Commercial offshore diving
Commercial offshore diving, sometimes shortened to just offshore diving, is a branch of commercial diving, with divers working in support of the exploration and production sector of the oil and gas industry in places such as the Gulf of Mexico in the United States, the North Sea in the United Kingdom and Norway, and along the coast of Brazil. The work in this area of the industry includes maintenance of oil platforms and the building of underwater structures.
Equipment used for offshore diving tends to be surface supplied equipment but this varies[citation needed] according to the work and location. For instance, divers in the Gulf of Mexico may use wetsuits whilst North Sea divers need drysuits or even hot water suits because of the low temperature of the water.[1]
Saturation diving is standard practice at many of the deeper offshore sites, and allows more effective use of the diver's time while reducing the risk of decompression sickness.[1]
The first commercial offshore saturation dive was performed by Westinghouse in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Betsy in March 1966.[2] Not long after, in 1970, saturation diving in the North Sea at Ekofisk commenced.[3]
Risks
A 7 December 2013 Verdens Gang editorial said that "According to the divers' own numbers, 66 divers died while on duty during the pioneering age" in the North Sea with the first commercial diving casualty occurring as early as October 2, 1967.[4] One notable accident in 1983 aboard the Byford Dolphin claimed the life of five divers.[5]
Litigation in Norway's sector
A 2013 European Court of Human Rights verdict said that the [pioneer] divers were "in a situation risking their lives and health when they took on the dangerous job. The government should have taken [occupational] safety measures. But on the contrary. The tables that showed how fast the divers were to [come to the] surface after a dive, were held secret by the companies. Faster surfacing resulted in a cheaper dive, but also increased the risk. The government's control and follow-up was too poor."[6] (In Norway's sector of the North Sea, 17 divers died during a 20 year-period from 1967 — 11 individuals were British.[citation needed] In 2013 Aftenposten said that "During the pioneering period, most of the [oil] companies used (forholdt seg til) dive tables based on research by U.S. Navy. The dive tables were supposed to ensure that the divers avoided so called bends. The problem was that the U.S tables were formulated for divers during a transportation phase in a crisis situation. Not for shift work over several hours. The tables were also created for survival possibilities during an acute (akutt) evacuation—not necessarily concerning oneself with issues of long-term health. Authors Kristin Øye Gjerde and Helge Ryggvik indicate that several international companies often competed in pressing (å presse) the tables further. Status was acquired by beating the records. Effectivity (effektivitet) put [more] money in the till."[7])
Aftenposten also claimed that "The first trade union came in 1977";[8] Teknisk Ukeblad says that divers first joined the trade union in 1978.[5]
On 1 July 1978 a set of "temporary rules" [for diving] were instituted—12 years after diving had started and 11 years after the first serious[8] accident.
Furthermore, "According to the Lossius Commission (a fact-finding commission ordered by the Cabinet in 2000) around 3 of 4 divers had accidents or diving related illnesses. Over half had bends, and 83% encountered life-endangering situations while diving."[8]
Norway's government has claimed responsibility for pioneering divers on a moral and political foundation, without taking a judicial responsibility for medical injuries.[8]
80 applicants, out of 340, have been denied governmental compensation for pioneering divers.[8]
In 2013 in the European Court of Human Rights three commercial divers won their case against Norway. (In 2012 European Court of Human Rights stated it will try the case of three commercial divers that lost their case in Norway's supreme court in 2010.[9][10] The court had not concluded[11] in the case, as of August 2013.)
References
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- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "2013movie14" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "2013movie14" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "2013movie14" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "2013movie14" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ http://www.dagbladet.no/2012/06/27/nyheter/nordsjodykkere/strasbourg/22304574/
- ↑ http://e24.no/lov-og-rett/pionerdykkerne-faar-saken-opp-i-strasbourg/20247370
- ↑ En oljenasjons skitne fødsel [An oil nation's filthy birth]
External links
- Offshore diver web site
- – Pionértiden var «vill vest»
- – Vårt siste håp er Strasbourg
- Den virkelige pionéren
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