EPRON is a Russian language

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

 abbreviation for "Экспедиция подводных работ особого назначения", or "Special-Purpose Underwater Rescue Party". It was created in 1923 in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

for salvaging of sunken ships and existed until 1941.

EPRON raised 74 sunken ships with total deadweight about 25.000 GRT and rescued 36 more ships.

From 1941 EPRON was transferred to Soviet Navy and in 1942 was renamed to "Аварийно-спасательная служба ВМФ" - Rescue Service of Navy.