Missing Divers, Why?
By Alan Edwards on 18 September 2008
Why are divers going missing in this modern age of technology? Why can we phone someone on the other side of the world but we can’t raise an alarm signal to a boat above us, or our buddy? Diving is expensive, we spend each a small fortune making ourselves as comfortable as possible in our favourite leisure environment. Why is it that we do not put the same effort into technology that would really make a difference to diver safety?
Again training agencies should be taking a lead here and be at thecutting edge of developing such technology. If manufactures such as AP Valves can work to develop training programmes for their Rebreathers, why can’t training agencies work with the current manufactures of such devices so that we can have access to this technology? Once courses were set up these would bring in revenue whilst helping diving safety and projecting a new attitude to diver safety to the rest of the world.
We have built all our safety procedures around the main precepts:
- Diving within your limits
- The Buddy system
- Decompression software
- Self Rescue (self reliance)
- Rescue after identifying a distressed diver
The fact is we can never prepare ourselves for all eventualities under water, many well known experienced divers have gone missing and now presumed dead. I think its about time we all looked at the use of technology to help avoid such eventualities.
Until the advent of Rebreather Diving, diving equipment had changed little over the last 40 years, other than improved design and manufacture. With Rebreathers, divers can now spend much more time in the water and go much deeper. Unfortunately improved approaches to safety have not caught up with the new design and we are literally dying of ignorance.
Where can technology help
By it’s very definition a missing diver is missing when they cannot be located and have not met prearranged deadlines for the dive. An electronic device, which pinpoints the location of a diver on the surface who has signalled distress, can make the difference between a live missing diver and a dead missing diver. Whilst thinking about this article I read the Diver Magazine article reporting the inquest of a diver who went missing inside a Scapa Flow wreck. The Diver has penetrated a wreck with a group and the wreck had got silted up. It is not know what happened to the diver, but it was likely that the diver had been unable to find the exit.
If you were in a wreck that was silted up, you would almost certainly experience panic. If you were able to raise the alarm by a push of a button, you would be able to alleviate the panic knowing others were aware of your distress. You could then focus on controlling the situation whilst help arrived.
In Shadow Divers, the tragic death of the Rouse family members highlights again where technology can help. When the young Chris Rouse had become trapped he had no way off signalling to his father of his predicament, and the father could only react after prearranged point when his son should have come out of the wreck. If his son could have raised the alarm sooner then they would have been less panicked by the time running out which ultimately lead to their deaths.
There are many scenarios where location and communication devices can help distressed divers. Many scenarios involving underwater emergencies involve small problems, which escalate to much larger problems when panic ensues. Distress can make a problem easily unmanageable. I have seen it myself and have also experienced it myself.
Locating a diver is a key problem in poor visibility. Yes there are full face masks which allow conversation, but these have their own safety problems and would provide little support in finding a diver in silted situation. It would be very easy also to panic another diver needlessly while they listen to your buddy struggling.
Surely technology such as this is worth investing in.
Technology solutions to Diver safety
A simple device which allows transmission of a distress signal, and monitoring from the surface boat would suffice, which also allows transmission of warning signal from the surface. Given the right training, properly integrated with standard safety procedures this would without doubt cut the number of divers that die.
Universal acceptance
Without universal acceptance of this concept it will never be affordable to the average diver and only be used by the military diving fraternity. Training agencies would need to be involved in educating divers on the technology, and in the design of technology.
Skippers too would also have to be involved in the design since they would be a fundamental part of the equipment use, being able to monitor divers from the boat and reacting to events UW in conjunction with standard coast guard rescue procedures. I have spoken with skippers who have experienced the loss of divers and they have been supportive of the concept.
There are currently solutions available on the market so the technology is already there. It’s not just available to a mass market yet. I love diving, but I don’t love the idea we are still classed as a dangerous sport when we can use what other dangerous sports use – improved technology to make our sport safer.
Contact
Author: Alan Edwards
Email: info@travel-dive.com
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