Anchor drop failure resulting in loss of anchor has been added as a related post - related requested by makach on that post.

ugg, that sound

The thumbnail image for this video has been updated - thumbnail added by Mordhaus.

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I have questions.

1: did they just leave the anchor they tested on the seabed? Clean up your fucking shit, dickbags!

2: how does this actually work? Is it just a big blade or is it something cleverer (freezing it first, etc)?

Yes, it's blades. This video shows how it works. https://controlcutter.com/news-posts/video-control-cutter-oil-rig/

1. Maybe:

"Operations can again proceed after the chain or wire has been retrieved from the seabed."

Presumably the anchor is impractical to retrieve and just becomes new seabed.

And that's fine in an emergency situation. Well, it's not fine, but it's acceptable.

I'd like to think they'd make an effort to retrieve it while testing or demonstrating though.

In situations where ships voluntarily leave an anchor behind, they typically attach a strong line (heavy rope or light chain) to part of it and a buoy. This way they can easily find it and haul up the tail again (or send divers down with a new line).