SEA DIVER

Kursk Rescue Hits Snag

The Russian navy said a plan to raise the Kursk nuclear submarine from the bottom of the Barents Sea hit a snag when deep-sea divers had trouble cutting through the craft's hull. Vice Admiral Mikhail Motsak, coordinating the recovery operation, said on Russian television that an international team of divers had run into problems while making holes in the craft to affix cables and eventually haul the sub up. "Everything looked fine on paper and when testing the equipment on the surface. But under water everything turned out to be more complex because the company did not have their equipment tuned for the type of steel of our vessel." After a series of unexplained explosions, the Kursk sank last August with the loss of all 118 people on board. President Vladimir Putin has vowed to raise the craft and dispose of its nuclear reactors. The Russian navy is conducting the project with Dutch heavy transport firm Mammoet, salvage company Smit and Norwegian outfit Norse Cutting and Abandonment. Russia cannot afford serious delays to a salvage project it aims to complete by September 20, before severe winter weather again engulfs the Arctic site of the disaster. Igor Spassky, the head of the contractor, Rubin, which designed the Kursk, said on Friday that it would cost a total of about $130 million to raise the ship, with Mammoet and its partners receiving about $65 million. - (Reuters)

NAVSEA Divers Help Raise History

Naval Sea Systems Command divers, along with National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration divers lifted a piece of naval history out of 240 ft of water off the coast of Cape Hatteras . One hundred forty years after it's sinking, the Union ironclad Monitor is still making headlines. The 30-ton steam engine is once again in the spotlight as a $4.9 million recovery project successfully surfaces with the engine intact

NAVSEA Divers Help Raise History

Naval Sea Systems Command divers, along with National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration divers lifted a piece of naval history out of 240 feet of water off the coast of Cape Hatteras Monday. One hundred forty years after it's sinking, the Union ironclad Monitor is still making headlines. The 30-ton steam engine is once again in the spotlight as a $4.9 million recovery project successfully surfaces with the engine intact

An Exception to the Divers' Exception?

Divers' Rights under the Jones Act Continue to Depend on Jurisdiction By James P. Nader & Rudolph F. Lehrer An occupational study estimates that the number of commercial diving positions nationwide will grow to an anticipated total of 5,000 positions over the next decade. For the uninitiated, the focus of these commercial divers spans the gamut from extensive inspection of hulls and pipelines to the construction and repair of underwater structures to the demolition and removal of

Sweden Tries To Persuade U.S. Group To Abandon Estonia Dive

Swedish coastguards reportedly planned to board a U.S. ship they suspect is taking divers to examine the wreck of the ferry Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea in 1994 with the loss of 852 lives. Sweden strongly opposes but cannot prevent foreign nationals from diving, as it lies in international waters off Finland. American businessman Greg Bemis has said he plans to send divers to investigate reports that the car and passenger ferry might have been damaged in an explosion before it sank

Underwater Bonding Seals the Deal

Miami Diver has led the development of a unique universal steel habitat to efficiently carry out underwater repairs on almost any ship. In July 1999, a leading cruise ship operator approached Miami Diver Inc. with a damaged lip type stern seal on one of its vessels. The 73,912-gt ship was reporting sea water ingress from the starboard side shaft seal, and the cruise operator was looking for options to prevent an untimely and expensive unscheduled dry-docking.

Russian Sub Rescue Update: Too Little, Too Late?

Indecision from Russia regarding help from foreign nations in aiding efforts to rescue an estimated 118 sailors trapped in a Nuclear submarine lying on the bottom of the Barents Sea evaporated today, as Norway said that divers due to join a British bid to save 118 Russian sailors trapped in a submarine on the bed of the Barents Sea would arrive on Saturday. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said on Thursday the situation around the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk was "next to

Arctic Rescue Base Set Up by Rosneft

Russia’s largest oil company is establishing a permanent Arctic base of rescue personnel & divers in Amderma, a village on the Kara Sea coast. The base, which is to support the company’s ongoing exploration activities in the Kara Sea, will include a team of divers and a MI-8 helicopter, the Nenets AO regional administration informs Barents Observer. The divers all come from a special operations team under the Arkhangelsk Regional Rescue Service

Divers Make First Hole In Kursk, Send Camera Inside

Divers trying to recover the remains of 118 sailors from the wreck of the Kursk submarine have cut the first man-sized hole in the vessel, a Russian navy spokesman said. Igor Dygalo said the divers were firing pressurized water into the sub to clear away debris that could hamper their work. A camera will assess conditions inside the Kursk, which was ripped open by two explosions in August, before any decision would be made on sending men inside, Dygalo said.

Mystery Surrounds Deaths of Coast Guard Divers

According to the AP, the Coast Guard has launched two investigations into the mysterious deaths of two crew members from Florida who died during a training dive 500 miles north of Alaska. The Coast Guard has also relieved the captain of the ship the divers were on, pulled all diving equipment off the ship and suspended all polar diving. But nothing has been said about what might have killed 31-year-old Lieutenant Jessica Hill and 22-year-old Boatswain's Mate Steven Duque on August