Occupational Dive Training

---

Occupational Dive Training Programs are intended to prepare divers with the qualifications, knowledge, and skills necessary to enter the commercial diving industry, and they can encompass a wide array of diving activities.

What is "Commercial Diving"?

Commercial diving may be considered any application of professional diving whereby a diver engages in underwater work for industrial, construction, engineering, maintenance, or other commercial purposes which are similar to work done out of the water, and where the diving is usually secondary to the work. This can include Public Safety Diving, Scientific Diving, and Media Production as well.

The primary procedural distinction between professional and recreational diving is that the recreational diver dives for enjoyment, and is responsible primarily for their own actions and safety, but may voluntarily accept limited responsibility for dive buddies. Whereas the professional diver is being paid to work (often hazardous), is part of a team of people with extensive responsibilities and obligations to each other, usually to an employer or client, and these responsibilities and obligations are formally defined in contracts, legislation, regulations, operations manuals, standing orders, and compulsory or voluntary codes of practice. Additionally, while the recreational diving industry is Self-Regulated, Occupational Diving, on the other hand, is governed by legal framework and industrial regulations.

Major applications of commercial diving include:

• Offshore Diving – Diving outside the territorial waters of a country
• Civil Engineering Diving – Diving in support of civil engineering projects and public works projects
• Underwater Construction – Industrial construction in an underwater environment
• Salvage Diving – Diving work associated with the recovery of vehicles, cargo, lost items, and structures
• Ships Husbandry Diving – Diving related to the maintenance and upkeep of ships, including calls for aid
• Military Diving – Diving as a member of a uniformed service for defense purposes
• Public Safety Diving – Diving as a member of a public rescue or police service
• Scientific Diving – Diving for the purpose of scientific study
• Occupational Media Production Diving – Diving to record images or video for scientific, industrial, or creative projects
• Hazmat Diving – Underwater diving in a known hazardous materials environment, including chemical and nuclear contaminated environments

The Occupational EANx Diver Course provides qualified candidates with the base working knowledge and skills necessary to work safely as an Occupational SCUBA Diver.

A list of required academics and practical requirements includes:

• Diving science
• Diving equipment and PPE used for occupational work
• Diving equipment maintenance and care
• Industrial standards
• Industrial safety
• Hazardous materials
• Regulations regarding occupational work underwater
• Communications and coordination
• Underwater hazards and awareness
• Environmental awareness and safety
• Underwater inspections and assessments
• Overhead and debris safety
• Hoists, cranes, and cables
• Rigging and lifting
• Lift bags
• Cable, line, and tether management
• Structural stability, density, suction, and lifting requirements
• Maintenance practices and common tools
• Specialty underwater tools
• Basic underwater imaging and videography
• Documentation and reports
• Emergency procedures
• and more.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• MSD Certified
• Divers Alert Network (DAN) – DFA Pro certified
• EANx Nitrox Certified
• Dry Suit Certified
• Full Face Mask Certified
• Spatial Disorientation Trained
• Candidates must have good swimming skills, including a good development of basic swim strokes, and pass a Class 2 Swim Test prior to being allowed to enroll in the course.
• Mastery of Core Skills for diving
• It is STRONGLY recommended that students have at least 200 logged dives, considerable experience as a diver, and have spent time practicing basic and advanced level skills on each dive, before considering enrolling in this course. Including: neutral buoyancy, breathing, finning, navigation, dive planning, gas management, understanding dive science, use of equipment, etc.
• Candidates must have the ability to remain calm in stressful situations on shore, in the water on the surface, and underwater.

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. Students may include the purchase of all required equipment, or equipment they are missing, as a part of course enrollment. A Minimum Required Equipment list will be provided upon course registration.

Students MUST receive a diving medical examination from a hyperbaric physician or equivalent, and MUST turn in the completed and signed medical questionnaire available for download at the bottom of this page, before enrollment.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Occupational EANx Diver (Unrestricted to 40m) certification from the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD), and they will be authorized to work in the commercial industry as an Occupational EANx SCUBA Diver.

The Surface Supplied Diver course provides the qualified Occupational EANx Diver candidate with the base knowledge and skills necessary to safely operate surface-supplied systems for occupational diving use.

A list of required academics and practical requirements includes:

• Low pressure and high pressure compressors
• Compressor operations and safety
• Air quality and contamination
• Air Discharge Volume and compressor pressure requirements
• Sub-tanks and bank systems
• Hoses, lines, and umbilical systems
• Regulations regarding occupational work underwater
• Hazards associated with surface supplied diving
• Safety requirements for supplied operations
• Communications and coordination
• Team positions required for supplied diving operations
• Pre-dive, through dive, and post-dive checks
• Line tending and topside support operations
• Hose, line, or umbilical management
• Regulators, masks, and helmets for surface-supplied use
• Breathing resistance adjustment and flow rates
• Bailout systems and gas management
• Emergency procedures
• and more.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• MSD Certified
• Divers Alert Network (DAN) – DFA Pro certified
• EANx Nitrox Certified
• Dry Suit Certified
• Full Face Mask Certified
• Spatial Disorientation Trained
• Occupational EANx Diver Certified
• Candidates must have good swimming skills, including a good development of basic swim strokes, and pass a Class 2 Swim Test prior to being allowed to enroll in the course.
• Mastery of Core Skills for diving
• It is STRONGLY recommended that students have at least 200 logged dives, considerable experience as a diver, and have spent time practicing basic and advanced level skills on each dive, before considering enrolling in this course. Including: neutral buoyancy, breathing, finning, navigation, dive planning, gas management, understanding dive science, use of equipment, etc.
• Candidates must have the ability to remain calm in stressful situations on shore, in the water on the surface, and underwater.

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. Students may include the purchase of all required equipment, or equipment they are missing, as a part of course enrollment. A Minimum Required Equipment list will be provided upon course registration.

Students MUST receive a diving medical examination from a hyperbaric physician or equivalent, and MUST turn in the completed and signed medical questionnaire available for download at the bottom of this page, before enrollment.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Surface Supplied Diver (Unrestricted to 50m) certification from the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD), and they will be authorized to work in the commercial industry as an Occupational Surface Supplied Diver.

Occupational media production divers perform underwater photography and underwater cinematography for commercial use outside of normal recreational interests. Media diving is often carried out in support of television documentaries and movies, but also for scientific diving, commercial / occupational diving, and for educational use as well.

Equipment in this field is varied with both SCUBA and surface supplied equipment used depending on requirements and environmental conditions. Open circuit SCUBA and surface-supplied systems are primarily used for commercial operations, and rebreathers are increasingly more common in use for wildlife related work, as they are quiet, release few or no bubbles, and allow the diver a lengthy bottom time with a reduced risk of frightening off the subject.

A list of required academics and practical requirements includes:

• Underwater hazards and awareness
• Environmental awareness and safety
• Photography and videography basics
• The "Art" and "Science" of photography
• Lighting and filters for underwater images
• Cameras, video recorders, housings, and associated equipment
• Camera settings and lighting techniques
• Equipment weight and the diver
• Inspection and documentary work and techniques
• Diver skills and techniques for image capture quality
• Digital editing and post-production
• and more.

The minimum age for this course is:

• 18 years or older.

The minimum prerequisites for this course are:

• MSD Certified
• Divers Alert Network (DAN) – DFA Pro certified
• EANx Nitrox Certified
• Dry Suit Certified
• Full Face Mask Certified
• Spatial Disorientation Trained
• Occupational EANx Diver Certified
• Candidates must have good swimming skills, including a good development of basic swim strokes, and pass a Class 2 Swim Test prior to being allowed to enroll in the course.
• Mastery of Core Skills for diving
• It is STRONGLY recommended that students have at least 200 logged dives, considerable experience as a diver, and have spent time practicing basic and advanced level skills on each dive, before considering enrolling in this course. Including: neutral buoyancy, breathing, finning, navigation, dive planning, gas management, understanding dive science, use of equipment, etc.
• Candidates must have the ability to remain calm in stressful situations on shore, in the water on the surface, and underwater.

Students must supply their own equipment, and all equipment must meet safety requirements. Students may include the purchase of all required equipment, or equipment they are missing, as a part of course enrollment. A Minimum Required Equipment list will be provided upon course registration.

Students MUST receive a diving medical examination from a hyperbaric physician or equivalent, and MUST turn in the completed and signed medical questionnaire available for download at the bottom of this page, before enrollment.

Course graduates will receive a lifetime internationally recognized Occupational Media Production Diver certification from the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD), and they will be authorized to work in the commercial industry as an Occupational Media Production Diver.