SCUBAHUB
Commercial divers cautioned for fraud
Two offshore commercial divers have had their diving qualifications withdrawn , following an HSE investigation . The two men and the director of a commercial diving company have also received police cautions for fraud . In December 2022 , HSE received information that two divers from the Portsmouth area may have obtained their closed bell qualifications without the necessary prior diving experience . In order to work in the UK as a saturation , or closed bell , diver , a diver needs an approved qualification from one of just two dive schools - INPP in Marseille , France , and the Commercial Dive Academy in Tasmania . Concerned that their lack of experience could result in an offshore diving incident , HSE contacted both dive schools and obtained details of the dives submitted by the divers as part of their enrolment . Inspectors then followed this information up with several UK diving contractors . The director of the diving company in question was unable to provide records . Further investigation revealed that one of the divers had forged 10 dives to demonstrate he had 20 dives over 15m deep . These had been fraudulently stamped and signed by the director . The other diver had declared to the dive school he had 106 dives , 26 of which were deeper than 15m . However , the HSE could only find records of around 28 dives , only one of which was deeper than 15m . All three individuals admitted that they had made false entries into logbooks and received police cautions for fraud by false representation under the Fraud Act 2006 . “ You need diving experience to become a qualified closed bell diver and making it up could put your life and other divers at risk ,” said HSE diving inspector Phil Crombie . “ Closed bell courses cost over fifteen thousand pounds for a diver - and these divers have ended up losing that without gaining a qualification . It ’ s just fortunate that they weren ’ t involved in any accident or incident .”
Diving volunteers from Leeds , Dunoon and Edinburgh SACs
Seawilding a success , more to follow
BSAC DIVERS HAVE TAKEN PART IN A successful seagrass seed harvest on Loch Craignish on the west coast of Scotland .
Twelve members from Leeds , Dunoon and Edinburgh SACs helped BSAC ’ s environment partner Seawilding collect seagrass seeds during dives over the late August Bank Holiday weekend .
Seagrass meadows have been described as the most valuable coastal and marine ecosystems on the planet . They lock away carbon , provide an important habitat , protect our coasts and help to feed the planet . It has been estimated that up to 95 % of seagrass has been lost . Seawilding , a community led marine habitat restoration charity , is working to address this damage and this year they teamed up with BSAC divers to help out . The seeds used for restoration are harvested underwater by hand during a short period in late August / early September when they ripen . Across two days , the team of volunteer BSAC divers learnt about seagrass restoration and how to harvest seagrass seeds underwater .
Equipped with this knowledge , they undertook four dives , collecting more than 10,000 seeds , which has helped push Seawilding even closer to its target of harvesting 100,000 seeds in 2023 .
Seawilding ’ s Science and Survey Officer , Katherine Knight , declared the weekend a success . “ It was wonderful to have help from skilled BSAC divers in reaching our seed harvesting goal and lovely to see the divers buzzing from the dives and from being part of positive action for the ocean .
“ Given the success of this weekend , BSAC and Seawilding are keen to continue this partnership and provide activities for BSAC club members to get involved with marine conservation projects where their diving skills can add real value .”
BSAC and Seawilding are now planning another diving with a purpose weekend for the late August bank holiday weekend in 2024 . In the meantime , BSAC members can still get involved in the drive to restore the UK ’ s precious seabed , including taking part in Seawilding ’ s Great Seagrass Survey .
For more information on BSAC ’ s partnership with Seawilding and how to get involved go to bsac . com / great-seagrass-survey /
Volunteer divers assessing their seagrass ‘ haul ’
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