have become well known as the technical experts

in all aspects of diving. We are no longer

just tied to salvage or ships husbandry,

now we are with Spec War Units, EOD

Units, and Marine Corps Units.

The diving community has gone

through many changes in the last 15

years, with many more changes

on the way. Salvage ships and

repair ships are almost a thing

of the past and the opportunity to serve on-board scarce.

This has made it impossible in

some cases for personnel to

work in their ratings. Which is

why I believe that a diver rating might not be such a bad

idea. With our own rating we

will be advanced with the

knowledge you have obtained

as a Diver. With this new rating Divers should be detailed to each

type of diving command through their

naval career. This will ensure that they

meet all qualification requirements for

the new rating.

This is why it is imperative that

those in the leadership positions be responsible for maintaining the highest

standard of training so our personnel

are always at peak readiness. This will

ensure that we are always ready for

By: MDV Lino F. Matteoni

what may happen. Training is one of the

best ways to prevent accidents, which

need not occur. Not only do we have to

train our Divers, but also the junior and

senior personnel that work along side of

us, so that they will have a better understanding of what we do. This will make

communications go smoother.

It has been an honor to serve in the

diving community. I wish you all the best

in the future of our diving community.



By: Otto Adams

	
	
  	
    


This issue of FACEPLATE containsarticles covering the work and efforts

of Mobile Diving and Salvage Units ONE

and TWO and the Underwater Construction Teams. Their deployments during

IRAQI FREEDOM and the missions and

tasks that these commands completed

were a tremendous help to the war effort

and demonstrated the value of the Navy

Fleet Diver. Hoo Yah Navy Deep-Sea

Divers!

Retiring MDVs

We are losing well over threehundred years of diving experience with

the retirement of the following Master

Divers: MDV Ray Augustine, MDV Scott

Heineman, MDV Dick Schlinkerman, MDV

Ken Hinkebein, MDV Barry Burgess,

MDV Jim Phalin, MDV Mike Washington,

MDV Don Curtis, MDV Lino Matteoni,

MDV Rusty Hunt, MDV John Schnoering,

and MDV Paul Gridina.

Many thanks for the thousands of

dives you supervised, the hundreds of

hours you spent on the bottom, the

numerous Divers that you have taught

and influenced to become better Sailors

and Divers and to the daily contribution

you have made to making this great Navy

and Nation what they are today. Hoo Yah!

New MDVs

Congratulations to our newest

Master Divers. The standard has been set

by the Master Divers that came before

you. It is now your turn to lead our young

Divers and to grow tomorrow’s Master

Divers. Most recent Master Divers to be

pinned: BMC (DSW/SW/MDV) Don

Grubbs - MDSU TWO, ITC (DSW/SW/

MDV) Dave Gove - MDSU ONE, BMC

(DSW/SW/MDV) Kevin Jones - SDV Team

ONE, BUC (SCW/MDV) Eric Eaton - UCT

2, Port Hueneme, EMC (DSW/MDV) Vern

Malone - DSU, San Diego, and ENC

(DSW/MDV) William Rubow - SIMA, VA.

I would also like to congratulate our

first Diving Chief Warrant Officer 5,

CWO5 Terry Harris.

Dive Manual

We are currently working on an

update to the Dive Manual. We have

numerous changes, corrections, and proposed changes that we are working on

now. We hope to de-conflict some of the

information in the various chapters as

well as bring the manual up-to-date.

If you have any input, please pass

it on by e-mail to MDV Fred Orns

(OrnsFK@navsea.navy.mil) or MDV Steve

Smith (SmithSS@navsea.navy.mil) at 00C.

Preliminary Contaminated Water Diving

Manual

Expect to see the Contaminated Water Diving Manual available on the 00C

website as we release this FACEPLATE.

00C3 will also be sending out a few copies

to dive lockers for comment and review.

This is a hot topic and way past due for

getting the attention it needs. This manual

will be the first step in getting guidance to

the Fleet on diving in contaminated water.

It is our intention to issue this manual as

preliminary guidance and request fleet

user feedback. After about six months, we

will then review and reissue an updated

manual as our first contaminated water

diving manual. Additional appendices will

follow as more research and studies are

completed in this area. The guidance in

the Contaminated Water Diving Manual

was put together by NEDU, after exhaustive research into the civilian diving industry, government agencies, and foreign

military Divers as to what are the best

practices and diving equipment available.

We will continue to work in this area with

NEDU, industry, and our allies to be better

prepared to handle contaminated water

situations.

Divers Survey from the Center of EOD

and Diving

The EOD and Diver surveys are out

on SKILLSNET. We need 100% participation from every EOD Tech and Diver

in the fleet. You have/will receive word that

it is time to take this survey from many

sources (NKO, messages traffic, e-mails,

etc) and how to take the survey. This

survey has a large and immediate impact

on the future of our communities. For that

reason, take whatever steps are required

to get your people to complete this survey

NOW. Do not wait. Please pass to all

Divers in our communities. The Center of

EOD and Diving is working to chart the

future for EOD and Fleet Divers of the

future. Give this effort 100% support.

Working Divers Conference 2004 is scheduled for 29 March - 2 April at the

Expeditionary Warfare Training Group in Little Creek, VA. We are soliciting point

papers for the up-coming conference and you are encouraged to submit papers to

the SUPSALV website (http://www.supsalv.org) via your Chain of Command.

On another note, there will soon be a recruitment page for Fleet Divers on the

official USN web page at http://www.navy.mil. Please e-mail any suggestions for

improvement of this page. Finally, if you liked the diver picture presentation screened

at the beginning of the conference and would like a copy, simply e-mail MDV Steve

Smith with your mailing address at SmithSS@navsea.navy.mil.