'Within two hours of an official offer of help, it had been accepted and we were doing what we could to advance the take-off time of the C17 and in the end we managed to shorten the preparation time by four hours and the plane left Prestwick Airport in Scotland at about 23.00.

By this time I had returned home, quickly packed a suitcase and then driven to Sheremetyevo Airport to catch the overnight Aeroflot flight to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski.

I arrived in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski at 0745 (although it was already early evening there - it is still a shock to me when I realise just how big Russia is!) and was met by a Liaison Officer from the Pacific Fleet who took me to the military side of the airport where we waited nervously for the RAF plane to arrive.

It landed on schedule at 0920 and over the following hours it was joined by a number of US C17s and a C5 which brought the equipment the United States were contributing to the rescue effort.

By 1500 all the equipment had arrived at the commercial port where the mother-ship KIL 27 was waiting to receive it and the process of reinforcing the ship's decks to take the loads imposed by the equipment was well underway.

It took nearly four hours for us to get all the equipment onboard and secured adequately enough to allow us to sail and at 1850 (0320 local time) we left the quayside, full speed for the incident scene.

During the five-hour voyage the UKSRS team received a detailed briefing on what was known about the physical condition of AS 28 and her crew. From this it was clear that we had to move as quickly as possible if we were to ensure their safety. We arrived at the scene at around midnight and began the process of mooring KIL 27 between two other ships.

This process took just over an hour and by 0130 the final checks on Scorpio were complete and she entered the water and began her work.

Confidence was further enhanced when the accident site was found and soon the ROV's hydraulic cutter was carrying out the delicate job of removing the fishing nets which were wrapped around AS 28's hull and fouling its propeller.

At times the progress seemed to be agonisingly slow but as the hours passed more and more of the netting was cut away and by 0600 there were only a few strands remaining.

However, at this point the ROV developed a number of minor defects so had to be recovered for 15 minutes while repairs were effected, luckily none of the problems were serious and work soon recommenced.

By 0700 all the netting which Scorpio could reach had been cut away but there were still a few strands which prevented her from moving and we had to make a difficult decision.

AS 28 could use some of her remaining air supply to blow water out of her ballast tanks which would provide positive buoyancy and possibly break the remaining strands, allowing her to rise to the surface.

However, if the buoyancy was insufficient to break the strands then the submersible would still be trapped and much of her remaining air would have been used up, thereby reducing the supplies available to the crew.

After a few minutes the officer in charge of the rescue operation made his decision and ordered AS 28's crew to blow high pressure air into the ballast tanks.

The atmosphere was extremely tense as we waited on the deck of KIL 27 to see what would happen.

Suddenly the door to Scorpio's control cabin burst open and the Russian Navy Liaison Officer ran out with a cry of 'Bzplivayet!!!' - 'She's coming up!'.

The crew operating the ROV had seen AS 28 move upwards as the air was injected and could no longer see her - she must be on her way to the surface. Everyone ran to the port side of the ship as we knew that AS 28 was about 100 metres off the port beam.

Despite the fact that we were certain that the submersible was on her way to the surface the sea remained agonisingly calm and after a couple of minutes doubts began to creep in - could she still be trapped by the nets?

Suddenly there was a cry of 'She's over there!' and we all ran to the starboard side where AS 28 was floating happily not far off KIL 27's bow.

During her ascent she had obviously moved a considerable distance sideways and had surfaced on the opposite side to where we were all waiting - hence the lack of any photographs of this event!

AS 28 came to the surface at 0720 - less than 48 hours after we first became aware that there was a problem.

The ability to deploy the UKSRS's Scorpio ROV across 12 time zones from Scotland to Kamchatka and effect a rescue in less than two days is a clear endorsement of the professionalism of all those who took part in the operation - British, Russian and American. I am very proud of the fact that I was able to play a part in this operation which shows how well the Navies of the UK and Russia can work together when the need dictates.'

4 Captain Jonathan Holloway, pictured centre front, outside Number 10 Downing Street, after receiving a medal from the Russian government for his part in the rescue of a stricken submarine.