Source: Bernama
May 24, 2006 12:26
PM
First-Time Submariners, But Adapting Well
From Sakina Mohamed
BREST (France), May 24 (Bernama) -- If one were claustrophobic, one
would probably not make it as a submariner.
That's what this reporter discovered when she stepped into
Ouessant, the Agosta-class submarine used by Malaysia's first batch
of submariners for initial training.
The corridors are so narrow, only one person can pass through at a
time.
Its wardroom, or officer's mess, is considered a luxury of space at
around 8x6 feet.
The kitchen, where over 100 meals are cooked a day, is so small
that the chef can barely move a few steps before coming up against
a wall.
In the morning, crew members would have to line up to use one of
only two toilets in the submarine, one of which was just a
urinal.
It is hard to imagine how over 70 men can spend up to 12 days in
the cramped space in the submarine during sea training.
According to its commanding officer Jean Magne, the overhauled
ex-French navy submarine was initially meant for an operational
crew of only 58 men.
However, the Malaysian trainees hardly complained or exhibited
difficulty in adapting to the packed environment.
"This is remarkable for a batch of trainees who have had no prior
experience onboard a submarine," he told Bernama at the DCN
dockyard where the submarine was berthed Tuesday.
The trainees are attending a submarine school here conducted by the
Defense Conseil International and Navfco (the French Naval Company
for Training and Advice) and monitored by the Authority of the
French Submarine Force, or Alfost.
They attend classes on weekdays and are tested weekly on the
subjects through written and oral examinations as well as
performance on simulators.
Their demanding schedule required them to master various skills and
knowledge, including navigational skills, electrical engineering as
well as maintenance and operation know-how.
Those who make the grade would go on sea training onboard the
Agosta for 12 days to gain hands-on experience in handling a
submarine to prepare them for the more sophisticated Scorpene
submarines, currently assembled in Cherboug, France and the
Navantia dockyard in Cartagena, Spain
During each sea training, 25 trainees would be guided and assessed
by a trainer each, mostly ex-French navymen who had once served on
the Ouessant before it was decommissioned in 2003.
The school director, Loic Andrieu, said the trainees had to pass
their examinations with excellence and complete at least 250 diving
hours in the Ouessant before they could become qualified
submariners.
After two years of training in the Agosta class, the training would
continue in the same progression but would involve the Scorpene
class instead, he said.
-- BERNAMA
