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The Shame of the Commercial Diving Business!
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30 August 2011
Posted by jcROAT 
Who are these people and why did Peter J Pilkington dedicate his book to them? There have been names added since that dedication? They are all Americans Commercial Divers and this is an incomplete list because; NO Serious Investigation published by the Coast Guard, OSHA or the ADCI!! NO Safety Flashes or Lessoned learned on any of these deaths. This list does not include those trying to work commercial in SCUBA gear; another thing both OSHA and the ADCI think is just fine.

Like I've said SAFETY MY ASS!

John! Paul Havalena, Terry Griggs, Lance Murphy, Matt Smock, Patrick LaClair, Allen Anderson, John Lipscomb, Martin Anderson, James Little, Al Arnold, Brent R. Louis, David Baney, Michael Mahoney, Marc Begnaud, Nicole Marie, Bob Bowes, David May, Walter Canfield, Darlene McAuliffe, Dennis Carnwright, John McCarty, Ron Clark, John J. McHazeltt, Phil Clegg, Scott Mercer, Michael Climer, Tim Nordeen, Harold Cook, Dave Norton, Dave Copeland, Steve “Pearly” Perlewitz, Martine Cote, Brian S. Pilkington, Kyle Cronlund, Hans Ploeg, Ron Cummings, Tommy Poore, Edward Cwick, Eric J. Primavera, David Dahl, G. R. Rogers, Ted Davis, Richard Roost, John Devine, Kevin Sass,Brian Diebol, Bert Scofield, Steven Duque, Jay Shapcotte, Troy Elwood, Josh Sieber, Victor L. Fountane, Lee Snowman, B. J. Gogne, Woody Stangle, Sr., Skip Guille, Adolph Stolz, Albert Harjula, William L. Stoner, Jude Herpin, Charles Sturgis, Lt. Jessica Hill, Jim Sugrue, Bill “Muffy” Honts, Danny Sullivan, Tom T. Hostetter, Elwin Swint, Jr., Neil Huffman, George C. Tomlinson, Bill Juse, Matthew Warzack, Edward King, Todd Washburn, Roger Kustka, Lyle Wheeler, Chris Hollifield , John Lentz, Chris Wilson, Kevin G. Whitney, Ron Liest, Frank Zimmerman.


IT IS MAN UP TIME!!!

If you are on Facebook join our effort at: Stop Commercial Diver Deaths! It is an open group with one purpose, to improve the safety of the working diver. https://www.facebook...34688349955293/

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6 Comments On This Entry

The more publicity on the number of diving deaths the better. Sadly they seem again to be on the increasse

It would help if America published accurate figures on diver deaths and injuries

Michael Cocks,

UK Professional Divers Asssociation.
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kelynack, 01 September 2011 - 01:56 AM
I agree. The deaths need as much publicity as possible. It is imperative that the numbers are not swept under the carpet as seems to be the wish of the companies involved.
Mark Longstreath, 01 September 2011 - 05:14 AM
John,

Just before you posted this I put my opinion on the subject under: Diver Deaths – 2011:
http://longstreath.c...11/page__st__40

Your list of American divers is missing names:
Clay Ellis
C. Hoffman
David Hoover
Chris Meeham
Dick Walker

What you and Mark are doing on here is a great thing. One thing it’s missing though is guys to step up to the plate for the British, Australian, French, Italian, Dutch and South African divers who were lost here in the North Sea.

We can not rely on government or company investigations and subsequent regulatory change. It is up to all of you to make the changes required.

Cheers,

Tom
Tom Wingen, 01 September 2011 - 06:08 AM
The early days of the 'oil goldrush' are long gone, as is the 'experimental' era of Commercial Diving. We know now what is safe and what is not. There is, then, NO excuse, other than Financial expediency, for Divers to continue to die. People say Diving is inherently dangerous. It is not. There is, however, a great deal of RIsk involved. Risk can be identified and managed. Admittedly, some Divers are their own worst enemy, willing to go a little too far for the 'company' or getting into a financial position where they have to accept work which they may feel dubious about, but if the company and senior staff have a strong grip on safety, and a willingness to do the work the right way, then even these Divers would not be put in this position in the first place. There are also far too many clients (especially in the inshore sector) who do not know the regulations, and are happy for Diving Contractors to work unsafely with the defence that they are the experts, and should know what they're doing. Not good enough.
If these Divers had been in another profession, say Crab Fishermen for example(!), it would be front page news. Why do so few people care?
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stuart, 01 September 2011 - 07:25 AM
I can see ADCI keeping a tight lid on information surrounding a diving accident; they are an association whose mandate is to protect the diving contractor. Their mission statement is "safety through education", but in reality we can see where their loyalties are: "open another box of divers" and we'll hush this up.

What stuns me is the position of OSHA and the US Coast Guard. America has had a reputation for years as the driving force behind product safety: the auto industry, aviation, and fire protection to name but a few. And the changes brought about by OSHA in mining, manufacturing, and construction were world leading. So why this position in the diving industry? Are diver's lives worth so little? And the fact that both OSHA and USCG take direction in their safety regulations from a contractors association is akin to consulting with plantation owners on whether or not to abolish slavery. This is a huge black mark on both organizations.
old guys rule, 01 September 2011 - 08:39 AM

stuart, on 01 September 2011 - 07:25 AM, said:

The early days of the 'oil goldrush' are long gone, as is the 'experimental' era of Commercial Diving. We know now what is safe and what is not. There is, then, NO excuse, other than Financial expediency, for Divers to continue to die. People say Diving is inherently dangerous. It is not. There is, however, a great deal of RIsk involved. Risk can be identified and managed. Admittedly, some Divers are their own worst enemy, willing to go a little too far for the 'company' or getting into a financial position where they have to accept work which they may feel dubious about, but if the company and senior staff have a strong grip on safety, and a willingness to do the work the right way, then even these Divers would not be put in this position in the first place. There are also far too many clients (especially in the inshore sector) who do not know the regulations, and are happy for Diving Contractors to work unsafely with the defence that they are the experts, and should know what they're doing. Not good enough.
If these Divers had been in another profession, say Crab Fishermen for example(!), it would be front page news. Why do so few people care?



I agree Stuart,well said.
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KFD, 04 November 2011 - 03:15 PM
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