31.03.2021
Phoenix International Holdings, Inc. (Phoenix), under the direction of the U.S. Navy’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV), located and recovered the fuselage of a downed MH-60S Seahawk helicopter in the Pacific, near Okinawa, Japan, from a record breaking depth of 19,075 feet. This equates to just over 3.6 miles beneath the sea and is 266 feet deeper than the previous salvage record, also set by Phoenix and SUPSALV during an operation in 2019. The helicopter was located in March of 2020 using the U.S. Navy’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle “Trondheim” and then, a year later, Phoenix and SUPSALV returned to the site and recovered the helicopter on March 21st, 2021 using the U.S. Navy’s Remotely Operated Vehicle “CURV 21” and Fly Away Deep Ocean Salvage System. Both Trondheim and CURV 21 are rated to operate down to 20,000 feet.