The dreaded “Hampton Roads Triangle” strikes again...
Virginia PilotOnline, 10 June 2010
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 1 from San Diego was operating 13 UUVs on Sunday around Thimble Shoals Channel as part of a military exercise when it lost communication with four of the devices.
Each vehicle, called a REMUS Mark 18, is 5 feet long, weighs 80 pounds and looks like a torpedo. They are mostly black with bright orange rubber pieces.
Together, the four UUVs cost about $1 million, said Lt. Cmdr. John Schilling, executive officer of the unit.
Self-propelled and equipped with a camera and side-scanning sonar, the UUV searches for mines and sends sonar snippets back to a computer for analysis. If contact is lost, it cannot transmit its location.
Schilling said the four missing devices were operating together near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel when they stopped transmitting data.
"Sometimes glitches occur and you lose assets," Schilling said.
The Navy has been searching for the missing equipment - which is not hazardous, Schilling said. Navy dolphins taking part in the exercise were put on the case, and teams in small boats and helicopters have been searching.
Even if the search ends without success, there's a chance the vehicles will turn up.
"They tend to rise to the surface and wash ashore," Schilling said.
Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com
(I hate it when you lose your assets.)