Commercial Diver

Pipelines, cables and bridges. What do these things have in common? They can all be found within our waterways and like other structures they need to be built, maintained and repaired. Commercial divers perform underwater activities related to construction, inspection, search, salvage, repair and photography. They work inland in rivers, lakes and canals or offshore in harbors and oceans. They may use specialized equipment such as diving helmets, underwater cutting torches, underwater welding equipment, wet-suits, dry-suits, hot water heated suits, diving bells, decompression chambers, full face masks and air compressors.

Commercial diving is a mentally and physically demanding occupation. It is necessary that divers have a good understanding of the physiological and psychological effects of pressure, such as burst lung syndrome and decompression sickness. They must be strong and able to think well under pressure and in adverse weather conditions. Divers must also know how to interpret blueprint information and plan and execute a successful dive.

There are diving rules to be followed: they must dive in teams, with someone monitoring from land or from a boat or submarine. Often, paramedics stand by in case of any emergencies. When working in dangerous or difficult areas, or when conducting a search for lost property or bodies, they plan the dive before they jump, use scuba-diving equipment, and restrict their searches to small areas -- only searching about 150 ot 300 feet at a time. Using maps, they sweep the areas, while attached to a tether. They must be meticulous about their work, ensuring that all points on the map have been covered before calling an end to the search.

On any given day commercial divers can be found installing or repairing pipelines in a local canal or taking pictures of structures using special photographic equipment. It may sound like fun, but sometimes divers are called upon to perform less than desirable tasks such as working in sewage treatment facilities, taking bottom samples, and inspecting and repairing plumbing systems. Divers are also called on for search and rescue missions and are responsible for locating bodies under the water or ice.



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Commercial Diver

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