Mariotti-Drass contract signed for the supply of underwater assets for the SDO-SuRS submarine rescue unit for the Italian Navy
The new SDO-SuRS (Special and Diving Operations - Submarine Rescue Ship) unit is the response of the Navy and the national shipbuilding industry to support special and underwater operations and to rescue damaged submarines, as well as to the growing need to protect the vital underwater infrastructures of the Mediterranean. The ship will also provide support to the new generations of drones and submarines, also developed by Italian companies, thanks to the excellence of the sector and the coordination that will be provided by the nascent National Underwater Pole.
The central element of the ship's diving capabilities will be the saturation diving system produced by DRASS called “Series 100”. The system will allow 12 divers from the COMSUBIN GOS (Underwater Operations Group) of the Italian Navy to conduct saturation dives up to an altitude of 300 meters. The T. Mariotti shipyard will also integrate, on this advanced platform, sophisticated instruments such as electro-acoustic sensors (multi-frequency sonar and towed scanners), hydro-oceanographic systems with towed probes, wire-guided underwater vehicles (ROV - Remote Operate Vehicle) and autonomous vehicles (AUV - Autonomous Underwater Vehicle).
Another element of great technological value will be the ability to board the SAVER airborne submersible rescue system, created by RTI Drass – SAIPEM, in a very short time.
Thanks to the on-board sensors, the ship will be able to locate a damaged submarine resting on the bottom, stay vertical to the latter through the use of the dynamic positioning system DP (Dynamic Positioning) and provide assistance to the personnel trapped on board through the SAVER system.
The SDO-SuRS unit represents one of the most advanced platforms in the world built for this purpose, whose flagship is represented by the operational versatility, which is not limited to submersible rescue functions and the support of COMSUBIN's special operations, but covers a wider range of underwater operations, also in the civil sector, such as the search for polluting elements, the exploration of the seabed, support to marine archeology and the repair and structural maintenance of infrastructures laid on the seabed.
Marco Ghiglione , Managing Director of T. Mariotti “Serving the Defense Industry by building the SDO-SuRS ship is a source of prestige for our business and for Made in Italy as a symbol of manufacturing excellence. We will deliver an Italian concept to the Italian Navy in which the best Italian professionals converge, such as that of Drass who will supply the diving system, a characterizing element of the naval unit".
Sergio Cappelletti , Managing Director of DRASS commented: “We are grateful to MMI and Cantiere Mariotti for their involvement in this important initiative. The SDO-SuRS project is emblematic of the exceptional value of the national shipbuilding and underwater industry, and represents the most complete and technologically advanced submarine intervention and submarine rescue unit in the world”.