And why were there 7 aboard?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/05/AR2005080500159_2.html?g=1
"They're looking to be able to release the propeller from whatever it's caught on, whether fishing line or cable. That will be the first priority," said a U.S. Navy official, who spoke on background because of the uncertainty of the problem. "Then they can use their ballast to surface." About 30 Navy personnel, including the vehicle operators, deep-sea divers, technicians and a doctor, flew with the equipment toward Petropavlovsk. The divers are equipped with suits that allow them to reach depths of 2,000 feet for up to six hours. Two more diving suits and a deep-sea drone are being dispatched by the U.S. Navy from the East Coast.
"We're trying to offer multiple tools for the tool box," Brackenbury said.
Cooperation between the Russian and U.S. navies on the rescue effort has been good, Brackenbury said, noting that the two forces conducted a four-week submarine rescue exercise in June off the coast of Italy. It was the first time that Russian units took part in a submarine rescue exercise with NATO.
Also helping to coordinate the rescue is the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office, a NATO initiative set up in Norfolk in the fall of 2004.
The rush to dispatch U.S. personnel and equipment was in keeping with a "brotherhood of the sea" rule that overrides national differences, one official said. "That's why we're taking this so seriously. It's very important to us to get to these folks."