by Noah Beck
“How are you liking the helm?” Jacob’s father, a doctor at Rambam Hospital, asked Zvi.
“It…It’s great – almost like a video game at times. Ehh-except that in video games it’s no big deal if you crash. B…But on a submarine, you can’t even imagine what a crash is like.”
“Have you had some collisions?” Zvi’s mother asked with maternal concern.
“E…Even if we did, I…I couldn’t tell you,” Zvi replied with a smile.
“Do you guys get to enjoy each other’s company much on the submarine?” The doctor asked Zvi and his son.
“Dad, the sonar isn’t in the same section as the helm, but it’s all pretty close,” Jacob replied. “And we have plenty of time when we’re both off-duty and can hang out.”
“I’m so glad to hear that!” Zvi’s mother said.
Zvi’s mind returned to the present for a moment to see if there had been any progress with the much awaited transit approval. The time was 0449 hours and the crew was still quietly waiting to hear from the Egyptian authorities. Just 11 minutes left before they could no longer join the 0700 convoy. Rather than wait through those tense minutes with his eyes glued to the time, Zvi returned to the picnic. He remembered how entertained everyone had been by Jacob’s 21-year old brother, who was visiting Israel briefly after the first of several planned backpacking trips.
Like so many other Israelis fresh out of the army, Jacob’s brother had decided to go traveling abroad after working at odd jobs to finance his trips. He had just come back from six months in Latin America and could now speak enough Spanish to order a meal or flirt with a local. With his loose-fitting bohemian clothes and his hair grown out into long dreadlocks, he colorfully and unabashedly stood out at the picnic, to everyone’s substantial amusement.
“I still can’t believe you became Bob Marley in half a year!” Jacob joked.
“It’s not as hard as you think,” his brother replied with a chuckle. “It’ll probably be a lot harder to reverse it!”
“I’m just really happy that your three-week stop in Israel overlapped with our quick shore visit.”
“I know. That’s pretty lucky timing because I might not be back for another four or five months.”
“Maybe you should go to India next,” Jacob said. “You’ll fit right in with all of the Israeli hippies partying in Goa.”
“Except that they’ll think I’m a local trying to be like an Israeli tourist or something!”
“Ha. Good point. So where are you going next?”
“I’m thinking Thailand. I want to check out Koh Phangan.”
“You mean you want to go to the Full Moon party there,” Jacob said, teasing his brother, who released a slightly guilty smile.
“Maybe. I know – not very original for a post-army trip.”
“I think Jacob’s right,” their father opined. “You should try to go to India. You still have family there and you should meet them. I’m sure they would be delighted to host you.”
“It’s hard to argue with free room and board but…we’ll see,” he replied, in a tone that suggested India probably wasn’t going to make it onto his itinerary.
****
Zvi looked at the time. 0454 hours. The crew was six minutes away from being denied passage in the 0700 convoy. More stress. Better to let his mind wander some more, he thought. But knowing there would soon be a decision from the Egyptian authorities that would end his mental excursions, Zvi’s thoughts moved to the goodbyes at the picnic.
****
Zvi put his arms around his older brothers and lowered his voice so that only they could hear. “Th…Thanks for taking care of Mom. I…I’m really sorry that I’m not around more to help, b…but she looks like she’s…She’s doing all right.”
“Yeah, she’s hanging in there…Don’t worry about anything, Zvi,” his eldest brother replied in a soft voice. “Just keep making us proud.”
“I…I love you guys.” Zvi hugged each of his older brothers. Then he crouched down by his mother’s wheelchair so that they could exchange goodbyes.
“I…I have to get going, Mom.”
“Oh, is it time already? I feel like we just got here.”
“I…I know, Mom. I…I’m sorry it was so short.”
“Be careful in that sub, Zvi. I don’t want to hear about any collisions.”
“Like…Like I said, even if we have them, y…you won’t hear about them,” he replied with a smile.
“Well, don’t have them, and then I won’t have to wonder about whether you’re having them and not telling me.” Zvi laughed.
“OK, Mom. No…No collisions. I promise.”
“The three of you are all I have now.”
“I…I know, Mom. It…It’ll be fine.” Zvi got up from his squat and bent over his mother’s wheelchair to give her a kiss. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, Zvika,” she said kissing his cheek and holding his face in her hands for a moment. “Be careful.”
“I will, Mom.” Zvi stood up and gave each of his older brothers one last embrace and kiss on the cheek.
****
At 4:59 a.m., the voice of the Egyptian office supervisor came back. “Captain, I have good news for you. Your military chief spoke with the head of the Egyptian army, and your Dolphin is cleared for passage. You will be the last ship in the convoy, but you will be included in the 0700 convoy.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
The Harbor Master and the captain took leave of each other. The pilot stayed on board and began to direct Daniel as to how to navigate the Dolphin to the convoy. Once the submarine joined the designated group of ships, the helmsman was instructed to maintain a cruising speed of five to seven knots throughout the passage, depending on the speed of the freighter ahead of it.
At 1 p.m., the convoy reached Ismailia and the adjacent Lake Timsah, which was the approximate midpoint of the canal. By 3 p.m., the submarine had reached Bitter Lake, where it had to anchor and wait for the canal’s northbound convoy of transiting ships to pass. At 5 p.m., the southbound convoy could proceed towards the City of Suez. A few submariners took turns popping their heads out of the mast to enjoy the view. The banks of the canal along the way were markedly different: the west bank was verdant and somewhat populated, while the east bank was part of the barren and yellow Sinai desert. At 8 p.m., the Dolphin reached the Port of Suez. The pilot disembarked with a carton of 10 packs of cigarettes, and the Dolphin continued towards the Red Sea.
As the submarine entered the mouth of the Red Sea, it dove to periscope depth, where it remained just long enough to exchange updates with the nerve center in Haifa. “Suez crossing completed at 2012 hours, on a southeastern course in the Red Sea,” was the message that the Dolphin sent. The transmission received informed Daniel that the crew on the Leviathan was still quite sick but they were progressing en route back to Haifa, traveling at five knots on a southward course towards the Gulf of Oman. The last contact with the damaged Israeli submarine was in the Strait of Hormuz at 26.94"N, 56.61"E. At current speeds, the two submarines sailing towards each other were expected to cross paths somewhere in the Arabian Sea, near the Gulf of Aden.
Chapter 18: Bad News from Headquarters
Sailing in the Red Sea between Egypt and Saudi Arabia on a southeastern course towards the Gulf of Aden, the Israeli naval boat could no longer travel as freely as it had up until Port Said. Daniel would have to keep his vessel no higher than periscope depth, about 13 meters below the surface, because there were only hostile waters ahead. Rising to the surface in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, or the Strait of Hormuz could be tantamount to a dangerous leak of strategic information or, with certain enemy watercraft in the area, to collective suicide.
Thus, the safest way for the Dolphin to communicate with headquarters involved releasing a buoy-linked antenna from as deep as 100 meters below the surface. However, this buoy-enabled method of communication allowed the submarine only to receive te
xt messages but not to transmit anything back. For two-way communication, the Dolphin would have to rise to periscope depth, where it was more exposed. To minimize possible encounters with sea traffic while at periscope depth for two-way communication and air replenishment, the Dolphin normally came so close to the surface only in the early hours of the morning.
About 24 hours after crossing the Suez Canal, the Dolphin reached the area of the Red Sea near Ras Gharib, Egypt and in the early morning gave its new position to naval command. Headquarters in turn transmitted two dramatic updates about the Leviathan and certain regional developments. The damaged Israeli submarine was being extra cautious after detecting two Iranian Alvand class frigates and a Nahang class submarine in the area, effectively forcing the Leviathan to move off course. The second update quoted two breaking news headlines from the last three hours.
The first headline surprised no one but did not bode well for the Middle East: “Saudi Arabia announced that it now has in its possession several ready-to-use nuclear warheads.” The presumed source of the atomic bombs suddenly held by Saudi Arabia was Pakistan. The second headline ratcheted up the tensions with Iran’s neighbors: “Iran threatens to attack UAE unless it formally drops its claims to the Island of Abu Masa. The USA urges calm.” The tiny, virtually uninhabited island about 76 kilometers off the southern coast of Iran was of little strategic value apart from offering Iran a little more control over the Strait of Hormuz, which it already effectively dominated. However, by so aggressively eliminating any competing territorial claims to long disputed territory, the Islamic Republic exploited a powerful symbolic opportunity to demonstrate its new ascendance in the region. The update noted that Israeli intelligence analysts expect there to be no intervention by the United States or any other world powers. While Saudi Arabia’s newly acquired atomic arsenal created a certain counterweight in the regional balance of power, Iran knew that its Sunni foe wouldn’t dare to start a nuclear war over a trifle like Abu Masa.
“The meek will fall into line now,” Daniel thought to himself as he turned on the intercom system to inform his crew of the latest. After the announcement, the submariners around Daniel launched into an analysis and discussion of what the update meant.
“Thank God we passed the Suez Canal when we did,” Michael said to Samir and Eitan, who were near him at the helm.
“Definitely,” agreed Samir. “There’s a new tough guy in the neighborhood.”
Eitan continued the thought: “Yeah, after that Abu Masa stunt, Egypt wouldn’t want to piss him off by letting us through the canal.”
“The trip back home could get tricky,” Michael noted.
Ambesah, who had just walked into the discussion area, offered a tactical prediction. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Egypt warns Iran that we just passed through the Suez Canal. Just to get on their good side and show that they’re trying to be helpful to the Iranians.”
“It’s a good assumption,” Daniel said. “One more reason for maximum stealth.”
“Not that we needed any more reasons,” Ambesah replied.
****
On the fourth day of the Dolphin’s mission, at about 8 p.m., Daniel and his crew reached the area off the Egyptian coastal city of Safaga. Cruising at about 50 meters below the surface, the submarine had plenty of air and nothing new to report to headquarters, so it stayed submerged in the deep and released its communication buoy to receive an update. As the ship’s communications officer, Ambesah managed the process of buoy release and retrieval, and the subsequent authentication and decryption of the received message, so he was usually the first to know the latest before bringing it to the captain. The message from headquarters stated only that it had received an update from the Leviathan: the damaged submarine was sailing at five knots off the coast of Iran, in the Gulf of Oman at a position of 25.08"N, 58.62"E.
About 24 hours later, the Dolphin had attained a position about 129 kilometers south of Kosseir, Egypt. Another update from naval command indicated that the Leviathan had made it to a position of 23.66"N, 59.61"E, about 112 kilometers east of Muscat, Oman. Headquarters also indicated that in the next week or two they were expecting to receive an update regarding the health of the Prime Minister, who had been hospitalized for almost two weeks.
On the Dolphin’s sixth day at sea, after arriving at a point in the Red Sea about 161 kilometers due west of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, the captain turned on the public announcement system to inform the crew of some dramatic news. “At about 0200 hours this morning, the Leviathan was communicating with headquarters at periscope depth when it detected an approaching Iranian Kilo class submarine. Headquarters said that all communication with the Leviathan had stopped abruptly and they have not heard from the crew since then. Their last known position was 22.63"N, 60.30"E, about 80 kilometers due east of Sur, Oman.”
“Wow, poor guys,” Eitan said from his navigation post.
Michael shook his head in pity. From the helmsman’s seat nearby, with his hand guiding the stick wheel that steered the submarine, he seemed to be commenting on his own job: “It’s hard enough evading enemy submarines when you’re not throwing up.”
“I wonder if they’ll make it all the way back home like this,” Eitan said.
“Or if headquarters will ever hear from them again,” Samir added.
****
By day nine of the Dolphin’s mission, the news from the nerve center had gotten progressively worse. World oil prices were up 34% in reaction to Iran’s threats against the UAE over Abu Masa and its renewed warning to all Western powers that continue their presence in the Middle East. Closer to home for the crew, it had now been three days since naval command had received any sign of life from the Leviathan. This development led headquarters to order an additional mission for Daniel and his crew: to conduct a quick, preliminary investigation, and attempt to gather more information about the Leviathan en route to the Dolphin’s target position of strategic deterrence in the area of Bandar Abbas. For its part, the Dolphin had little to report to naval command: it had detected a Romeo class, Egyptian submarine just before reaching the area near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
On day ten, an update from naval command confirmed Iran’s nuclear strategy: the Islamic Republic had announced that it was enriching uranium to 90% in its Fordo facility. The U.S. requested an urgent meeting with China in an effort to coax the biggest buyer of Iranian crude into implementing the economic sanctions against Iran that were already respected by most of Iran’s other major oil customers.
The period from the 11th through the 16th day of the crew’s voyage was relatively uneventful and included no dramatic news from Haifa. The Dolphin continued on its silent swim in the Red Sea at an average speed of five knots, reaching the area near Hodeidah, Yemen by day 12.
Chapter 19: Best Friends Long Before the Dolphin
On day 13, the Israeli submarine crossed into the Gulf of Aden. The news about Iran and the Leviathan would occasionally weigh on the mind of each crewmember, but it had a powerful, psychosomatic effect on Zvi, despite his best efforts to remain detached. In the week since hearing about the fate of the Leviathan, he began to suffer from indigestion and general anxiety, and feared that his health could start to worsen in unpredictable ways.
Zvi, who carefully maintained a tranquil façade for the crew, knew that there was only one person on the submarine to whom he could turn for help, and it was neither the medic nor the captain. There was nothing that either of them could do to ameliorate his condition, but there was the risk that they might misinterpret the situation, overreact, prescribe the wrong remedy, or later use Zvi’s health-related disclosures against him. While both Daniel and Yisrael knew the likely cause of any psychological problems that Zvi might have, only Jacob was intimately familiar with Zvi’s personal history and his long struggle to manage his own emotional health.
So a little before both junior sailors were planning to go to bed, Zvi asked Jacob to follow him down to the lower level of the submarine and into
the battery room, where they would likely have some privacy at that time. Once they were alone, Zvi opened up to Jacob about his indigestion, his mounting anxiety, and the fear that his state might deteriorate.
“R…Remember that nightmare I…I used to have up until I started high school?”
“Yes. Did it come back?”
“N...No. Th…Thank God. But...But if that nightmare returns then I’ll know I’m really in trouble.”
“Why?”
“B…Because when I stopped having the nightmare, that…that was a huge step forward… My therapist said that the nightmare’s disappearance was a…a sign of emotional health.”
“But that’s in your past, Zvi. You’re done with that nightmare. You moved on. So why start thinking about it now? Don’t give it the power to come back. It’s gone. Leave it in your past.”
“It…It took years of therapy with her to get me…To get me to stop having that dream…And…And that’s when I finally started to feel calm and normal again…And…And if it comes back now, I…I don’t even know what that means…”
“It won’t come back, Zvi. Just use the techniques she taught you to calm your mind. Just try to stay positive.”
“I…I’ll try…Bu…But what if it comes back anyway, when I’m here on the sub?”
Jacob put his hands on Zvi’s arms and held them tightly. “I’m right here next to you on this sub, Zvi. Always. You’re like my brother. Don’t ever forget that.”
“I…I…I know you are…Th…Thanks, Jacob.”
Jacob and Zvi came from two families so intimately and tightly bound – first by a warm friendship and then by a horrific tragedy – that it was no wonder the two men were like close siblings long before they decided to try out for the submarine force together. Their fathers had worked together as physicians in the emergency medicine department of Rambam Hospital, treating Arabs and Jews in the largest medical center in northern Israel.
