A cutting chain made of abrasive covered bushes on a thick steel wire was pulled back and forth across the hull by the cylinders. Vertical forces were supplied by the controllable vertical position of the suction piles.

Smit International, one of the salvage project partners, contacted GS-Hydro Benelux asking for extremely quick provision of large bore hydraulic piping manifolds for the hydraulic power packs that would sit on a barge above the wreck powering the cutting machines on the seafloor.

GS-Hydro calculated size and was able to both design and supply the manifolds within two weeks.

Smit Salvage is perfecting a version of this patented new wreck removal cutting system which will be available to international commercial markets by the end of this year.

The efficient new system can be used instead of the traditional method of chain cutting from a floating sheerlegs which although effective, is slower and imposes shock loads on the sheerlegs during cutting operations. In favourable circumstances, the new system can reduce project duration by up to 30%, with significant cost savings.

The system now being developed will be more compact and lightweight than the Kursk version and suitable for a wide range of salvage and wreck removal tasks. The utility of the sheerlegs is reduced as a crane equipped barge can undertake preparatory work such as positioning the cutting system on the seabed. This new system is expected to improve the viability of a number of wreck removal operations.

Smit started developing the system a year before the Kursk disaster in association with Rotterdam-based tungsten carbide tool manufacturer Widia Nederland and T.N.O.

Nederland. The prototype was conceived as a surface-based system for tackling shallow water wrecks at depths to 30m.

Following the award of the Kursk contract, Smit modified the system for deep water work and added an underwater drive system. The cutting wire was strengthened to increase wear resistance against the Kursk's thick, high tensile steel hull.

Prior to its Kursk deployment, the system's high efficiency was demonstrated during Rotterdam trials when it was used to cut an obsolete dredger into scrap.

MJ Information No: 16706