Dive Site News

A U.S. Navy led team has removed 229,000 gallons of oil from a sunken World War II era German heavy cruiser that has been resting on the seafloor near the Marshall Islands for more than 70 years.After being transferred to the U.S. as a war prize, the cruiser Prinz Eugen was loaded with oil and cargo and used to assess survivability of warships during the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests in the Pacific. The ship survived two atomic blasts before being towed to Kwajalein Atoll…

OceanGate, a provider of manned submersible services, and iXBlue, a provider of navigation, positioning and imaging solutions, have partnered to expand the application and use of advanced marine navigation and sonar equipment to explore the world’s deep oceans. As part of the alliance, OceanGate has selected the iXBlue PHINS Inertial Navigation System for use aboard its fleet of Cyclops series manned submersibles. Reportedly a world first, the PHINS system has been installed on a manned submersible to deliver real-time navigational data directly to the pilot.

U.S. Navy underwater archeologists, in conjunction with Indonesian Navy divers, have assessed in an interim report that the wrecked vessel surveyed in the Java Sea in June is "consistent with the identification" of the World War II wreck of the cruiser USS Houston (CA 30), and that divers documented conclusive evidence of a pattern of unauthorized disturbance of the gravesite. "We're grateful for the support of our Indonesian partners in determining the condition of the USS Houston," said Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. "Surveying the site, of course, was only the first step in partnering to respect those Sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the freedoms and security that we richly enjoy today," he added. U.S.

United States Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy Marine Safety Advisory 01-12 June 21, 2012 Washington, DC; Recommendations for Recreational Diving Operations Occurring from Commercial Passenger Vessels. This advisory is addressed to Passenger Vessel Operators, Owners and Crewmembers providing commercial transport and support services to recreational divers, and reminds them of safety responsibilities to themselves and their passengers. Additionally, this advisory is intended to provide recommendations and lessons learned from recreational diving casualty investigations, and promote awareness of industry best practices.

The historic expedition to the Mariana Trench’s lowest point, the Challenger Deep, which lies 6.83 miles (10.99 kilometers) below the ocean surface, is the first extensive scientific exploration in a manned submersible of the deepest spot on Earth. Piloting the Deepsea Challenger, which is outfitted for scientific exploration, James Cameron will conduct tests, collect samples, and document the experience in the high-resolution 3-D for which he’s known globally. Working for the Deep Sea Challenge project's communications provider Telstra…

Half of ROV class find employment within a week of completing training. A subsea training centre has reported an increase in employment of their students, with 50% of one class being employed within a week of graduating. The Underwater Center, Fort William saw half of a recent ROV class employed by leading providers of subsea services to the oil and gas industry, DOF Subsea, following the company’s attendance at an open day at the Center. A DOF Subsea representative attended the…

Everything was going swimmingly for California couple Michael and Lynda Evans on a diving excursion 5 miles (8 km) off Florida’s Key Largo — until they surfaced to find the boat that took them to sea had left without them. The couple endured 26 hours clinging to a steel tower on a remote reef before being spotted by a passing pleasure craft and picked up by a state wildlife officer. The dive company’s owner, Ricardo Investments Corp., pleaded guilty to grossly negligent operation of the dive boat Aqua Nut Divers II and was sentenced to two years probation and fined $1,000, justice officials said. The incident occurred in February 2000. The Evanses, experienced divers, surfaced from a first dive spot to find the boat had gone.

Seattle-based Crowley Marine Services continues to support the U.S. Navy's Office of the Superintendent of Salvage (SUPSALV) as prime contractor for Phase II of its Ehime Maru recovery project. Phase II, which began in mid-October, involves support of the Navy's Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One (MDSU) for recovery operations of the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru, which sank in February after a U.S. submarine resurfaced beneath it off the coast of Honolulu. State and federal laws do not allow for the ship to be left in shallow water or returned to its original location when the Navy's recovery operations are complete. Therefore…

Crowley Marine Services has successfully concluded work as prime contractor for the U.S. Navy’s Ehime Maru recovery and relocation operation this week with placement of the ship at its final resting site approximately 12 miles off the island of Oahu in Hawaii in more that 6,000 ft. of water. The Navy contracted with Crowley to design, engineer and execute the plan to lift the Ehime Maru from the shallow water recovery site, transport it to deepwater and lower it to the ocean floor. The Ehime Maru sank in 2,00 ft. of water on February 9, when it was struck by the USS Greeneville, a Navy submarine practicing an emergency-surfacing maneuver off Diamond Head.

Everything was going swimmingly for California couple Michael and Lynda Evans on a diving excursion 5 miles off Florida’s Key Largo -- until they surfaced to find the boat that took them to sea had left without them. The couple endured 26 hours clinging to a steel tower on a remote reef before being spotted by a passing pleasure craft and picked up by a state wildlife officer. The dive company’s owner, Ricardo Investments Corp., pleaded guilty to grossly negligent operation of the dive boat Aqua Nut Divers II and was sentenced to two years probation and fined $1,000, justice officials said late on Tuesday. The incident occurred in February 2000. The Evanses, experienced divers, surfaced from a first dive spot to find the boat had gone.

Navy divers are enroute to Cape Hatteras, N.C. to continue salvage operations to recover the gun turret from the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor. One hundred twenty divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two in Little Creek, Va., and other Navy diving commands, including the Naval Sea Systems Command's Supervisor of Diving and Salvage, will participate in this year's Monitor Expedition. For the fifth consecutive year, the Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Va. are working together at the dive site to recover Monitor artifacts. The mission will begin later this month and run until early August.