bottom at 1,800 feet, a swordfish weighing 

 about 250 pounds made a deliberate attack 

 on the submersible. The fish's bill penetrated 

 the fiberglass skin between the releasable 

 forebody and afterbody and became wedged 

 there by the pressure sphere. The initial 

 inclination was to continue the dive since no 

 apparent damage had occurred. Shortly 

 thereafter, the leak detector system, which 

 monitors sensitive areas for salt water intru- 

 sion, showed a positive indication and the 

 dive was aborted. A post-dive analysis re- 

 vealed that the leak detector reading was 

 unrelated to the attack. A swordfish attack 

 was also experienced by BEN FRANKLIN 

 during its 30-day drift in the Gulf Stream. In 

 this case the swordfish did not lodge in the 

 vehicle or cause any damage. 



Environmental Hazards (Man-Made) 



Submersible: DEEPSTAR 4000 Date: NA 



Reference (14) 



Incident: The submersible was oper- 

 ating off the California coast under the aus- 

 pices of the U.S. Naval Electronics Labora- 

 tory. Though DEEPSTAR 4000 had re- 

 quested Navy clearance to dive in the area, 

 it had not received permission at the time of 

 the dive. When the submersible bottomed, 

 three 5-inch projectiles exploded about 200 

 yards astern of the support ship. The shore 

 facility was asked by radio to contact fleet 

 operations and request that the firing be 

 halted. Contact was made, firing ceased, and 

 DEEPSTAR 4000 surfaced and was re- 

 covered. The support ship was escorted from 

 the area both by the cruiser which had fired 

 upon it and a submarine that had surfaced in 

 the interim. Later it was found that the area 

 was scheduled for fleet training and the sup- 

 port ship was mistaken for the target ship 

 due in the area about the time of the inci- 

 dent. 



Submersible: SEA OTTER Date: 1973 Ref- 

 erence (15) 



Incident: In the process of inspecting 

 the trash gates of Bennett Dam, Williston 



Lake, British Columbia, the submersible was 

 drawn against the gates and held by an 

 estimated 8-knot current. Initial estimates 

 placed the current at 2 knots. To free itself, 

 the operator requested that the generators 

 be shut down which, in turn, would eliminate 

 the current. As the current abated, a mass of 

 water-soaked logs and other debris which 

 was also held against the gates by virtue of 

 the currents rained down on the vehicle. 

 Several hours were required for the sub- 

 mersible to extricate itself. 



Submersible: STAR II Date: 1967 Refer- 

 ence (NA) 



Incident: The vehicle was conducting an 

 inspection of an offshore oil structure in the 

 Gulf of Mexico at a depth between 100 and 

 150 feet. Sudden increase in current strength 

 and change in direction caused the vehicle to 

 collide with one of the supporting structures 

 and to damage its controls beyond functional 

 ability. Divers were dispatched to assist the 

 submersible which could not make its way 

 out of the structure without its controls. 

 Before the divers arrived, the submersible 

 drifted free of the structure and eventually 

 surfaced by blowing ballast. 



Launch/Retrieval Incidents 



Submersible: ALVIN Date: 16 October 1968 



Reference (1) 



Incident: The elevator between the hulls 

 of the catamaran LULU was lowering ALF/iV 

 into the water when the forward, port side 

 cable parted. The additional load caused the 

 starboard cable to part and ALVIN slid off 

 the platform into the water. The pilot, stand- 

 ing in the sail, swam clear; water was enter- 

 ing the pressure hull, but the two occupants 

 made a fortunate and miraculous escape. 

 The hatch could not be completely closed 

 during this emergency situation due to the 

 presence of the vehicle's control cable ex- 

 tending from the control center in the sphere 

 to the portable control box held by the pilot 

 in the sail. The submersible sank to the 

 bottom at 5,052 feet and was retrieved in 

 toto, on 28 August 1969 (Fig. 15.2). 



692 



