The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
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The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
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Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
#2been there. done that :)
not as dangerous as the article says. at least not the diving part. most of the injuries are people mishandling high-pressure systems (valves, plumbing), electrical hazards (water+electricity), gas leaks, burns ... basically anything that can go wrong on construction sites, but only you're out at sea exposed to the elements. those few times that accidents do happen with divers in a saturation chambers / diving bell (aka "in the bin") it's cited for decades. people are naturally scared of darkness, deep water. so when accidents do happen it makes for a gripping story told over and over. how else to pass time when you're waiting on the weather to get better on a rocky boat.
what's pretty cool is the survival training, e.g. practice escaping from a sinking helicopter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Z8sGRje90 I have seen big tough man in their 40ies panic and in tears trying to stay calm while the sinking helicopter fully floods, and you can't open the doors until the cabin is fully flooded.
Another good one: part of the course is simulation of a burning rig. they lock you into a warehouse heated to around 60-70°C breathing air with a gas-mask, full body safety clothes (the heat alone can make you panic), then you have to navigate through a metal maze with a buddy (you're linked to your sobbing partner over radio-comms), and it's pitch black. You are only allowed to get out together and if one of you it bucks up you start over. Fantastic character building and understanding your mental limits.
Sometimes I sit in front of my code thinking why did I get out of this job. I fought so hard to get there and gave it all up for computers & code. The truth is that most of the time offshore life is quite boring. Guess my boredom with software made me go into IoT since I get to mess with physical systems again.
Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
#3The decompression accident alluded to in the piece was the Byford Dolphin diving bell accident. The wikipedia description [1] contains this rather graphic paragraph:
> [...] Hellevik, being exposed to the highest pressure gradient and in the process of moving to secure the inner door, was forced through the 60 centimetres (24 in) diameter opening created by the jammed interior trunk door by escaping air and violently dismembered, including bisection of his thoracoabdominal cavity, which further resulted in expulsion of all of the internal organs of his chest and abdomen, except the trachea and a section of small intestine, and of the thoracic spine. These were projected some distance, one section later being found 10 metres (30 ft) vertically above the exterior pressure door.
Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
#4been there. done that :) not as dangerous as the article says. at least not the diving part. most of the injuries are people mishandling high-pressure systems (valves, plumbing), electrical hazards (water+electricity), gas leaks, burns ... basically anything that can go wrong on construction sites, but only you're out at sea exposed to the elements. those few times that accidents do happen with divers in a saturation…
This article was fascinating. It never mentioned pay, though. Do these people get paid really well after all this specialized training, and commitment?
Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
#5been there. done that :) not as dangerous as the article says. at least not the diving part. most of the injuries are people mishandling high-pressure systems (valves, plumbing), electrical hazards (water+electricity), gas leaks, burns ... basically anything that can go wrong on construction sites, but only you're out at sea exposed to the elements. those few times that accidents do happen with divers in a saturation…
This article was fascinating. It never mentioned pay, though. Do these people get paid really well after all this specialized training, and commitment?
> They needed his salary (not surprisingly, saturation divers are well-compensated, up to $1,400 per day), so his wife told him to finish the job.
Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
#6been there. done that :) not as dangerous as the article says. at least not the diving part. most of the injuries are people mishandling high-pressure systems (valves, plumbing), electrical hazards (water+electricity), gas leaks, burns ... basically anything that can go wrong on construction sites, but only you're out at sea exposed to the elements. those few times that accidents do happen with divers in a saturation…
The population is tiny which means even if the accident rate is low per time, the risk per diver is extremely high.
It depends on you benchmark, but people think of police officer as a dangerous job and they mostly die in car accidents.
Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
#7Are they unusually well-compensated for this sort of construction work?
Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
#8been there. done that :) not as dangerous as the article says. at least not the diving part. most of the injuries are people mishandling high-pressure systems (valves, plumbing), electrical hazards (water+electricity), gas leaks, burns ... basically anything that can go wrong on construction sites, but only you're out at sea exposed to the elements. those few times that accidents do happen with divers in a saturation…
The population is tiny which means even if the accident rate is low per time, the risk per diver is extremely high. It depends on you benchmark, but people think of police officer as a dangerous job and they mostly die in car accidents.
you're right of course. location also matters, e.g. it's far more dangerous in the Gulf of Mexico where you work with horrible equipment in an extremely deep location and little oversight. my point though was that it is dangerous but not for the reasons given. I have seen horrible accidents but none of them were under water or in decompression.
Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
This article was fascinating. It never mentioned pay, though. Do these people get paid really well after all this specialized training, and commitment?
> They needed his salary (not surprisingly, saturation divers are well-compensated, up to $1,400 per day), so his wife told him to finish the job.
I see from the article that salaries haven't changed much since the 90ies.
Re: The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver
#10Are they unusually well-compensated for this sort of construction work?
Probably not up to the risk, on average.