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Insuring different gas-based diving equipment

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Insuring different gas-based diving equipment

The devices divers use in regular operations should be included incommercial diving insurance so they can be repaired or replaced if they malfunction during use. Of the different setups available, the United States Navy often uses Fly-Away Mixed Gas System for diving and salvage operations, according to the Maritime Examiner. Any dive team will likely rely on using different kinds of equipment together, including helmets, suits, tanks and actuators.

On its official website, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) lists some of the related terms pertaining to mixed-gas diving, scuba and surface-supplied air diving techniques. A commercial diver could carry reserve breathing gas with them, and a separate air source could also be left at a dive location that isn’t intended as the primary supply. Whatever method they use, divers could be more comfortable knowing they and their equipment are protected with a specific and broadly-reaching insurance policy.

Advances in technology may have an impact on the types of equipment professional divers prefer as systems become more sophisticated. The Maritime Executive reports that the Navy is actually developing a new type of diving apparatus that could eventually help military divers go 600 feet underwater and allow them increased response time. The source quotes Dr. John Camperman of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, who described exactly how this could affect dive operations for the better.

“The new system modifies the current helmet and rebreather. Prototype analysis and testing have shown that drastic reduction in helium consumption is possible,” he said. “Testing of the new prototype system indicates that the full range of FMGS diving is supportable within Navy life support requirements, and that several life support characteristics are improved, including extended emergency come-home gas duration.”

In any case, the systems divers rely on to survive when submerged can be insured so contractors can meet all of the possible damage costs.

 

 

 

Source

Technical Diving Overview

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Technical Diving Overview

What is Technical Diving?

Technical diving can be defined as: diving other than conventional commercial, military or scientific diving, that takes divers beyond recreational diving limits. It is further defined as an activity that includes one or more of the following: diving beyond 40 meters/130 feet, required stage or accelerated decompression, diving in an overhead environment beyond 130 linear feet from the surface and/or the use of multiple gas mixtures in a single dive

Because technical diving exceeds the scope of recreational diving, technical divers require advanced training, extensive experience, specialized equipment and often utilize breathing gases other than air or standard nitrox.

The Need for Credible Instruction!

Talk to any experienced technical diver and they will assure you that, when it comes to technical diving, the quality, specific -active- experience and motivation of an instructor is everything.

In an era of fast-track ‘zero-to-hero’ technical instructor courses, the prospective student needs to be extremely discerning in their selection of a training provider and mentor.

With 20+ years of diving experience, across 5 continents, specializing in technical wreck diving, qualifications from multiple technical agencies and a pedigree as a technical diving author and course designer; you can be assured of receiving the most comprehensive, world-class instruction and the highest of standards.

I dive sidemount, technical and wreck… day-in, day-out… and have done so for a very long time…and I live to teach!

Available Technical Diving Courses

Pre-Tech Foundations Clinic

The Pre-Tech Foundations Clinic is an in-house, personally tailored development clinic that aims to provide divers with an excellent standard of core scuba capabilities, such as precision gas management, advanced dive planning, situational awareness, buoyancy, trim, weighting, control and propulsion skills. This can be completed in single-tank, for recreational divers seeking refined skills, or in double-tank (back-mount or sidemount) for those seeking to effectively prepare for technical diving training. It is a flexible program, adaptive to the student’s particular needs – and therefore is not a formal qualification course.

Tec Basics

The Tec Basics Specialty Course exists for recreational divers interested in understanding the basics of technical diving, with a view to full qualification at a later date. It provides an academic and practical insight into the world of technical diving, which also provides significant benefits for improving recreational diving capability. This is a recreational level certification course.

Tec Sidemount

The Tec Sidemount Course offers divers the ability to conduct subsequent technical training using sidemount configuration equipment, or to convert from back-mount technical diving onto sidemount. It is an optional extra – otherwise, standard back-mounted cylinders are used for all technical courses. Training is available through TecRec (PADI) and ANDI.

Tec Deep Diver Program

The Tec Deep Diver program includes three courses which you can take separately or together depending upon your requirements, level of diving experience and training. These courses are the Tec 40, Tec 45 and Tec 50. No more than 2 students are permitted on a single course.

 

Tec Wreck Diver

The Tec Wreck Diver Course exists for qualified technical divers (Tec45/Advanced Nitrox and above) who wish to develop deep wreck penetration skills at an advanced level. It is an overhead protocols course, focused on line-laying, risk mitigation and emergency procedures appropriate for complex and demanding wreck penetrations.

Certification is also available through ANDI.

 

Advanced Sidemount (Overhead Environments) Diver

The Advanced Sidemount (Overhead) Course exists for qualified Full Cave or Technical Wreck sidemount divers  who wish to develop multi-stage and confined environment/restrictions passage skills at a very advanced level. It is an overhead protocols course, focused on team approaches to extended penetrations and skills to safely pass through small spaces.

 

Certification is also available through ANDI.

For more details, or to discuss your training requirements, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Read/Download the PDF Tech Courses Brochure

 

Source

Rapp Marine Subsea Crane for Otto Candies

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Rapp Marine Subsea Crane for Otto Candies

Rapp Marine has secured a contract with Otto Candies LLC to deliver a 150 ton AHC crane for one of their vessels.

Currently, Rapp Marine has delivered around 450 cranes, however, according to the company, this is the largest crane Rapp Marine has engineered and built to date.

Rapp Marine U.S. CEO, Johann Sigurjonsson, says: “We’re excited for the new challenge presented to us by Otto Candies LLC. Our extensive track record in engineering, manufacturing, and servicing heavy lift deck machinery and marine cranes equips us to develop an impressive crane for the market.”

The crane will be capable of lifting 150 tons at 17 meters. With Active Heave Compensation and a winch capable of storing 3,100 meters of 77 mm wire rope, the crane will be fully outfitted for subsea operation. The crane model was designed by Rapp Marine’s engineer Helge Stakkeland out of Norway.

“Rapp Marine plans on this crane being the first of many cranes capable of lifting heavy loads for offshore vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world. Rapp Marine has maintained a working relationship with Otto Candies LLC for many years, providing Electric Active Heave Compensated heavy lift winches as well as service support for several of Otto Candies’ vessels,” said the company in a statement.

SEA-US Submarine Cable Construction Begins

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SEA-US Submarine Cable Construction Begins

A global consortium of telecommunications companies, formed to build and operate the South-East Asia – United States (SEA-US) submarine cable system, announced the start of construction for the landmark project, the first to directly connect Indonesia and the United States.

NEC Corporation and NEC Corporation of America are the system suppliers for the US $250 million project that is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The SEA-US system will link the five areas and territories of Manado in Indonesia, Davao in Southern Philippines; Piti in the territory of Guam; as well as Honolulu (on the island of Oahu), Hawaii; and Los Angeles, California in the continental U.S. The system will be approximately 15,000 kilometers in length.

The cable system will provide an initial 20 terabit per second (Tb/s) capacity, with 100 Gigabit per second (Gb/s) technology.

The SEA-US consortium consists of PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin), Globe Telecom, RAM Telecom International (RTI), Hawaiian Telcom, Teleguam Holdings (GTA), GTI Corporation (a member of the Globe Telecom group of companies) and Telkom USA.

Syarif Syarial Ahmad , President Director of Telin stated, “This cable construction is significant as it is one of the biggest milestones for Indonesia’s rapid growth in communications and it demonstrates Telin’s commitment to providing Indonesia consumers with state of the art global infrastructure development. Our objective is now closer with SEA-US given that it is the first cable system with direct connection from Indonesia to USA, where most of the Internet’s content is sourced.”

Gil Genio,  Globe Telecom Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer pointed out that, “The SEA-US project will enable Globe to play a major role in providing superior connectivity for consumers and businesses in the Philippines to connect to the U.S. Our link-up with the SEA-US cable system will serve the exponential growth of mobile Internet use in our country, enabling the Filipino digital lifestyle and wonderful experience for our customers and businesses.”

He added that, “this development will also benefit the outsourcing and offshoring industry, including major contact centers, business process outsourcing providers, global financial institutions and a host of other multinationals that require very large bandwidth as the Philippines has become the preferred destination for these companies.”

Russ Matulich, Chief Executive Officer of RTI stated, “SEA-US will enable RTI to meet the diverse needs of telecommunications carriers, large multinational enterprises, content providers and government entities looking to connect over 1.5 billion business and consumers in the Southeast Asia region. RTI is proud to work with industry leading partners to build what will be the fastest cable connecting Southeast Asia with the United States. SEA-US’s essential Asia-US route diversity, lower latency and onward connectivity options via Hawaii and Guam will enable RTI to offer unmatched services to transpacific connectivity customers.”

“Today’s announcement signals the beginning of a truly vital project that will facilitate economic opportunity and growth for Hawaii’s residents and businesses,” said Eric K. Yeaman, Hawaiian Telcom’s president and CEO. “Hawaii is no different from the rest of the world in its need and desire for more bandwidth and the SEA-US system will ensure our trans-Pacific capacity needs are met both now and well into the future.”

Robert Haulbook, GTA president and chief executive officer, said, “GTA is excited about this consortium. With this system, collectively, we are well positioned to meet the growing demand for increased bandwidth and strengthening our position to enhance overall network redundancy. Guam plays a vital role, and we look forward to SEA-US meeting capacity needs of all users in our areas.”

“As one of the world’s top vendors of submarine cable systems,  NEC is honored to begin construction on this new 100G trans-oceanic submarine cable system that will span nearly 15,000 kilometers,” saidNaoki Yoshida, General Manager of NEC’s Submarine Network Division. “This cable promises to expand connectivity and capacity as well as contribute to the economies of Southeast Asia and the U.S. The construction of this advanced system enables NEC to capitalize on more than 40 years of experience, laying over 200,000 kilometers of submarine cable infrastructure and contributing to worldwide communications. Through this undertaking, NEC will continue to dedicate its strength to the development of telecommunication infrastructure in these regions and other countries across the globe.”

Tasks and Duties

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Tasks and Duties
  • Carry out non-destructive testing such as tests for cracks on the legs of oil rigs at sea.
  • Check and maintain diving equipment such as helmets, masks, air tanks, harnesses and gauges.
  • Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones.
  • Cut and weld steel, using underwater welding equipment, jigs, and supports.
  • Descend into water with the aid of diver helpers, using scuba gear or diving suits.
  • Inspect and test docks, ships, bouyage systems, plant intakes and outflows, and underwater pipelines, cables, and sewers, using closed circuit television, still photography, and testing equipment.
  • Install pilings or footings for piers and bridges.
  • Install, inspect, clean, and repair piping and valves.
  • Obtain information about diving tasks and environmental conditions.
  • Operate underwater video, sonar, recording, and related equipment to investigate underwater structures or marine life.
  • Perform activities related to underwater search and rescue, salvage, recovery, and cleanup operations.
  • Perform offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction duties such as conducting underwater surveys and repairing and maintaining drilling rigs and platforms.
  • Recover objects by placing rigging around sunken objects, hooking rigging to crane lines, and operating winches, derricks, or cranes to raise objects.
  • Remove obstructions from strainers and marine railway or launching ways, using pneumatic and power hand tools.
  • Repair ships, bridge foundations, and other structures below the water line, using caulk, bolts, and hand tools.
  • Salvage wrecked ships and/or their cargo, using pneumatic power velocity and hydraulic tools, and explosive charges when necessary.
  • Set or guide placement of pilings and sandbags to provide support for structures such as docks, bridges, cofferdams, and platforms.
  • Take appropriate safety precautions, such as monitoring dive lengths and depths, and registering with authorities before diving expeditions begin.
  • Take test samples and photographs to assess the condition of vessels and structures.
  • Drill holes in rock, and rig explosives for underwater demolitions.
  • Remove rubbish and pollution from the sea.
  • Cultivate and harvest marine species, and perform routine work on fish farms.
  • Set up dive sites for recreational instruction.
  • Supervise and train other divers, including hobby divers.

 

Source

Harkand Nets Diving Support Contract in Mexico

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Harkand Nets Diving Support Contract in Mexico

Harkand has secured a USD 5 million contract in Mexico to perform saturation diving services in support of an offshore pipeline project for offshore construction company Swiber Offshore Mexico S.A de C.V.

The global subsea inspection, repair, maintenance, and light construction company has recently finalised a joint venture with Arena Servicios de Mexico, a local Mexican company involved in infrastructure projects as their exclusive vehicle to deliver services in Mexico.

Harkand Arena will complete a wide ranging scope of work, including the installation of risers and expansion spools to the Ayatsil Field located in the waters of Campeche Sound. This project will be performed utilising a portable saturation diving system to be provided by Harkand onboard the client’s vessel. The project includes an option to utilise Harkand’s DSV Swordfish.

All onshore support including the project management and engineering will be performed by Harkand Arena personnel from Harkand’s new office in Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico, the company informed.

Eduardo Borja, Arena’s Director said, “We have worked diligently over the past 10 years as owner’s representative for large infrastructure projects. Our interest in expanding into offshore projects brought us to Harkand, a company with a clear direction of becoming the leading IRM and light construction contractor. Harkand has the assets and more importantly the people with the knowledge, experience and reputation of providing innovative and cost-effective solutions to the complex projects this industry brings to the table.”

Managing director for Harkand North America and Africa, AJ Jain said, “This is a significant contract win for us, not only as our first under the Harkand Arena name, but it also represents our clients’ confidence in our growing diving division team and their combined experience.”

Barlow: from sea to Erc

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Barlow: from sea to Erc
Marine engineer Fergus Barlow will make his FIA European Rally Championship debut on this weekend’s Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally.

Sailing the seven seas limits Fergus’s rallying opportunities – but on dry land, the qualified commercial diver showed his true potential behind the steering wheel by taking a hired Ford Fiesta R2 to 1st in class and 7th overall on his home Mull Rally last year.

Fergus takes advice and inspiration from fellow ERC Junior driver Jon Armstrong (Armstrong Motorsport will run his Fiesta R2 in Ireland) and fellow Scottish hard-charger John MacCrone; indeed John’s brother Alistair MacCrone co-drives for Fergus.

Having raced karts for nine years, Fergus hopes his smooth Tarmac driving style will help him on the high-speed lanes of Northern Ireland.

“The Circuit of Ireland will be my first international rally, my first time in the ERC and, except for a small single-venue event, my first time in Ireland, so it’s very much in at the deep end,” admitted Fergus. “After finishing first in class and seventh overall on the Mull Rally last year, I spent four months in the Indian Ocean working as a merchant seaman and thinking about my next rally adventure – and this is it!”

Source

Brazil Comptroller Probes Five More Contractors In Petrobras Scandal

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Brazil Comptroller Probes Five More Contractors In Petrobras Scandal

Brazil’s office of the comptroller general on Wednesday said it added another five construction and engineering firms to an investigation of contractors that allegedly participated in a corruption ring at state-run oil company Petrobras.

The investigation now includes Techint Engenharia e Construções Ltda, NM Engenharia e Construções Ltda, Construcap CCPS Engenharia e Comércio SA, Niplan Engenharia SA, and Jaraguá Equipamentos Industriais Ltda, the agency known as CGU said in a statement.

A total of 29 of Brazil’s top builders are under investigation for suspected overpricing of contracts in a multibillion-dollar scheme that funneled bribes to Petrobras executives and politicians. The case may exclude the companies from new contracts with Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the oil company is formally known, and lead to fines and other penalties. The CGU said it may still expand the investigation to cover more companies.

Brazil’s biggest-ever corruption scandal is rippling through various sectors of the national economy, threatening to stall major infrastructure projects as so many engineering firms come under investigation. 

 

 

Source

ESS Profits Driven by Focus on Green Energy Market

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ESS Profits Driven by Focus on Green Energy Market

Ecosse Subsea Systems (ESS) has recorded profit of £3.4 million and generated revenue of £15.6 million, according to its latest published accounts.

According to the Aberdeenshire-based subsea engineering specialist, revenue increased by 88% due to the ESS’ diversification from its traditional oil and gas market into renewables and interconnectors.

The drivers for ESS’ most successful trading year to date was a £5.4 million contract on the Baltic 2 windfarm offshore Germany and a multi-million pound cable-lay contract on behalf of an European utilities provider in the Humber Estuary.

Last month ESS also announced it had signed a Letter of Intent with ABB to provide seabed clearing and trenching services on the 100-mile £1.2 billion Caithness-Moray electricity transmission link project, which could end up as the company’s largest ever contract award.

ESS managing director, Mike Wilson, said: “The results are extremely encouraging and confirm that our technologies are equally suited to and easily transferable between the oil and gas sector, which is where we cut our teeth, and the green energy market. Added to that, we have just won our first contract in the interconnector sector and we hope success on the Caithness-Moray project will lead the way to further awards in this field.”

Wilson said other parts of the business, including its engineering consultancy and personnel recruitment arms, had enjoyed a successful year and added significantly to the bottom line, while continued investment in new technologies was now bearing fruit.

He added: “We benefited greatly from research and development in our technologies starting to come through, and recognition from clients that we have developed a suite of tools which deliver measurable time and cost savings.

“Diversification is paying off for us as can be seen in these latest financial results and we will continue to look for new opportunities in other markets, including oil and gas and interconnector projects in Arctic waters where we have already received some interest.”

Wilson noted that ESS had already suffered from the effects of a low oil price with the cancellation of a number of oil and gas projects and said that while 2015 turnover would increase on the previous year, that margins would be tighter.

He added: “With a healthy balance sheet and debt-free status, we are in a strong position to counter the challenges facing the oil and gas industry while capitalising on new opportunities in other markets.”

Chevron Executive VP of Upstream to Retire

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Chevron Executive VP of Upstream to Retire

Chevron has confirmed that George L. Kirkland, vice chairman and executive vice president, Upstream, will retire from the company, effective June 15. He will be succeeded by James W. (Jay) Johnson, as executive vice president, Upstream, effective June 16.

“George’s business acumen and deep operational knowledge of our industry have helped create enormous value for Chevron and our shareholders over many years,” said John Watson, chairman and CEO. “I am confident our track record of success in the upstream will continue under Jay’s leadership, as his broad base of experience has prepared him well for the job.”

Kirkland, 64, joined Chevron in 1974. He was named executive vice president of Upstream in 2005 and elected vice chairman in 2010. During his career he has held numerous assignments across the company’s worldwide operations, including leadership roles in Indonesia and Nigeria, as well as president of the North America and international upstream businesses.

Johnson, 56, joined Chevron in 1981 and has been senior vice president of Upstream since the beginning of 2014. Previously, Johnson was president of Chevron’s Europe, Eurasia and Middle East Exploration and Production Company and managing director of its Eurasia business unit, responsible for upstream and transportation activities in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey. Johnson also was managing director of Chevron’s Australasia business unit, responsible for exploration and planning for the development of the Wheatstone and Greater Gorgon area gas fields. Past positions also include work in production operations, major capital projects, shipping and strategic planning.

Watson also announced that effective with Kirkland’s retirement, Joseph C. (Joe) Geagea is appointed executive vice president of Technology, Projects and Services (TPS).

TPS includes a number of key functional groups that support the enterprise with services such as major capital project development; drilling and upstream base business operations; energy and information technology; health, environment and safety; procurement, and workforce development.

Geagea, 55, joined the company in 1982. He has been senior vice president of TPS since the beginning of 2014. Previously, he was president of Chevron’s Gas and Midstream group, managing director of the company’s Asia South business unit and president of downstream operations in East Africa, the Middle East and Pakistan.

Both Johnson and Geagea will report to Watson.

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