Three sailors surfaced out of Chilean Navy submarine Simpson via her escape hatches as the service rehearsed its emergency procedures.
Last week’s Submarine Search and Rescue Exercise (SUBSAR) 2026 was staged in Talcahuano, playing out a simulated scenario where crewmembers had been injured onboard the Type 209 boat.
Talcahuano is the home port and operations centre for Chile’s submarine fleet, which is made up of both German-built Type 209s and French/Spanish Scorpène-class attack submarines.
Also involved in the four-day SUBSAR drills, which concluded on Friday, was Chilean Navy offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Piloto Pardo, Rescue Service Launch María Isabel and assets from the base’s Naval Air Group.
As well as the escape-tube drill, a medical team was established aboard the OPV to provide medical care to submarine personnel.
The submarine’s Commanding Officer Commander Germán Otazo commented: “These types of exercises are fundamental to maintaining and strengthening our capabilities in responding to an underwater emergency.
“They allow us to practice procedures, evaluate our coordination with other units, and verify the importance of acting promptly, in a coordinated manner, and safely in a highly complex operation… these training exercises allow us to practise the knowledge we have acquired, test our procedures, and strengthen mutual trust, an essential element for facing these types of contingencies.”
- You can read more details on the Chilean Navy website
