SUBSEA TECHNOLOGY
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perating out of sight, often isolated and in a dark and cold environment, commercial divers work in some of the most dangerous and extreme
conditions of any industry. T ey conduct complex operations even in the most hostile of settings, facing a plethora of potentially life-threatening risks. For this reason it is vital that HSE (Health Safety and Environment) is the primary focus for every organisation and corporation throughout all operations, and that divers have the utmost confi dence in the safety standards applied to all work carried out in a subsea environment. Given today’s economical challenges,
many divers operate as contractors to a range of companies and in a variety of regions, rather than as permanent employees to one company. As a result of this, safety provisions and emergency procedures can diff er for individual operations. Whether through accident or circumstance, the risks associated with any incident when operating subsea are of the highest degree and cannot be overstated. Reliable contingency measures need to be in place that cover all aspects of a safe rescue operation. T is encompasses all stages of safely returning divers to the shore, from the provision of an emergency gas supply through to safe decompression. Divers are experts in their fi eld and are trained to instantly recognise any signs of danger that may pose a risk to their lives or the lives of their fellow divers. However, the ability to successfully act upon these warning signs and conduct a safe rescue is almost entirely dependent on the capability and reliability of the equipment they are using, as well as the technologies they apply to provide the necessary contingency measures, should there be an incident.
REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT Regulatory requirements for the supply of emergency breathing gas vary depending on the governing body and the regions in which the divers are operating. In addition, considerations need to be made for the conditions that will impact the supply of emergency breathing gas, in particular operating depth. Even where there is a more stringent regulatory requirement for the minimum supply of emergency breathing gas, such as under NORSOK or IMCA D024 standards, it is not refl ective of the technological capability available in the market today. Until now the industry standard for the provision of emergency breathing gas
Maintenance work being conducted
has been limited to just a few minutes, depending on the method employed and the diver’s operating conditions. T is poses a signifi cant risk, particularly when working in extreme conditions. Indeed there have been incidents that have resulted in a near-miss and could easily have become a fatality due to inadequate emergency breathing gas supply. It is a critical industry challenge that cannot be left unmet. In line with this, and as a direct
response to the urgent need to drive signifi cant improvements in safety standards, JFD developed the compact bailout rebreathing apparatus (COBRA) rebreather set, which provides an advanced
emergency bailout provision that greatly extends the supply of emergency breathing gas, providing a supply of up to
33 minutes at a depth of 120m. Compared to conventional bailout methods such as the
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