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A Norwegian submarine rescue ship arrived in Lamlash Bay on Sunday and was ‘lit up like a Christmas tree at night’ according to residents.
She is Kv Harstad, a coastguard armed patrol vessel which was paying her second visit to Arran waters having been here on exercise last July.
On Monday she was on manoeuvres in Lamlash Bay, working in conjunction with the orange and black liveried royal marine auxiliary service ship SD Salmoor which is a regular visitor to the Clyde.
The two ships are part of the joint UK, France and Norway submarine rescue service. This service co-ordinates the activities of a two-man submarine rescue vehicle based at Greenock which is the only UK miniature submarine. On Monday morning the mini sub was visible on the aft deck of mother ship SD Salmoor.
In the event of a submarine being in distress the mini sub is deployed by road or air anywhere in the world to the nearest port for transfer on to a mother ship. At the accident scene the mother ship will launch the mini sub. This will locate the stricken submarine on the seabed and lock on to the escape hatches so that crew can be transferred in batches to the surface.
In 2001 the Banner was invited out to the Salmoor in Lamlash Bay by the Ministry of Defence and had the privilege of a three-and-a-half-hour claustrophobic underwater exercise in the cosy mini sub.
