LRT (Launch, Recovery, and Transport) Platform

One of the federally-owned pieces of equipment featured in our 2012 science dive program is the launch, recovery, and transport (LRT) platform. The LRT is 49 ft long and can submerge and hover with the 13-ton submersible aboard. It is a unique vessel that was specifically designed as a submersible launch platform in the late 1980s. It has been in standby status for over a decade and is now being brought back online. Its reactivation will provide HURL with a greater range of capabilities including deployment of specialized and bulky scientific equipment, heavy lift recovery operations, and an alternate launch platform for the Pisces submersibles. The first stages of reactivation following welding repairs are inspection and recertification work by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). This will immediately be followed by a full refurbishment (valves, decking, painting, etc.) and crew training. The LRT is anticipated to make a number of test dives, first in standalone mode and then with the submersibles aboard, beginning in the spring of 2012. Test and training are anticipated to require one full month once the system is fully operational. Ten dives are planned during the late spring and summer of 2012.

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