Soldiers in the deep-diving pot

Every submariner in the navy knows Neustadt in Holstein. For decades, submariners have been training here for emergencies.

The men wear swimming trunks and blue bathrobes. They walk across the tiled floor in slippers. The air in the building is warm and the water is around 30 degrees. But they are not going for a swim at eight o'clock on a Thursday morning, they are practising for an emergency. They are soldiers from the German Navy: seven submariners and their instructors.

The place: the Marine Damage Prevention Training Centre, abbreviated to EAZS M. It is located in Neustadt in Holstein on the Baltic Sea. At the EAZS M, soldiers learn how to fight fires on ships or seal leaks. Here and now, the scenario is different: climbing out of a damaged submarine.