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Incidents List

  1. Year Month Day Surname Forenames Location Contractor Client Depth Type of Diving Details
  2. 1982 1 16 Robinson, USN ENS William C USN US N Submarine “Grayback�, converted for SEAL deployment with diver lockout and SDVs (Swimmer Delivery Systems). Onboard decompression chamber accident during launch/recovery cycle, five fatalities, one survivor. The Bulletin
  3. 1982 1 16 Shelton, USN SA Leslie C USN US N Submarine “Grayback�, converted for SEAL deployment with diver lockout and SDVs (Swimmer Delivery Systems). Onboard decompression chamber accident during launch/recovery cycle, five fatalities, one survivor. The Bulletin
  4. 1982 0 0 Andersom, USN SI Martin USA USN Died in a diving accident related to recovering a torpedo
  5. 1982 0 0 Gunderson USA SCUBA Paraphrased from press reports from 19/9/2009- “Jerry Gunderson, aged 75, started diving for golf balls in 1953, when he was 19. His passion for diving for golf balls led to the founding of a chain of seven golf-supply stores, was found dead in the centre of the lake at the Deer Creek Country Club in Deerfield Beach on Saturday. Drowned. One of his sons died while diving for golf balls in a lake 27 years ago. "I lost my brother to the water, too," said Jerry Gunderson's other son, Marc, 53 who used to dive for golf balls himself. Jerry Gunderson started retrieving, collecting and reselling golf balls soon after his first dive as a teenager. At first, it was the simple act of fishing out the golf balls in a Lake Worth course in the 1950s, washing them, and reselling them. But he went on to build a Deerfield Beach-based chain of golf-supply stores called International Golf. He sold the business a few years ago and worked as a freelance diver for smaller companies.
  6. 1982 0 0 Not Recorded USSR Military 50 Training dive in Lake Baikal. Reported that during the dive they saw “a group of humanoids dressed in silvery suits�. They tried to catch them, in the process 3 trainees died and 4 were injured. Reported lifted from declassified Soviet “UFO encounter� records in 2009 (Whether you believe narcosis/bad gas/a training error or “Aliens� is up to you, TC)
  7. 1982 0 0 Not Recorded Australia SubSea International 152 S/S Mixed Gas Possibly a bounce dive, bell port started leaking on the bottom, (investigation revealed that the wrong size 'O' ring had been used), they started flushing out with gas, may have run out of gas, so brought the bell up from 500 fsw with the door open On surface, the divers fell out and were re-compressed in sat system. One diver who was conscious and asked for valium for the other diver, but it was denied. The second diver died of heart attack, the other survived. The surviving diver was possibly named Dolan or Doolan, but we have no real details. Date? Vessel? Persons involved? Personal communication. OK guys, who has any additional detail on this 'lost' incident? (Or any others) TC
  8. 1982 0 0 Rig 'Banzala' Angola Jack Up, blowout (Shallow gas?) sank
  9. 1981 12 26 Marmion Mathew USA Aged 20, Long Beach harbour, drowned after getting trapped in an underwater intake of the tanker 'Arco Alaska'. Reported in the Los Angeles times, Telegraph Herald
  10. 1981 10 20 Lee Patrick Singapore SCUBA Aged 21, one of a team of 8 divers, he was reported missing during diving operations to clean the hull of the supply vessel 'Chinta' off Clifford Pier. Around noon they began to run low on air and indicated they were surfacing, he signalled them to carry on. When he failed to surface the other 7 dived in to look for him but not locate him. Not clear if his body was ever recovered. Straits Times
  11. 1981 8 27 Rig 'Petromar V' Thailand Drillship, sank after a blowout (Is this a duplicate rport for the "Petromadrill Norhsea" (sank mid 1980s in similar circumstances)
  12. 1981 7 24 Tay Ah Sai Singapore Aged 41, Fisherman. Vessel owner testified at the inquest that the diver surfaced after half an hour underwater complaining that he felt like he was 'dying'. Two crew members went back into the sea with him to get rid of his bends but he died later of acute decompression sickness. Verdict:- Death by misadventure. Straits Times
  13. 1981 7 11 Craig Gordon UAE Comex S/S Air Installing a welding habitat onto a pipeline in the Zakum Field. Habitat 'hung up' and the diver , wearing a band-mask, was looking for the cause when it dropped, head crushed, died instantly.
  14. 1981 7 1 Chanfays Dominique Brazil Comex S/S Mixed Gas Gas bell bounce dive. Divers carried out their own decompression from inside the bell. Divers opened the decompression without regulating their decompression and literally decompressed themselvs to death. Possible lack of training, possible language problem (French Supervisor/Brazilian divers). A surface to bell umbilical would have allowed the supervisor to control the rate of decompression. Double fatality (Julio Espindola). PC
  15. 1981 7 1 Espindola Julio Brazil Comex S/S Mixed Gas Gas bell bounce dive. Divers carried out their own decompression from inside the bell. Divers opened the decompression without regulating their decompression and literally decompresed themselvs to death. Possible lack of training, possible language problem (French Supervisor/Brazilian divers). A surface to bell umbilical would have allowed the supervisor to control the rate of decompression. Double fatality (Dominique Chanfays). PC
  16. 1981 5 16 Not Recorded USA S/S Air West Delta, Block 31, OCS 0016, Platform H, Exxon. "A contract diver was oxy arc cutting well conductors in approximately 45 feet of water when an explosion of unknown origin occurred. A back up diver was sent down. The diver was found unconscious and tangled in his hose with his diver hat and harness off. He was brought to the surface unconscious. 1 fatality. OCS Incidents data 1956-1990, page 250.
  17. 1981 5 11 Jackson Fred Canada SCUBA Aged 30, salvage operation at lower Cove Terminal, St John Harbour, New Brunswick, grounded freighter, MV 'Opal', surface suppled equipment available, but diver decided to run a hog line under the hull using SCUBA, returned to the support vessel, then rolled onto his side and sank from view. Immediate search could not find the diver (harbour up to 80' deep, low visibility, high currents). Body recovered six weeks later. Coroner determined the cause as drowning (body was found underwater). However, he had been having pains in his neck, shoulder and chest over the previous two days but no tests/autopsy were not done to determine if he had had a heart attack. PC
  18. 1981 2 8 Collins Robert Lee USA Topsides Aged 38, professional diver, died 6 hours after a bomb blew his pick up truck apart in New Orleans - nasty limb loss injuries - . Reports alleged of drug dealing connections, but no details
  19. 1981 2 1 Withheld pending agreement of the diver Gabon Comex 60 S/S Mixed Gas Diver was deployed using SS HeO2 to carry out a short intervention on the subsea experimental template station at Grondin NE field. About 5 min into the dive, diver shouted; "NO AIR" then silence. The standby diver entered the water and located him at about 30 metres tangled in the ROV umbilical with his helmet off. He was unconscious. Brought up to surface and transferred to the DDC attached to the SAT system and given resuscitation and first aid. Breathing was restarted but he remained unconscious. He was blown down to -50m on air. Local Comex diving doctor was flown to the site. She entered the DDC and gave therapeutic medical treatment. The casualty recovered and came out of DDC at end of hyperbaric treatment. He went back to diving and was a member of one of the deepest experimental dive conducted by Comex. The reason for the lack of breathing media could not be ascertained even after multiple tests on the umbilical and panel. The bail out cylinder was found full of water. Reported about a year after that the diving supervisor at the panel admitted not setting up the panel regulator to cater for the water depth.
  20. 1981 0 0 Duke Medical Centre USA 686 Chamber dive to 2,250' at the Duke Medical Centre
  21. 1981 0 0 HMS Edinburgh Salvage Russia 245 Deepest successful diving salvage operation to date, 431 gold ingots recovered from the wreck of HMS 'Edinburgh'
  22. 1981 0 0 Not Recorded Antarctic SCUBA McMurdo research base, American scientist, embolism after using his dry suit as a lift bag to move a piece of steel underwater. He dropped the steel and went straight to the surface. No details. Bonnier Corporation 'SCUBA' News article
  23. 1981 0 0 Rig 'Bohai 6' China Jack Up, no details
  24. 1981 0 0 SI 1981/399 DOW, Diving Operations at Work Regulations came into force
  25. 1980 12 2 Franklin John Henry USA Power Plant Maintenance Inc SCUBA Aged 35, diving at the South Carolina Electric and Gas Company power dam on the Savannah River, just upstream of Augusta, clearing obsrructions from the dam's intake grate, found dead inside the power plant the following day. He had been sucked into the turbine - Two had been shut off, he was sucked into the third (live) intake. 6 violations (4 serious, 1 wilful). No lifeline, no in-water diver to maintain visual contact, no safety manual, no person in charge, no stand-by diver, no emergency procedures/equipment. The Albany Herald
  26. 1980 10 29 O'Sullivan Dermott Norway Oceaneering Diving from the "Sedco Phillips SS", Ekofisk, back injury
  27. 1980 10 22 Rig 'Dan Prince' USA Jack Up, sank during rig move/towing (caught in a storm).
  28. 1980 10 18 Rig 'Maersk Endurer' Egypt Maersk Jack Up, drilling in the Gulf of Suez, blowout, derrick collapsed, 3 fatalities. Rig renamed as the 'EDC Setty'
  29. 1980 10 2 Rig 'Ron Tappmeyer' Saudi Arabia Jack Up, Hasbah Platform well 6, Blow out, 19 fatalities
  30. 1980 10 0 Rig 'Okha' Arctic Jack Up, ran aground in bad weather
  31. 1980 9 25 Ong Ah Lam Singapore SCUBA Aged 53, diver on a fishing vessel (His first trip) which left Singapore on the 16th September, dropped anchor in rough weather but could not lift it when conditions improved on the 24th September. Diver cleared the anchor (depth was not specified at the inquiry) after a 4 hour dive but then complained of stomach pains, weakness in his legs and being unable to urinate. Died the following day 'of acute decompression sickness' whilst en route to Singapore. Coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure. Straits Times
  32. 1980 9 18 Not Recorded USA A diver testing effects of cooling water discharge from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) on marine life died Wednesday while collecting samples. No details. Los Angeles Times
  33. 1980 9 3 Galliano Remy Canada French, from Marseilles, aged 30, just starting as a professional diver onboard the 'Calypso' which was on a trip to film the wrecks of the American warships 'Hamilton' and 'Scourge' sank in 1812 in 90 metres of water. Drowned, coroner recorded 'accidental death'. No details. Montreal Gazzette
  34. 1980 8 9 Rig 'Dixilyn Field 81' USA Jack Up, Sunk on location by hurricane 'Allen'
  35. 1980 6 15 Rig 'Bohai 3" China Jack up, blow out, caught fire and burned. 70 fatalities
  36. 1980 6 14 Not Recorded USA 27 S/S Air NP 311, Block 197, Cost Well MODU 'Dan Prince', Well No 1, Arco. "The MV 'Ranger' was engaged in sand bagging operations at the drilling rig 'Dan Prince'. The diver went into the water at 18:00 hours to set sandbags around the legs of the drilling rig on the bottom at 88 feet. He came up at 18:43 and passed out after breaking the surface. The diver was brought up on deck where members of the dive crew removed his gear and immediately began CPR treatment. The medic from the 'Dan Prince' came onboard at 18:56. The medic and casualty were put in the DDC at 19:03 hours. A doctor and his assistants entered the chamber at 20:11 hours and remained until the victim was pronounced dead at 20:32 hours. Cause of death was subsequently determined to be decompression sickness. OCS Incidents database 1956 to 1990, page 305
  37. 1980 4 16 Novello Sam A Turkey USN Topsides Enlisted in the United States Navy at the outbreak of the Second World War. After seeing heavy action aboard a destroyer in the Pacific Theater, he continued his naval service as a salvage diver, achieving the rank of Master Chief Boatswain's Mate. In the mid-1960s he began a 15 year partnership with the Turkish Navy, helping establish a professional school for Turkish naval divers after which he was assigned to the American Embassy in Istanbul as a senior naval representative. He and his driver were shot by terrorists as he drove to work (One was killed in the subsequent police chase, the other two caught, tried and executed later). Washington Star and naval records. Included here as a he was a career professional diver 'at work'
  38. 1980 3 27 Rig 'Alexander Kielland' Norway Phillips Pentagon semi submersible, Ekofisk Field, flotel at Eddas. Sructural failure, capsised (alternative story that the rig was deliberately sabotaged with explosives), 123 fatalities. No divers onboard
  39. 1980 3 8 Uehara Tadeo Japan Aged 36, Japanese prawn diver from Naha (Okinawa) died after a one metre long needlfish stabbed him in the neck "It was attracted by his light". The same press report notes that a fisherman on nearby Ishigaki Island was killed when a needlefish stabbed him in the chest in September 1979. Reuters
  40. 1980 2 15 Walter Brian Qatar Comex 37 SCUBA Diving untended off Halul Island. Vomited underwater, failed to surface. PC
  41. 1980 2 5 Rig 'Workhorse IX' USA Nabors Jack Up, sank during towing. Salvaged and returned to service
  42. 1980 2 0 Rig 'Topper I' USA Crestwave Jack Up, valve failure, flooded and sank
  43. 1980 1 17 Rig 'Sea Quest' Nigeria Texaco Three leg semi Submersible, built 1967 Harland and Wolff, Belfast as the Sedco 135C, made the first commercial oil find on the UKCS (Arbroath Field in 1969), drilled both Montrose and Forties Fields. Renamed Sea Quest, drilling off Warri, blow out, crew evacuated, caught fire, towed out to sea and scuttled in deep water.
  44. 1980 0 0 Burrows??? Needs to be confirmed Australia McDermott 60 Saturation Australian in his early 40s. Four man sat system on the DB 21 (ex Ingram 7) in the Bass Straight. Bell at around 170', during a dive to the seabed at 198', the diver stopped responding to the supervisor. Bellman attempted to pull him back but by his umbilical but he was caught up on seabed. Bellman put on gear and went to the dive site, found the diver unresponsive, not breathing. Recovered diver to trunking but could not pull him into the bell. The bell was recovered to 150' and the surface (air) diver deployed to help. The bellman and surface standby diver managed to pull the diver into the bell and close the bottom door. Bell recovered and locked on (including the surface air diver). Diver did not respond to treatment. Cause of death, heart attack whilst in the water. Personal Communication. Confirmation of name and details needed (TC).
  45. 1980 0 0 Herr David Indonesia Oceaneering American working the Lapco field, found on the bottom with KM10 off (loose retaining ring, hood pulled off) No details
  46. 1980 0 0 Not Recorded Bahrain Taylor Diving 0 S/S Air American, Taylor Diving (Bahrain) jumping from the deck of a barge into the water, wearing a Swindel, umbilical connection between helmet and harness caught on a projection, ripped off from both helmet and harness, body later recovered from seabed, possibly broken neck
  47. 1980 0 0 Not Recorded India Taylor Diving and Salvage Far East S/S Mixed Gas One of two American divers doing a gas bounce dive from the drillship "Gettysburg" in the Bay of Bengal, locked out diver died (pure He?) Bubblesblower/Longstreath
  48. 1980 0 0 Rig 'Dixilyn 150' Jack Up, Sank, no details
  49. 1980 0 0 Rig 'Harvey Ward' Jack Up, caught in a mudslide, total loss
  50. 1980 0 0 Rig 'Marlin 4' South America Jack Up, Seabed slide, legs collapsed
  51. 1980 0 0 Rig 'Ocean Champion' Egypt Jack Up, bad weather, ran agroound off Port Said
  52. 1979 11 25 Rig 'Bohai 2' China Ocean Oil Company Jack Up, sank during rig move/towing (caught in a storm), 72 fatalities out of a POB of 74
  53. 1979 11 10 Andrieux Philipe Ghana or Ivory Coast Comex 130 Saturation See 'Wodeco V lost Bell' for details, the three divers in the bell, rescue stand-by diver and a nurse die in this incident.
  54. 1979 11 10 Laubouet Philipe Ghana or Ivory Coast Comex 130 Saturation See 'Wodeco V lost Bell' for details, the three divers in the bell, rescue stand-by diver and a nurse die in this incident.
  55. 1979 11 10 Leca Joseph 'Jo' Ghana or Ivory Coast Comex 130 Saturation See 'Wodeco V lost Bell' for details, the three divers in the bell, rescue stand-by diver and a nurse die in this incident.
  56. 1979 11 10 Lemarchand Gilles Ghana or Ivory Coast Comex 130 Saturation See 'Wodeco V lost Bell' for details, the three divers in the bell, rescue stand-by diver and a nurse die in this incident.
  57. 1979 11 10 Wodeco V lost bell Incident Ghana or Ivory Coast Comex 130 Saturation Entire dive team, including the supervisor, - dived in rotation, bell bounce diving. Single bell lift wire plus two guide wires tied up to the wellhead. About a month prior to the incident, the main wire had been ovalised above the socket but judged fit for purpose. On this day, during bell recovery, when the bell had reached the top of the "A" frame, the wire parted.. The bell ballast hit the water, the bell hit the ballast which had been slowed down entering the water and sank. Communications were lost with the bell. The surface team expected the divers in the bell to shed its ballast, but that did not happen. The team was without supervisor (he was in the bell) and there was no lead diver. On advice from company HQ, they mixed some 10 % Heliox and built a surface umbilical by connecting three lengths of flexible hose. The first diver started breathing the 10 % prior to entering the water and passed out. The rest of the team assumed that this was due to the fact that the components had not "mixed up properly". They equipped the next diver with a bail out cylinder filled with Air, he breathed the Air from the surface and switched to Heliox at 10 metres. On the way down, this diver pulled himself with his arms, head down along one of the bell guide wires instead of "hanging out" in the current on the way down. As a result, him and his umbilical rotated around the bell guide wire several times to the point were he could not progress any more and he exhausted himself in the process. It is possible that he had passed out underwater. The surface crew retrieved him, it needed several men to haul on the umbilical. He was suffering from pulmonary barotrauma. However, he was conscious when he reached the surface, he cleared the several turns the umbilical had made around the guide wire himself. He went in the chamber still conscious and standing with a doctor and male nurse. Short of Helium, so they only pressurized the main lock. The nurse was claustrophobic and started panicking and they had to decompress him. In order to do so, they pressurised the entrance lock with the only gas they had left, air. When the nurse left the chamber he was told that if he was not feeling well to return to the chamber to be treated. Instead he went into hiding, laid down and was found later, dead (Isobaric counter diffusion). The diver died in the chamber (Pulmonary Barotrauma),.
  58. 1979 11 10 Wodeco V lost bell Rescue Ghana or Ivory Coast Comex and Oceaneering 130 Saturation Rescue teams arrived on board perhaps 24 hours after the bell was lost with a team from Oceaneering and a "JIM" atmospheric suit but without their normal winch/umbilical/comms (too heavy to fly) First two dives aborted due to suit flooding and retrieval was hampered by the current, but on the third attempt, the JIM got close enough to see the bell which was not floating up from its ballast but lying on the seabed, indicating that it was flooded or partly flooded. One of the guide wires had ruptured and was no longer attached to the wellhead and there was some tension in the remaining guide wire, so every time the drill ship was lifted by the swell, the was being rolled from side to side on the seabed. The JIM could not get any closer without being hit by the rolling bell so the dive was aborted and the bell grappled (NB, the JIM rescue mission in itself is an epic tale, TC). The bell was caught first time. On deck, some 30 hours after the wire failure, it was established that the bell was 2/3 flooded, both divers were floating face down, dead. Analysis of the bell atmosphere confirmed there was no measurable CO2. Both men had suffered facial injuries, one with a broken nose, one with knee injuries. It is likely that the first shock, when the bell collided with its own ballast, had thrown them down, causing the injuries. They had managed on the way down to open the bell pressurisation valve. The dive was a bounce dive, and decompression had started while the bell was on its was up before the accident. As a result the bell would have started flooding at some point before they even reached the bottom. At some point the inner door had closed, but not before the bell was 2/3 flooded. The pressurisation valve having been open, and left open on the way down, ensured a seal. The two divers (the second diver's identity is not recorded), hurt by the initial impact, drowned.
  59. 1979 10 17 Crouch Stephen UK Topsides Diving Supervisor on the DSV Star Canopus working in the Ninian Field, died in an accident "not involved in diving operations". I have still counted this as a diver at work killed offshore, but can find no details anywhere as to what the "accident" was that "did not involve diving" onboard a saturation diving vessel. Can anybody remember the incident? The only record that I have found so far was the brief announcement above in the Glasgow Herald. TC.
  60. 1979 8 15 Anderson Allan Mexico Taylor Diving and Salvage 50 Saturation American, aged 32, "Ixtox I" blow-out 3rd of June, Bay of Campeche, Mexico, Drill rig "Sedco 135F" sank. Diver died during attempts to shut in the well, off the barge "LB Meaders", caught in vortex at wellhead and blown to the surface. Well finally capped 23/3/1980, second biggest oil-spill in history. Wife and two children aged 11 and 7.
  61. 1979 8 7 Guiel Victor F "Skip" UK Infabco 162 Saturation American, aged 28. DSV "Wildrake", Thistle field, parted bell wire, secondary means of recovery failed, screwed up rescue, died from hypothermia, Double fatality (Walker)
  62. 1979 8 7 Walker Richard A UK Infabco 162 Saturation American, aged 32. DSV "Wildrake", Thistle field, parted bell wire, secondary means of recovery failed, screwed up rescue, died from hypothermia, Double fatality (Guiel)
  63. 1979 6 3 Rig 'SF 135' Mexico PEMEX Three leg semi-submersible. Drilling on IXTOC 1, blow out, major oil release, rig sank. Diver Allan Andersion died on the 15th August during attempts to shut in the well. Well was finally capped 23/3/1980
  64. 1979 5 10 Rig 'Ranger1' USA Mitchell Energy 3 leg Jack Up built 1968 drilling block 189L. Between 1500 and 1800 hours in the afternoon experienced a violent shudder, with personnel reporting it as a violent shaking or a vertical fall of up to 30cm. Up to an hour was spent trying to locate the cause of the movement without success. Work aboard the rig then continued, including the offloading of supplies from the Delta Seahorse supply boat. At about 2230, prior to a shift change, the Ranger I collapsed into the sea. The stern leg, below the accommodation block, broke near the connection to the support mat causing the upper hull to fall stern-first and strike the Delta Seahorse. The bow legs supported the upper hull for a short time, then collapsed, allowing the upper hull to fall to the sea. The upper hull then separated from the legs, drifted to the west and sank over the course of the following day. Prior to the initial collapse, most of the crew were in the living quarters, with 13 men in the galley. The survivors reported experiencing a rapid fall followed by sudden jolt as the upper hull struck the water. The lower floor of the accommodation unit flooded instantly to a depth of 2-3 feet. The men escaped either through the galley's port door or through galley windows taking seat cushions or life jackets for floatation. Three patterns developed: one group gathered at the helideck; a second group swam to the Delta Seahorse whilst a third jumped overboard to get away from the upper hull before it sank. The Delta Seahorse, alongside the Ranger I, signaled a MAYDAY and picked up four crew from the water, going on to co-ordinate further rescue operations. The Miss Angela, busy towing another rig at the time of the collapse, was also dispatched to aid the rescue and picked up a further 14 men. Coast Guard helicopters recovered another four men from the water. Eight men lost their lives in the accident, with many of the survivors suffering serious injuries. The remains of the rig were later salvaged and examined by the U.S. Coast Guard. The investigating board concluded that the Ranger I had collapsed as a result of an existing fatigue crack in the stern leg, near the connection to the mat. At around 1700 hours on 10 May 1979, the crack had rapidly propagated around the leg, causing the leg to break and the rig to shudder. Over the following hours, a combination of dynamic and static loading dislodged the broken leg and caused the rig to collapse.
  65. 1979 5 6 Wells Robert Lloyd USA S/S Air Aged 33. Quote:- “Working at the Simtag Farms intake pumps at the confluence of Willow Creek and the Columbia River when his air lines apparently were sucked into the pumps and cut. His partner was at the surface at the time. When he realised something was wrong, he dove under and attempted to free Wells and bring him up for air but the lines were stuck in the intake pumps and another diver had to be called before Wells could be freed, police said� Reported in the Tri City Herald.
  66. 1979 5 5 Eke B E UK Maritime Offshore Products 31 S/S Air British, aged 34. Southern North Sea installation 48/29C, Over inflated dry suit, entangled in water jet equipment, helmet came detached, drowned
  67. 1979 0 0 Harrison Jim "Piggy" UAE Topsides Ex RN Clearance Diver, killed in a road accident in Sharjah on the way to work. PC
  68. 1979 0 0 Krausky Bruno Indonesia Hydrospace Australian, from Cairns, one year out of dive school, diving off the "Wodeco IV" or "Wodeco VII" in the Natuna field, Indonesia, on descent instead of switching to 90/10 Heliox at 40' was switched to pure He. Bubbles blower/Longstreath
  69. 1979 0 0 McKerlich Jock or Jack UK Northern Divers 6 S/S Air Inquest was held in Banf in May 1980, date of fatality not known. (Jack was the younger brother of Sarge McKerlich who died in a commercial diving accident in 1984). Aged 21 from Kyle of Lochalsh, working in Macduff harbour, post lunch dive (reported as havng had 2 pints of beer with a bar lunch), vomited, no suit inflation, negatively buoyant, could not stay on surface, tender continued to pay out slack, burst Aorta. Reported at the inquest that 'drinking and diving is common practice on civil engineering contracts'. A diving inspector claimed he would not have been allowed to go for a drink if stricter rules - "now under consideration" - had been implemeted. Fellow diver stated that the primary cause of him vomiting was the 12' jump into the cold harbour water. Reported in the Glasgow Herald
  70. 1979 0 0 NEDU USA USN 549 Saturation Using the 'Ocean Simulator Facility (OSF), NEDU divers completed a 37 programme to a maximum depth of 1,800'
  71. 1979 0 0 Not Recorded France 10 S/S Air French, inspecting a valve in a nuclear power station plant water system, sucked in. The valve had been key locked by client , but unfortunately 'in open position'.
  72. 1979 0 0 Not Recorded USA Chamber Described as 'practising welding in a chamber' at 6.8 bara (190 fsw), a student diver was fatally burned when his polyester clothes ignited from welding sparks. He had violated the established safety protocol that required him to stand waist deep in water while welding. The only thing consumed by the fire was his clothing. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164
  73. 1979 0 0 Not Recorded Japan Chamber Clinical chamber (Hospital) fire, one patient killed, 6 bystanders injured when a patient lit a cigarette inside a chamber during HPBO treatment. The unconscious pateient was placed inside the chamber when the operator was persuaded to proceed quickly by anxious friends of the patient. When the patient regained consciousness he attempted to light a cigarette causing a fire and explosion that killed him and injured 6 bystanders. How the fire escaped the chamber is not reported. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164.
  74. 1979 0 0 Not Recorded Ireland Smit Paraphrased from Wikipedia. The Betelgeuse incident, also known as the Betelgeuse or Whiddy Island disaster, occurred on 8 January 1979, at around 1:00 am., when the oil tanker 'Betelgeuse' exploded in West Cork at the offshore jetty of the Whiddy Island Oil Terminal, due to the failure of the ship's structure during an operation to discharge its cargo of oil. The explosion and resulting fire claimed the lives of 50 people (42 French nationals, 7 Irish nationals and 1 United Kingdom national). Only 27 bodies were recovered. A further fatality occurred during the salvage operation with the loss of a Dutch diver. The salvage firm raised the Betelgeuse in four sections. The first section (the bow) was towed out to open water, 100 miles offshore, and scuttled. This measure attracted protests from the fishing community, so two further sections were sealed up and towed to breaking yards in Spain for disposal. A fourth section was broken up locally. During the salvage operation, the life of a diver was lost. The last section was not removed until July 1980. Local fishing grounds were badly contaminated and a clean-up was not finally complete until 1983.
  75. 1979 0 0 Not Recorded Egypt Military Suez canal was cleared for vessels by mid-1975. One report states “Only one man, an Egyptian diver, has been killed in the canal clearing. However 100 Egyptian soldiers have died stripping both banks of the canal of nearly 700,000 mines last year�. The Rock Hill Herald.
  76. 1979 0 0 Not Recorded Netherlands 14 SCUBA Dutch diver, preparing to weld, just vanished. Not confirmed, just rumour.
  77. 1979 0 0 Sedco 1 Spain Ocean Systems International 91 Saturation 9 miles off Tarragona, Ocean Systems twin DDC and ADS IV Bell system as a surface supplied mix gas bell bounce (saturation abort) 2 man dive system, the bell was locked onto the DDC and the tube turn [trunk] clamps closed via a control panel on the Trunk and then a set [two] of locking bolts set in slots on top of the two halves of the clamps, there was a concise lock off/on procedure. Team management was less than satisfactory. Lack of team co-ordination and the attitude of “I thought that was done” was in essence the main cause of the accident by explosive decompression, dual fatality. Bell seal was broken from TUP, system came to surface in seconds. Note, another, conflicting, report indicates there were 4 divers in the system and it was being used as a saturation spread rather than gas bounce drill support with three dead on arrival at surface and one died later, (He may have partially managed to close a door. All this has come from personal e-mail communications, we need details, confirmation, names and dates, TC. Update: Date given as September 1979, but may not be accurate. Sedco drilling rig, 9 miles off Tarragona, Ocean Systems twin DDC and ADS IV Bell system as a surface supplied mix gas bell bounce (saturation abort) 2 man dive system, the bell was locked onto the DDC and the tube turn [trunk] clamps closed via a control panel on the Trunk and then a set [two] of locking bolts set in slots on top of the two halves of the clamps, there was a concise lock off/on procedure. Dive to release an AX ring. Freddie and Jimmy commenced a dive, Jimmy freaked, bell recovered and a third diver, Norman, was blown in. Jimmy calmed down and it was decided to send Jimmy and Norman down as (small) Freddie's suit was too big and he got very cold. Divers went through into the TUP and the O-ring blew and they went from 400' to surface in a few seconds. Freddie was injured (Cerebral and vestibular damage, many years treatment at Haslar and Newcastle University, still has life altering effects), but saved when hatch blew shut. Supervisor was also called Norman, may have committed suicide. No known reports - does anybody have information on this incident?
  78. 1978 12 13 Lim Meng Kian Singapore 2 S/S Air Aged 26. Working on a fishing boat, returning from a voyage into the Indian Ocean when the boat slowed. "Mr Lim, who had some diving experience, volunteered to investigate" using an air hose attached to a compressor. He reported that the vessel's propeller was entangled in rope and took a knife to cut it. After 20 minutes, tugs on his air hose got no response and a second crew member went in to investigate. Diver was motionless in the water, air hose entangled in the propeller, but still had his mask on. Recovered to deck but did not respond to treatment. The coroner commented that there was no apparent reason why he could not have removed his mask and come to the surface from a depth of 2.1 metres and that there was insufficient evidence to show how the diver drowned. "The mask, air hose and compressor were examined and found to be trouble-free". Inquest held in March 1979 recorded an open verdict. Straits Times
  79. 1978 11 36 Ward Mike UK Northern Divers 116 Saturation British, aged 25. Beryl Alpha, DSV "Star Canopus", DP incident inside anchor pattern, lost bell, double fatality (Prangley), hypothermia, drowning
  80. 1978 11 26 Prangley Tony UK Northern Divers 116 Saturation British, aged 28. Beryl Alpha, DSV "Star Canopus", DP incident inside anchor pattern, lost bell, double fatality (Ward), hypothermia/drowning
  81. 1978 9 15 Jantan Maludin bin Singapore Keppel Shipyard S/S air Aged 31, diving at the Temasek dry dock in the Tuas Yard (Keppel Shipyards). Called in to work on a broken dock gate wire Reported as drowned due to an acute lack of oxygen (One of the three three cylinders of compressed air issued to him was a nirtogen cylinder). They seem to have been using surface cylinders/umbilical similar to an SRP set up but without panel/back-up gas. The diver changed cylinders and returned to the water after a tea break but after a few minutes topsides realised there were no bubbles coming up, tugged on his lifeline, no response. Diver pulled to the surface, unconscious, transferred to hospital, declared dead. At the inquest, Singapore Oxygen Air Limited (SOXAL) stated they had supplied 25 cylinders of compressed air for industrial use (Light grey) and one cylinder of Nitrogen (Light grey with a black top) a few months earlier and that each cylinder also had a label stating the contents attached before they left the factory. They also added that cylinders with light grey bodies and black and white quarters at the top contained air for medical uses. The storeman who issued the tanks on the day had not noticed any gas contents labels on the cylinders but recalled that the cylinders were gray and at least one had black and white quarters. Additionally he said that he was not aware of which gases were in cylinders with different markings nor what colour a nitrogen cylinder should be as he was not in charge of sorting them. Investigators did not find any label on the Nitogen cylinder used by the diver. The Coroner recorded an open verdict and criticised the parties involved for their apparent lack of safety consciousness. Straits Times
  82. 1978 7 10 Not Recorded USA Aged 41, reported as being killed by an attack of the bends whilst being treated in a ship's decompression chamber on a $5.3 million dollar outfall project at Aliso Beach (Part of Laguna Beach, South of Los Angeles). No details. Los Angeles Times
  83. 1978 5 21 Not Recorded USA Ship Shoal, Block 114, OCS 64, Platform SOB, Odeco. "A diver was removing a valve in the oil storage tank when a nipple on the air compressor broke, reducing his air supply. On syrfacing in the tank, diver removed his helmet and was overcome by toxic fumes and drowned". OCS Incident database
  84. 1978 5 8 Godey Gerard Congo Comex Topsides Opened a regeneration tower that had not been purged, crushed chest. (No interlock mechanism). PC
  85. 1978 3 31 Fewer Douglas USA NOAA 14 SCUBA 23 years old, from Broooklyn, diving with a colleague in the New York Bight off Long Island collecting water samplers. His dive partner said that Fewer disappeared while they were working. The diver was found unconscious and picked up by a Coastguard cutter and then transferred to Air Force hekicopter and flown to Groton (Connecticut) for treatment, but declared dead on arrival there. No details. Virgin Islands Daily News.
  86. 1978 2 7 Hoover David R Norway Taylor Diving and Salvage. Brown and Root 324 305 Saturation American, aged 28, hyperbaric weld demonstration from the Brown and Root Barge 324. Older sources quote O2 starvation (Gas mixer had low O2), no bailout (Warner), but the Norwegian authorities cited CO2 buid up, a 2003 report by the NSDA concluded (because of reports including bright red froth/blood on his lips) that the actual cause of death was a high ppO2 (16 bar), and that he had been put on 50/50 He/O2.
  87. 1978 2 1 Rig Orion' UK Jack Up, broke loose during tow, ran aground on Guernsey
  88. 1978 0 0 Names witheld at the request of the diver UK Wharton Williams 145 Saturation DSV 'Tender Carrier', working diver fed pure helium from a McDermott blender (sensors failed) and became unconscious. Recovered by bell partner, (ex Royal marine) and brought to surface. Brain damage meant him having to re-learn how to walk. Off work six months but then continued to dive until 1986.
  89. 1978 0 0 Not Recorded USA 6 SCUBA �The victim was diving alone in 18 feet of water trying to find out why fishing nets were getting fouled on the bottom. He had not been diving for 5 years and the equipment had not been used for equally as long. The victim entered the water and never resurfaced. He was recovered two and a half hours later� Reported in the statistics of the University of Michigan, Michigan Sea Grant Program, 1979. (Not sure whether this is a true professional fatality so it is excluded from the count TC)
  90. 1978 0 0 O'Grady Rodney USA Taylor Diving, Brown and Root 266 Went up the inlet of the jet sledge system on a 'Root and Scoot' jet barge (They never shut down the pumps completely because "it took too long to re prime then"). Another report, Paraphrased and (much sanitized TC) appeared on the 'Offshore Diver' website: “He was doing a routine ditch check when they ran up the RPMs on the impeller below deck. Bid blenders is what they are. They created the suction so all the jetted mud would go up to the barge via an approx. 14" hose and to the impeller, then shot overboard. I heard tell it was one of the newer guys that had just got on the barge that season. Paying no attention....he rev'ed up the impellers right when Rodney was checking if there was water under the pipe. Just a short yell, that was all. The steel stingers on either side of the pipe were oval-ish shaped, and again, about 14-16" wide. Well, poor Rodney, who was a regular on the 266 went right up the stinger to the heavy (like weatherford) walled hose and into the impeller, where he was ground to fish food and pumped overboard. The barge crew stopped all activity and had a closed door meeting, no divers. (Deleted, TC). The couple of tenders and the one barge diver left where called in. That's why they called us...to search the sea floor for Rodney, what was left of Rodney. That's where I leave it. Rodney wore a Miller, they are pretty tough. The casket was small. Use your imagination. We should have been allowed to Keel haul the dumb yokel that killed him. But he was gone already. I never went back there. Used to like going there as a tender as they dove us on ditch checks a good bit, even to 180' on air. I should count my lucky stars. Long to short: (Allegedly) big cover up. (Deleted) Two years later I was in sat on the Phillips SS only about 10k from the Byford Dolfin when the guys were killed. I remember the LST calling in and having us shut the hatch to the bell (it was overhead, we'd just leave it down!) and set-up the hatches to the living areas so that if the bell blew off due to some numb-skull opening the trunk they would slam shut. Open and inch or two was cool for gas circulation. So, that's where lock out tag out came from and where bell interlocks came from, I like to think so Rodney did not die horribly for absolutely nothing�
  91. 1978 0 0 Riddett Richard 'Dick" Taiwan Samson Ocean Systems Working for Samson Ocean Sustems out of Singapore, reported as having died on a rig offshore Taiwan. No other deails. Old Divers Noticeboard
  92. 1978 0 0 White or Whitehouse? David UK Reg Clucas (Civil Engineering) Working for hydrospace in India, went on leave to the UK (via Sharjah) and was killed in a burning explosion underneath a small barge or tanker during his field break. PC. Has anybody got aditional details?
  93. 1977 12 12 Hassan Abdul Hamid bin Singapore Selco Malaysian, aged 32, underwater repir work on the American aircraft carrier 'Midway' with fellow diver John Then, off Manof War Anchorage, 'got into difficulties',was found unconscious in the water, died on arrival in hospital. No other details. Straits Times
  94. 1977 10 17 Azzopardi P S UK Comex 91 Saturation British, aged 21. Semi-sub drill rig "Zephy I", ODECO, English Channel, KMD 16 helmet off (no safety pin), strong currents, bellman could not reach him, drowned
  95. 1977 10 14 Cailleux Claude Netherlands 26 French diver, died of chest injuries from HP gas release when opening up subsea valve, reported as "25mm @ 7MPa"? Press reported a gas leak from a pipeline 8 miles from the broken pipeline valve after the accident that killed a French diver. Straits Times
  96. 1977 10 7 Gilliam Stewart Topsides Diving Supervisor, killed in personnel basket transfer incident, DSV "Seaway Falcon"
  97. 1977 10 3 Murphy R L UK Taylor Diving and Salvage 30 S/S Air Trench barge 316, dredging operation, Snagged subsea on stinger? Lost comms. Cut umbilical, bailout not activated, asphixia?
  98. 1977 9 0 Rig 'Dolphin Titan 143' Jack Up, sank during towing, salvaged but retired.
  99. 1977 8 20 Sansalone D UK Subsea Oil Services 23 SCUBA Italian, aged 29. Pipelay barge "Semac I", Working on stinger, 2 working divers plus stand-by, lost comms, continued working, Inexperienced in prevailing conditions, drowned
  100. 1977 7 10 Petrecz Paul F USA Harmonville Volunteer Fire Department 15 SCUBA Aged 29, Montgomery County volunteer fire-fighter/diver, one of a team of 30 searching Muddy Run Lake for the body of a 22 year old who drowned whilst swimming. 'Tangled in a guideline and ran out of air' Reported as a veteran diver by fire officials. Beaver County Times
  101. 1977 7 0 Rig 'Ocean Master II' West Africa Loffland Brothers Built in 1966 by LeTourneau at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Rig move from New Orleans to Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in June 1977 towed by the vessels Clyde and Thames through the Carribbean during Hurricane Alma and then crossed the Atlantic without incident. At the end of July 1977, off coast of Sierra Leone, the Clyde and Thames were relieved by the Zwarte Zee, which continued the tow towards Nigeria. After the change of boats, the rig encountered bad weather and suffered structural failure and flooding which led to the sinking and eventual loss of the rig. No other details
  102. 1977 3 5 Lock Teng Kwang Singapore Aged 23, cleaning dive on the vessel 'Kota Setia' at the western anchorage found under the vessel without his diving equipment
  103. 1977 2 11 Joseph Pat USA Fred Devine and Salvage 15 Salvage operations on the tanker “Sansitena� in Los Angeles harbour, Berth 46 (Blew up while alongside, 9 dead, 36 injured in the initial blast 17th December 1976) , had been in the water two hours osy arc cutting operations, gas pocket, underwater explosion, reported as “diver stricken with bends when he surfaced after an underwater explosion�. Also reported that he was the second diver injured on that job in four days. Although he remained in the industry, he was never able to dive again after the accident.. Los Angeles Times, PC.
  104. 1977 2 1 Solberg Ole Jan On NSDA database as American, possible fatality for a Norwegian company
  105. 1977 1 12 Rig 'Scan Sea' West Pacific Jack Up, sank during rig move/towing
  106. 1977 1 2 Dubois Norbert France Comex Topsides Off Brittany Coast. Caught between the bell and chamber during TUP, crushed chest. Delayed medivac as the French Navy helicopter did not fly at night. PC
  107. 1977 0 0 Beckham Charles Hiram USA Ocean Systems S/S Air Diving supervisor (Had also been a diving supervisor on the 'Gettysburg' in Asia in 1975/76), diving under a barge in heavy gear, believed to have been in a 'blow up' on the far side of the barge. Details needed. OK Dude/Longstreath
  108. 1977 0 0 Pickering Mike UK S/S Air Civil engineering, Nigg dry dock gate, differential pressure, sucked up pipe, drowned
  109. 1977 0 0 Rig 'Placid 66' Jack Up, sank, no details.
  110. 1976 12 24 Moore M R or H R UK Comex 0 SCUBA British, aged 29. Drill rig "Sedneth 701". Heavy swell, difficulty getting into basket, tried to swim to stand-by boat, presumed drowned, possibly run over by stand-by vessel, body never recovered.
  111. 1976 12 4 Nabusset Norbert France Comex SCUBA Off Brittany coast. Dived from one moonpool to the other in high current, tide took him away, dragged back by lifeline but lost head gear, drowned. PC
  112. 1976 11 24 Liang Tan Boon Singapore Underwater Mairenance Company Aged 23, hull cleaning with 5 other divers on the Barber lines vessel 'Trinidad' at the Western Anchorage, propeller started injuring him. A search was launched and he was recovered from the water, taken to hospital and declared dead 2 hours later. Straits Times
  113. 1976 11 4 Meeham C V UK KD Marine 0 SCUBA American, aged 24. Semi-sub drilling rig "Ocean Voyager", night dive to connect anchor pennants, surface tending, rough weather (Outside KD policy, being pushed by Company man on rig), lines entangled in pontoon anodes, knocked unconscious? Double fatality (Spensley)
  114. 1976 11 4 Spensley H W UK KD Marine 0 SCUBA British, aged 24. Semi-sub drilling rig "Ocean Voyager", night dive to connect anchor pennants, surface tending, rough weather (Outside KD Policy, pushed by Company man on rig), lines entangled in pontoon anodes, knocked unconscious? Double fatality (Meecham), drowned
  115. 1976 10 25 Soonee Mohamed bin Amin Borneo SCUBA Aged 48, onboard a Singaporean registered fishing vessel working 100 miles off the North Borneo coast. Propeller entangled with rope and nets, went in to clear it around 15:00 hours. Did not surface. Other crew members spent three hours searching for him before they saw his SCUBA gear hanging on the propeller. As it was dark they abandoned the search until the morning After a thre or four hour search the following day, they recovered his body from the seabed. The coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure, cause of death was certified as asphixia due to drowning. Straits Times
  116. 1976 9 6 Distier Mike USA 12 SCUBA Aged 28, diving for tropical fish of Big Pine Bay, reported as gear failure, breath held to surface, went into a coma, spent 8 hours in NOAA's Miami chamber, died in a Miami hospital. Not clear if this was a commercial dive. Reported in the St Petersberg Times.
  117. 1976 9 3 Critchfield Scott USA Aqua Hut 4 SCUBA Aged 22, Bowling Green Country Club Golf course, working on a submerged pump supplying a sprinkler system, colleague "Turned on the pump at a pre-arranged signal", about 30 seconds later the diver 'came struggling to the surface'. He went to get a rope but when he returned, the diver had disappeared. The diver's body was recovered about 20 feet from the shore. Possible electrocution, but no details. Toledo Blade.
  118. 1976 8 20 Yore USN Thomas John "TJ" Denmark Military US Navy diver, reported as 'Lost at sea off Greenland 20th August, declared dead 30th September". No other details. Navydivers.net
  119. 1976 8 10 Gohon Gerard North Sea Comex Topsides Caught his head between the bell and DDC during TUP, permanent paralysis. PC
  120. 1976 7 14 Dupuy R UK ETPM 16 S/S Air French, aged 24. Barge "ETPM 701", mask fitting broke, common supply to main and bailout, drowned, cerebral annoxia.
  121. 1976 5 13 Dymott C UK SBM Anglesey 37 SCUBA British, aged 26, drowned. 2 divers reported in trouble, located by stand-by(s) on seabed. Dymott with mouthpiece out, dive time listed as 5 hours?
  122. 1976 5 12 Hubert Nicholas UK North Sea Diving Services 37 S/S Air British, aged 24. Pipelay barge "PT One Elfa Norge", looking for a broken transponder on the bottom of the TP1 under construction in Loch Fyne. After an uneventful dive he was approaching the surface when he died. It subsequently turned out that the transponder was not broken and the fault was on the surface. The cause of death was reported as AGE (Arterial Gas Embolism) through diving with a chest infection, lung collapse, pulmonary barotrauma
  123. 1976 5 3 Dobson Anthony (Tony) UK Comex 37 S/S Air British, aged 30. Pipelay barge "Orca", stinger checks, either umbilical snagged subsea, pulled out of basket during recovery, extended umbilical (OD), or fouling of long umbilical in tideway, lost mouthpiece (HSE), stand-by diver could not reach him, drowning
  124. 1976 4 16 Rig 'Ocean Express' USA Marathon Rig move from Mustang Island to a new location in Mustang Island East, 33 miles away towed by the Gulf Knight, Gulf Explorer and Gulf Viking. At 2300, the rig was about 1 mile from new location and jacking-down of the mat commenced but sea conditions deteriorated, with seas up to around 10 feet by 0600 on 15 April. Through the day, the seas continued to build with swells washing over the decks by afternoon and some water leaking into the accommodation. At 1510, one of the Gulf Knight's engines failed, followed by the parting of the Gulf Viking's towline at 1930. Numerous attempts were made to reattach the Gulf Viking's towline but heavy seas breaking over the deck frustrated the crews efforts. The water also shifted some of the drillpipe stored in racks on the deck, which the crew tried to resecure. As a result of the water washing over the deck and the loose pipe, work on the towline and pipe was abandoned as conditions became too hazardous. Around 2000, a Coast Guard helicopter was despatched to evacuate the crew. At 2115, the derrick shifted to starboard giving the rig an immediate starboard list of up to 25 degrees. The crew then abandoned the rig using survival capsules #1 and #3, sailing into 25 foot seas with 65 mph winds. The Barge Mover remained behind in an attempt to save the rig. However, when the Coast Guard chopper arrived at 2120, the Barge Mover requested evacuation from the heildeck then ordered the tugs to let go their towlines. The Coast Guard chopper then made two abortive approach attempts, during which time the rig's list increased to an estimated 45 degrees. The pilot's complete lack of visual reference in the night while attempting to hover over the rig rendered the extraction almost impossible but on the chopper's third approach, the winchman managed to lower the passenger basket just in time to scoop up the Barge Mover. The pilot said later that it appeared at this point that the chopper was rapidly losing altitude. The truth was that the rig was actually capsizing and the bow helideck was swinging up underneath the chopper. Seconds after the Barge Mover was picked up, the rig capsized to starboard. The 14 crew in capsule #1 were rescued by the Nicole Martin survey vessel, whose captain maneuvered the capsule into the lee of the vessel, allowing the crew to jump from the capsule to the Nicole Martin. Capsule #3 was not so lucky. After coming alongside the Gulf Viking, the capsule was flipped unexpectedly by the high seas and rapidly half-filled with water, preventing the capsule from self-righting. An air pocket formed inside the capsule, but after around 30 minutes only 7 men had managed to escape from it. The other 13 crew were found drowned the next day still inside the capsule. Loss of directional control, resulting from the towline breaking and engine failure, was considered the primary cause of the capsize. One of the Marine Investigation Board's findings was that 'allowing a low freeboard self-elevating drilling unit to drift broadside to boarding seas... is an invitation for loss'. The report also noted that the possibility existed that grounding of the rig may have contributed to the capsize. Both the increased weight from boarding seas and the angle of the starboard list allowing the mat to touch bottom may well have resulted in a 'tripping action' which increased the rig's heel to starboard. USCG Reports
  125. 1976 3 26 Mitchell Michael Jay Singapore General Marine American, aged 29 from Seattle, died in hospital following a salvage dive from the barge 'Federal 401' during which his left foot was trapped in an air vent underwater. No other details. Straits Times
  126. 1976 3 1 Rig 'Deep Sea Driller' Norway Semi Sub, drifted and grounded in a storm, 6 fatalities.
  127. 1976 2 0 Rig 'W. D. Kent' UAE Jack Up, off Dubai, hit by barge during a storm, sank
  128. 1976 1 17 Bannister Derek A UK Comex 73 Saturation PSV "Smit Lloyd 112", buoyant bell with the bell weights suspended underneath bell, this allowed the bell to sit on the seabed minimising the action of swell. Apparently the bell was moved and in the process the bell weights were ripped off. Bell bottom door open, uncontrolled ascent, pulmonary barotrauma.. His bell partner (Clay Ellis) died. He survived, but was very severely injured.
  129. 1976 1 17 Ellis Clay UK Comex 73 Saturation American, aged 20. PSV "Smit Lloyd 112", buoyant bell with the bell weights suspended underneath bell, this allowed the bell to sit on the seabed minimising the action of swell. Apparently the bell was moved and in the process the bell weights were ripped off. Bell bottom door open, uncontrolled ascent, pulmonary barotrauma. Died. His bell partner (Derek Bannister) survived, but was very severely injured
  130. 1976 1 12 Howell RN John "Scouse" UK Subsea 146 Saturation British, aged 27. He was still in the Navy, but on EVT (Spending time with prospective employees prior to leaving the armed forces). Semi-sub drill rig "Western Pacesetter 1". He passed out shortly after leaving bell, officially reported as suspected switched off own gas by knocking ball valve, drowning/hypoxia, but other sources indicate his gas was contaminated and he passed out on the seabed. His bellman could not (or would not) get him back into the bell and tied him to the outside of the bell and removed his helmet. The body was taken to RNPL for autopsy, cause of death, drowning.
  131. 1976 1 0 Rig 'Gatto Selvatico' AGIP Jack Up, sank
  132. 1976 0 0 Gordon Hugh On NSDA database as American, possible fatality for a Norwegian company
  133. 1976 0 0 Not Recorded 121 Saturation A faulty welding device reported as causing a fire in a bell whilst at 400' resulting in the death of both divers, Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164. Can anyone recall this incident, it does not appear to be reported anywhere else (TC)?
  134. 1976 0 0 Riddett Richard 'Dick' Asia Ocean Systems? (tbc) 61 S/S Air Australian, diving off one of the Diamand M rigs (Dragon or General?). Stopped responding to signals, brought to surface and pronounced dead. Details needed. OK Dude/Longstreath.
  135. 1976 0 0 Rig 'Baku 2' Caspian Jack Up, sank after capsising (Punch through)
  136. 1975 10 17 Peterson Barry USA SCUBA Aged 21, sports diver, drowned when he was sucked into the 2,600 foot long cooling water inlet pipe of Southern California Edison power plant. An Edison spokesman commented that he could have surfaced safely in the holding tank 'but police stated he probably didn't realise that'. (On the other hand, it is entirely probable he drowned somewhere inside the half mile long pipe? TC) Google News Archive. Edison settled out of court in 1979 ($100,000).
  137. 1975 10 16 Yagushi Koji Singapore Toa Harbour Works Company S/S Air Japanese, described as a 'master diver' aged 49, diving with other divers from the launch 'Sentosa' on the PUB submarine cables South-West of Singapore (off Jurong Shipyard). The launch followed the diver as he walked on the seabed between the Esso mainland jetty and Pulau Ayer Chawan. His tender said that there was a violent tug on the line and hose at about 11:00. He pulled but they would not budge. They stopped the launch and a crewmember dived in to see that the line and hose were entangled in the propeller. They pulled him to the surface but 'he was already dead". At the inquest a former Naval diving unit officer testified that 'he might still be alive if other members of his diving team had been qualified divers as they would have acted faster and would have known exactly what to do which might have prevented the death of the diver'. Straits Times
  138. 1975 9 25 Wendelaar Joachim USA 322 German, aged 36, from Hamburg, described as a veteran diver with the West German shipbuilder GKSS, was part of a three man team preparatory works to the 100 ton underwater NOAA habitat 'Helgoland' sponsored by the US, West Germany, Poland and Norway off Roskport. Quote “It appeared something went wrong with his oxygen regulator and he suffered the bends on surfacing�. Confused reporting - it appears he actually fell unconscious on deck, initially reported as a surface accident - but no details Reported in 'The Hour'
  139. 1975 9 9 Baldwin Roger UK Oceaneering 119 Saturation British, aged 29, Ex RN CD2 ( not ex Royal Marine Corporal as reported elsewhere). Died in the same year he left the Navy. Semi-sub drill rig "Waage II", Bell Bounce diving, divers using dry-suits and known to be cold, end of bell run, TUP deliberately overheated to help compensate for potential hypothermia. After locking on, bell was isolated and decompressed. Single gauge for both bell and TUP, cross over open, Supervisor believed TUP was losing pressure and re-pressurised Excessive heat/depth, died of heat exhaustion. Double fatality (Peter Holmes)
  140. 1975 9 9 Holmes Peter UK Oceaneering 119 Saturation British, aged 24. Semi-sub drill rig "Waage II", Bell Bounce diving, divers using dry-suits and known to be cold, end of bell run, TUP deliberately overheated to help compensate for potential hypothermia. After locking on, bell was isolated and decompressed. Single gauge for both bell and TUP, cross over open, Supervisor believed TUP was losing pressure and re-pressurised Excessive heat/depth, died of heat exhaustion. Double fatality (Roger Baldwin)
  141. 1975 9 0 Rig 'AMDP-1' UAE Jack Up, sank during rig move/towing
  142. 1975 8 29 Gates Robert USA Clarmac Marine Construction 4 SCUBA Aged 19, Halifax River at Ormand Beach, Emergency repairs to a 10� water main (Anchor damage) 200 yards to the North side of Granada Bridge, diving with a colleague doing final flange bolting of a new line, the other diver surfaced but moments later, at around 18:00 his bubbles ceased, divers went back in but were unable to locate him. About 20:00 divers on the barge suggested the use of grapples to search from a boat and found the body but it dropped back into the water, finally recovered a short time later, declared dead on site. Daytona Beach Morning Gazzette.
  143. 1975 8 2 Boulay Serge Italy Comex Topsides Oilfield diving. Oxygen transfer inside a container on deck of the Glomar V, O2 leakage, possibly exacerbated by dust, flash fire. Hot weather, three crew were only wearing shorts. Died in hospital. Triple fatality (with Philipe Salvatori and Noel Shneider ). PC
  144. 1975 8 2 Salvatori Philipe Italy Comex Topsides Oilfield diving. Oxygen transfer inside a container on deck, O2 leakage, possibly exacerbated by dust, flash fire. Hot weather, three crew were only wearing shorts. Died in hospital. Triple fatality (with Noel Shneider and Serge Boulay). PC
  145. 1975 8 2 Schneider Noel Italy Comex Topsides Oilfield diving. Oxygen transfer inside a container on deck, O2 leakage, possibly exacerbated by dust, flash fire. Hot weather, three crew were only wearing shorts. Died in hospital. Triple fatality (with Philipe Salvatori and Serge Boulay). PC
  146. 1975 8 0 Lee David "Tansy" Egypt Solus Schall 78 SCUBA British, ex RN clearance diver. Platform and pipeline inspection programme for AMOCO/GUPCO in the Gulf of Suez. Dive team increased when 'Beaver IV' (Diver lock out submarine) failed to perform. Diving in pairs on SCUBA with mixed gas to 255 feet on the Morgan 55 platform, diver appeared to let go of structure and drifted away. Body never recovered. Fatality thought to have occurred around the month of August. NB. The bad weather/wind period in the Gulf of Suez is from June to September, lump sum contract thought to have lost millions due to 'unexpected poor weather' as contract was bid expecting European style good summer weather. PC
  147. 1975 7 7 Walsh Peter UK Underwater Security Ltd. 37 SCUBA British, aged 25. "Celtic Surveyor", Scapa Flow, double fatality (Carson), shore approach, pigging operation, diver sucked into pipe by wave action or incorrect valve operation, differential pressure, stand-by diver and second stand-by (third diver) also sucked in though second stand-by managed to get out, two divers drowned
  148. 1975 7 6 Carson W UK Underwater Security Ltd. 37 SCUBA British, aged 20. "Celtic Surveyor", Scapa Flow, double fatality (Walsh), shore approach, pigging operation, diver sucked into pipe by wave action or incorrect valve operation, differential pressure, stand-by diver and second stand-by (third diver) also sucked in though second stand-by managed to get out, two divers drowned
  149. 1975 6 14 Turner George W Norway Comex 46 SCUBA British, aged 37. Pipelay barge "Choctaw 1", meant to be doing a survey at max depth of 50m, seabed was 69m, slipped lifeline. Two divers entered water on SCUBA, supervisor returns to surface violently ill, puking, stand-by (also in SCUBA) entered water but also returned to surface violently ill and puking, second standby jumped on band mask, narked but located diver's body on seabed. Official report states 'food poisoning' though nobody else who ate in the galley reported any symptoms.................Bad gas???
  150. 1975 6 6 Gage Rick USA Treasure Salvors Inc Operation to recover gold from the wreck of the Spanish galleon 'Nuestra Senora Atocha', sank in a hurricane in 1622 some 12 miles off the Marquesa Islands. Salvage vessel 'North wind', a 60' converted tug rolled over and sank before dawn as the crew slept whilst anchored overnight on site. 13 crew saved, Captain and his wife plus one diver, aged 21, drowned. Daily News.
  151. 1975 5 24 Babin Jean Claude Dubai Comex SCUBA Oilfield Dive, extended bottom time but no provision for in-water decompression stops, zodiac outboard engine failed leading to delayed recompression/surface decompression. Doctor refused to enter DDC. PC
  152. 1975 5 16 Not Recorded USA Pacific Agar Company 8 Reported as drowned during seaweed harvesting off Dana point due to compressor failure, but no details. Los Angeles Times.
  153. 1975 3 22 Alvestad Aage Lasse UK 3X 140 Norwegian, aged 30. "Borgney Dolphin", Monsanto, heating failed, anoxia, hypothermia, exhaustion
  154. 1975 3 20 Cluseau Giry du Gabon Comex SCUBA Oilfield dive. Two divers, both on SCUBA, both unwell at depth and returned to the surface, one diver survived. Possible contaminated air. PC
  155. 1975 3 18 McDonald Norman Canada Can Dive Services 6 Chamber Described as “Working in water more than 200 feet deep off the Harmac pulp mill (owned byMacMillan Bloedel Ltd)�, required surface decompression in deck chamber, “The RCMP said a diver burned to death when a spark ignited in the pure oxygen in the decompression chamber". Victim was not named. Reported in the Windsor Star. An alternative report says that the diver was completing his surface decompression at 1.6 bara (20 fsw) following a routine mixed gas dive dive to 275'. His respirator mask was not working correctly so he switched to a second that was 'Y' connected and put it on free flow which by-passed the overboard dump and allowed the O2 inside the chamber build to an estimated 40%. The diver was wearing two sweathers for warmth. As the chamber was being vented the diver removed his wool sweater from over the synthetic one. There was a flash inside the chamber and smoke poured out of the vents and BIBS dump. It was concluded that static electrical discharge was the initiating factorThe diver died as a result of the explosion, CO poisoning and asphyxia. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164
  156. 1975 3 12 Rene Pierre Canada 50 Aged 32 from Montreal, "Four specialists in underwater medicine tried unsuccessfully to save the life of a diver who became ill while working in the Port of Quebec. Police said that he became ill while inspecting the outlet of a sewage conduit in the middle of the St Lawrence River". Edmonton Journal
  157. 1975 3 1 Wilson Kevin UK CUE 43 SCUBA British, aged 20. Southern North Sea installation 49/27B, Leman field, pulmonary oedema caused by cardiac myopathy, heart failure, natural causes (Reported by JW as the last 1974 fatality, TC)
  158. 1975 3 0 Horst UK Londive Inland British, civil engineering work on Anglesey, got into difficulties in the water, was picked up by crane but then dropped a considerable height onto the deck
  159. 1975 3 0 Rig 'Zapata Topper III' USA Jack Up, Blow out, sank off Loisiana
  160. 1975 2 6 Martin John Douglas Norway Ocean Systems 41 S/S Air British, aged 30. Stavanger Fjord, Condeep platform, reported as 'Lost/ditched helmet, insufficient training' No explanation', body never recovered, but he had 15 years experience.
  161. 1975 2 6 Not Recorded Netherlands 14 Recorded on HSE database, but not in Dutch records
  162. 1975 1 9 Imaizumi USA Reported as 'Diver dies as air line snaps'. Possible that 'another diver, Ta-Kashi Osaka, aged 26, who was sharing the single hose' tried to free him from entanglement in kelp but was too late to rescue him. Reported in the Los Angeles Times
  163. 1975 0 0 Higgins Phil Asia Oceaneering Topsides Australian supervisor on the Fredericksburg Drilling Barge (Attwood Oceanics). Pressure/leak test of the bell and chamber to 600' + while on tow (En route to Burma). Due to rig movement the TUP clamps gave way and the bell blew off pulling the umbilical with it. The umbilical parted and the bell went into sea (was never located). Phil Higgins was standing near the bell, blown through the 'A' Frame onto the lower deck. Killed instantly. OK Dude/Longstreath.
  164. 1975 0 0 Higgins? Ocean Systems 82 S/S Mixed Gas Australian. On completion of dive started doing water stops. For some unknown reason abandoned decompression routine and came to surface, refused to go back down. Surface decompression was intitiated 'from last stop' as opposed to full working depth. Died. Cannabis was reported as being found in his personal belongings but details not confirmed. OK Dude/Longstreath.
  165. 1975 0 0 Moore Glen USA Taylor Diving and Salvage Dive hose pinched/lost air. Bailed out but came up under barge. Drowned. No bailout bottle
  166. 1975 0 0 Not Recorded New Zealand Oceaneering?? 168 ADS Observation dive (Bell at atmospheric pressure) off the semi-sub Penrod 74 off Southern New Zealand. Top ceiling port started leaking, divers tried to compensate by pressurising the bell but it flooded such that when they got it to the surface, it was too heavy to lift out of the water. Bell eventually recovered and divers put into the chamber for decompression. Diver 1 went for a shower, collapsed unconscious in the shower but was revived and pulled back into the main chamber. Diver 2 (who displayed no sypmptoms of DCI) then also went for a shower and was subsequently found dead. Dive site had no spare gas for chamber treatment and extra helium was sent overnight by high speed road convoy with police escort from Nelson to Invercargill (Bottom of South Island). That gas was only available because Ocean Systems had just come to New Zealand and had set up a base at Nelson (North end of South Island) to support diving operations off the drillship 'Glomar Tasman'. New Zealand Navy did an investigation and discovered the bell had only a single (inboard) viewport (as opposed to double ports with one external for accepting external differential pressure) and the 'O' ring had blown in. OK Dude/Longstreath
  167. 1975 0 0 Not Recorded Canada Killed during construction of a deep water oil terminal outside St John Harbour, New Brunswick. PC
  168. 1975 0 0 Not Recorded Asia Ocean Systems? 82 S/S Mixed Gas New Zealand diver 'died in suspicious circumstances' diving off the "Fredericksburg". Rumours of a cover up. The diver was the son of a doctor in Nelson, New Zealand. No other details. OK Dude/Longstreath. (NB, Not included in the 'count' pending confirmation/details. TC)
  169. 1975 0 0 Rig 'Topper III' Crestwave Jack Up, sank.
  170. 1975 0 0 USN USA USN 350 Deep Diving System Mk I sets in-water diving record to over 1,100 feet'
  171. 1974 12 17 Howard-Phillips Jeremy L UK Comex 10 S/S Air British, from Hintlesham in Norfolk, aged 30. McDermott Jet Barge 4, Scapa Flow, Valve knocked off 48" the Occidental pipeline by jet sledge, differential pressure (100' to atmosphere) sucked him into 20cm/8" valve opening, died instantly Standby diver could not release body until pressure equalised.
  172. 1974 12 2 Keane David Ireland 81 British, aged 17. Umbilical severed by bell movement, did not use his bale out, asphyxia/drowning
  173. 1974 11 1 Lim Guan Choon Singapore SCUBA Aged 29, diver on the fishing vessel SMF 271. Returning to Singapore, the boat's nets got caught in it's propellers, he went in to free them but surfaced after 10 minutes complaining of giddiness, died an hour later. No other details. Straits Tims
  174. 1974 11 0 Rig 'Liberacion' South America Jack Up, caugt in a storm, grounded, sank
  175. 1974 10 21 Talbot Kim USA Aged 24 from Seattle, working on a sunken barge near Blaine, surface crew noticed his bubbles had ceased, pulled him to surface, resuscitation by fire crew from Blaine was unsuccessful. Spokane daily Chronicle
  176. 1974 10 15 Shields Gary Norway 72 Saturation British, aged 21. DSV "Oregis", Ekofisk pipeline, changed gas topsides, possibly lost/bad gas, entangled, did not use bale out, attempted to cut umbilical, asphyxia.
  177. 1974 10 14 Clark John UK Comex 0 SCUBA British, aged 31, married, two children. Drill rig "Waage I", Acting as surface tender during attachment of a towing line. Swept under cowcatcher or cross member by swell, broken rib, vomited, drowned
  178. 1974 10 9 Rig 'Gemini' Jack Up, punch through, collapsed
  179. 1974 10 0 Marlin J. C. USA S/S Mixed Gas American, pipeline pull-in into a J-tube, pipeline jammed, diver investigating, it moved and caught his hand, broken thumb and forefinger, he either climbed directly to the surface himself or was pulled up by the crew, into the DDC but died, decompression incident
  180. 1974 8 27 Kelly Peter Norway Northern Divers 91 Saturation British, aged 27. Got a slug of pure Helium on descent, wearing a full face mask, collapsed and died, bell partner (Danny Stockes) wearing a half mask which dislodged, survived.
  181. 1974 8 27 Stockes Danny Norway Northern Divers 91 Saturation Ex Royal Marine Commando, got a slug of pure Helium on descent, knocked off half mask as he collapsed and survived, bell partner Peter Kelly, wearing a full face mask, died.
  182. 1974 8 23 Tay Chwee Kiat Singapore Diver on a fishing vessel dived to retrieve the vessel's anchor at about 3 pm. Having freed it and surfaced he complained of stomach pains and at about 8 pm on the same day, died. Straits Times
  183. 1974 8 18 Gumblowski Ray USA 40 Aged 42, (Shell) oil survey dive from the boat 'Robert R ' 48 miles offshore out of Bayboro Harbour, surfaced, but collapsed on deck, put in DDC but stopped breathing. Alternative report says entered DDC normally to undergo surface decompression but after 10 minutes had breathing difficulties. A second diver (Charles Hinson) was locked in to assist, but was unable to restart his breathing. Body was removed from chamber after diving specialist doctor flown out from panama city pronounced him dead. Autopsy results not reported at the time. The Evening Independent.
  184. 1974 7 19 Brening Fred USA 15 SCUBA US Navy dry dock at Brooklyn Navy Yard. Civilian commercial diver entered pump well to repair pump, "a 5 minute job", trapped by differential pressure for 17 hours, body recovered the day after. Reported in the Virgin Islands Daily News.
  185. 1974 7 5 Dimmer John UK KD Marine 150 Saturation British, aged 27. Drill rig "Sedco 135F", suffered a pneumothorax. Was distressed during decompression and after treated with a therapeutic re-compression but died in the chamber. Diving supervisor initially suspected pneumothorax but was over-ridden by the doctor who diagnosed the symptoms as pneumonia (The doctor involved was inexperienced in hyperbaric medicine).
  186. 1974 6 12 Doigne Colin Australia Yarra Harbour Trust 9 S/S Air Aged 37, former Royal Navy Diver, One of a team of three divers undertaking routine maintenance to beacon marking the entrance to the mouth of the Yarra River, choppy water, his air hose got entangled with his support vessel propeller. Reported as dead before he could be recovered to the surface. Survived by his wife and two daughters aged 12 years and 4 months. The Age.
  187. 1974 6 0 Not Recorded USA Military “Southbury man dies after Navy Diving accident�, The Hartford Courant� paper, Conn. USA
  188. 1974 5 23 Auestad B UK 61 Norwegian, aged 24. Died of natural causes in the DDC, Delay in getting him into DDC - obese – plus post mortem revealed history of heart problems, not medically fit to dive.
  189. 1974 4 17 Perry Dennis USA Military 6 SCUBA Aged 27, married with two children. Oil tanker 'Imperial Sarnia' en route to Montreal with 45,000 bbls of crude ran ashore on Whaleback Shoal, estimate 2,000 bbls spill, pollution along several miles of the coastline. Diver was one of three coastguard divers installing lines around the hull in 20' of water, sank to the bottom and disappeared. Ottawa citizen.
  190. 1974 4 11 Barthelemy Marc G G UK Comex 93 Saturation French, aged 24. Drill ship "Havdrill". Needed rescue, drowned in bell trunking, exhaustion. Alternative report that diver had lost/restricted gas, returned to bell with umbilical around guide wire, Swedish bellman pulled in umbilical which pulled diver away from bell, British support crew, reverted to native languages, in ensuing panic, bellman cut umbilical and shut bell door, told dive control to recover bell. Body of diver draped over bell weights.
  191. 1974 3 30 Norris William UK 61 British, pipe-lay barge? Medically unfit to dive (no medical), died in DDC following a dive, reported as decompression illness
  192. 1974 1 116 Skipnes Per Norway Ocean Systems 77 Saturation Norwegian, aged 37. "Drill Master", bell drop weights released, bell to surface with doors open, double fatality (Smythe).
  193. 1974 1 16 Smythe Robert John Norway Ocean Systems 77 Saturation British, aged 38, Aged 38. "Drill Master", bell drop weights released, bell to surface with doors open, double fatality (Skipness)
  194. 1974 1 1 Rig 'Transocean III' UK Mobil, Transocean Built in Hamburg, Germany in 1973 as a 'self-elevating semi-submersible design'. Storms prevented the new rig from being moved to its first drilling location and the rig was anchored in 342 feet of water about 100 miles east of Shetland. Between 29 Dec 1973 and 01 Jan 1974, the rig suffered progressive structural damage resulting from the storm conditions leading to the evacuation by helicopter of 38 of the 56 crew at around 1800 hours on 01 Jan 1974. The remaining 18 crew were then evacuated by 2300 hours on 01 Jan 1974. The crew were transferred to the nearby Transworld 61 and Transworld 58 rigs. Four tugs were on stand-by to tow the Transocean 3 to Norway for repairs, but continued bad weather sank the rig in the early hours of 02 Jan 1974 before this could be performed. HSE documents state that a jackable leg broke away from the machinery house, leading to the subsequent capsize and later sinking of the vessel. Weather conditions at the time were winds of 21m/s with waves of 6m. Reported in the Times
  195. 1974 0 0 Not Recorded Japan 10 Saturation Two Japanese divers divers died in a bell fire caused by an electrical short circuit in the internal wiring, deaths due to a combination of O2 depletion and toxic fumes. The system designer committed suicide, Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164
  196. 1974 0 0 Not Recorded USA SCUBA Diving alone in a river recovering fish lures, an activity he had been pursuing for three years. The victim would overweight himself with 24 pounds of lead on his waist and a two pound weight on each ankle. The dive site was below a dam where the water was quite swift. |The victim was very fatigued, and witnesses say that he moved closer to the dam than normal, and apparently got drawn against the rocks and lost control. He was seen floating downstream turning over three times as he went. The regulator was out of his mouth the last time he turned over. The victim was recovered with the outside portion of a minnow bucket attached to his chest and a rope from his waist tied to an inner tube and diving flag. The rope was tangled around his body. Reported in the statistics of the University of Michigan, Michigan Sea Grant Program, 1979. (Not sure whether this is a true professional fatality so it is excluded from the count TC)
  197. 1974 0 0 Smith Roy Inmam USA Underwater Services Serious and permanent injuries on board a B & R barge “H S Lindsay�, court case 1965
  198. 1974 0 0 Trautman Richard Wayne Egypt Buck Steber American, salvage diver, injured during suez canal clearance operations. Law suit in 1982. No details
  199. 1973 12 1 House Timothy UK Strongwork 21 British, aged 24. Semi sub drill rig "Blue Water III", possible diving on SCUBA with a comms/lifeline or might have been S/S Air (Not clear), stand-by diver found surface line cut, body never recovered. Jackie Warner later concluded that the diver had cut his own lifeline, an illogical action brought on by hypothermia, other sources infer umbilical possibly severed by anchor wire/sheave.
  200. 1973 10 29 Not Recorded USA Military Submarine "Navy craft hits minisub, kills sailor. A frogman was killed and a second injured Tuesday when their submerged…returning to base after training off Silver Strand (San Diego) when the accident occurred". Los Angeles Times Pay per view
  201. 1973 10 10 Coelo Dominique Congo Comex 70 SCUBA Oilfield dive. Drowned. PC
  202. 1973 9 0 Not Recorded Congo 70 Chamber Trimix bounce dive to 70 metres, three divers (Triple fatality, but names unknown). During chamber decompression stops on 40/60 nitrox at 9 metres a fire started in the DDC. Divers transferred to the lock but could not close the door because of hoses. Hoses caught fire. The divers died of asphyxia (No skin burns). Fire probably started by a book being used internally to shade an externally mounted light that was known to get very hot. PC
  203. 1973 8 28 Havlena Paul J UK Taylor Diving 98 Saturation American, aged 29. Barge "LB Meaders", "Push pull" gas system, Supply closed off while suction open, embolism, pulmonary haemorrhage
  204. 1973 6 18 Link Clayton USA Johnson-Sea Link 107 Submarine Aged 31, son of the mini submarine's inventor, Edwin Link. Trapped on the wreck of a sunken destroyer, the two men in the rear compartment (Link and Stover) died (asphyxiation), two in the forward compartment survived
  205. 1973 6 18 Stover Albert USA Johnson-Sea Link 107 Submarine Aged 51, mini sub pilot. Trapped on the wreck of a sunken destroyer, the two men in the rear compartment (Link and Stover) died (asphyxiation), two in the forward compartment survived
  206. 1973 6 7 Fraid Gary W USA Military Surface swimmer American police officer, Kenosha Police Department, WI, drowned during a surface swim training exercise with the department team. Milwaukee Sentinel
  207. 1973 4 16 Jain Atan bin Singapore Selco Salvage Private limited 3 Injured in the same accident that killed Mohamed Mohamed and injured Kenneth Morrison when a hatch on the Italian vessel Igara (Ex Japan en route to Brazil with Iron ore which had sunk following striking a rock near Horsburgh lighthouse on March 19th) they were opening exploded open under pressure. Straits Times
  208. 1973 4 16 Mohamed Mohamed lasen Bin Singapore Selco Salvage Private limited 3 Aged 42, killed, 2 other dives (Kenneth Morrison and Atan bin Jain) injured when a hatch on the Italian vessel Igara (Ex Japan en route to Brazil with Iron ore which had sunk following striking a rock near Horsburgh lighthouse on March 19th) they were opening exploded open under pressure. Straits Times
  209. 1973 4 16 Morrison Kenneth Singapore Selco Salvage Private limited 3 Injured in the same accident that killed Mohamed Mohamed and injured Atan bin Jain when a hatch on the Italian vessel Igara (Ex Japan en route to Brazil with Iron ore which had sunk following striking a rock near Horsburgh lighthouse on March 19th) they were opening exploded open under pressure. Straits Times
  210. 1973 0 0 Cwick Edward USA Empire Marine Diving America, drowned on a sewage pipe under Lake Ontario, $950,000 out of court settlement (Jones Act) finally agreed in September of 1991
  211. 1973 0 0 Not Recorded USA SCUBA The diver was working alone, under ice, installing a bubbler system in a marina. The area between and outside the three docks was ice covered with open water in the boat wells (due to the bubbler system). The victim, stating that he wanted to finish the job that day, entered the water wearing double tanks and a variable volume dry suit. He left a friend on the dock as observer and used no safety line as he feared getting tangled under the docks. The victim surfaced in one of the wells on the center dock and stated that he was going to one of the other docks to do some work. He was not seen again. His body was recovered from under a large ice sheet near the shore of the marina. His back pack and weight belt were still on, but the tanks, which had been wired to the backpack were found 20 feet away. The regulator mouthpiece was floating above the empty tanks. Reported in the statistics of the University of Michigan, Michigan Sea Grant Program, 1979.
  212. 1973 0 0 Not Recorded New Zealand Napier, Jetting Sledge rolled onto the diver.
  213. 1972 10 25 Collett Clive New Zealand Divers fron Proctor Reclaim, NZ on contract to United Salvage Company of Melbourne Killed during diving operations cutting up the wreck of the ferry “Wahine� (Sank at the entrance to Wellington Harboure April 10 1968 by Cyclone 'Giselle' with the loss of 53 people), in an underwater explosion. � The Wahine was lying in the middle of Wellington Harbour and the Harbour Board ordered her removal. The original idea was that she would be pumped full of polyutherane foam and refloated intact. However during another storm on May 8th, 1969, the hull was broken into three pieces. The Salvage company decided then to break the wreck into 30-80 ton segments, which would then be lifted and carried ashore by the floating crane Hikitia. Most of the metal was sent to scrap mills in Auckland to be melted down in steel reinforcing for buildings. All the timber, plastic, fittings and furniture were disposed of at the Wellington rubbish dump. During the salvage, Mr Clive Collett was killed in an explosion while diving� PC
  214. 1972 10 10 Ney Jean Pierre Gabon Comex Oilfield dive. Switched to breathing pure oxygen with full face mask/comms on decompression stops, no basket, strong current. Shouted and pulled off mask, taken under barge by current. PC
  215. 1972 8 25 Fleming James P USA 85 Aged 25, working to salvage a 40' cement commercial fishing vessel - the 'Ferro Queen '- that sank on May 27th in 280' of water off Newburyport, reported as 'bends', unconscious in the water, brought to the surface by a fellow diver, taken ashore to Seabrook Beach in New Hampshire and transferred by ambulance to a recompression chamber at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, pronounced dead by a doctor 30 minutes after he entered the chamber. The Nashua Telegraph.
  216. 1972 8 10 Holland Robert USA Healy Tibbitts 11 Described as a “professional hard hat diver�, was one of a three man team working off a barge in Hilo Harbour. On Hawaii at the time of his death in a diving accident. Subject of a court case Holland v. Healy Tibbitts Const. Co., 379 F.Supp. 192 (D. Hawaii, Jul 24, 1974). No details. Loislaw.com
  217. 1972 7 21 Tan Han Siew Singapore 23 S/S air Aged 36, crewmember on a fishing vessel out of Singapore. Anchor stuck on seabed, diver sent down to invesigate and came back up to say it was jammed in rocks, he went down to free it and after 15 minutes was signalled to come up. No response, so was pulled up. Expert witness (bomb disposal unit diver described the effects of losing gas at depth (collapsed lungs, 'died of pulmnary suffocation'). Coroner recorded an open verdict. No real details. Straits Times
  218. 1972 5 8 Stein Wendel Edward 'Del' British Virgin Islands 27 Rebreather Aged 24, diving from the oceanographic research vessel 'Neap Tide' off Peter Island. Reported as 'surfaced around 5 o'clock after apparently having trouble with the rebreather pack he was wearing' USCG flew in a doctor by helicopter from the air and sea rescue base on Puerto Rico but he was pronounced dead two hours after surfacing. No details. Reported in the Virgin Islands Daily News
  219. 1972 5 1 Taylor Robert UK Strongwork 13 SCUBA British, aged 25. Drillship "Britannia", big meal, vomited underwater, found entangled in a rope 11 hours later, drowned. Possibly no training
  220. 1972 3 7 Not Recorded UK "A diver died trying to plug an underwater sluice yesterday in Portsmouth Dockyard. He was trapped in the narrow sluice for 30 minutes", Reported in the Glasgow Herald
  221. 1972 0 0 AODC UK International Association of Diving Contractors founded
  222. 1972 0 0 Babbington James Australia 49 S/S Air From Eden, NSW, double fatality, diving with 'Megsy' for abalone off Black Head. No bailouts or secondary supply, no one on the surface, compressor cut out. Made it to the surface and got ashore to the Mallacoota Abalone divers co-op hyperbaric unit. Decompression was taken over by Australian Navy but died from decompression illness (Was overweight and had a history of DCIs - for which reason he had left the industry - but returned to diving following a price rise). Bubblesblower/Longstreath
  223. 1972 0 0 Bale Trevor Togo/West Africa Ocean Systems? S/S Mixed Gas Diving off the 'Shiloh', using surface supplied air swiching to mixed gas. No details, can anybody help? PC
  224. 1972 0 0 Conover Harold Trinidad Possibly worked for Packer Diving and Salvage (Morgan city), described as being killed off the coast of Trinidad in 1972, no other details. Old Divers Notice Board
  225. 1972 0 0 Megsy Australia 49 S/S Air From Eden, NSW, double fatality, diving with Jim Babbington for abalone off Black Head. No bailouts or secondary supply, no one on the surface, compressor cut out. Made it to the surface and got ashore to the Mallacoota Abalone divers co-op hyperbaric unit. Decompression was taken over by Australian Navy but Jim Babbington died from decompression illness (Was overweight and had a history of DCIs - for which reason he had left the industry - but returned to diving following a price rise). Megsy was asked to move the body to the entry lock but he became jammed in the door (rigor mortis/big man) so nobody could then lock in or out. Megsy then became ill and, assuming it was DCI, the Navy kept blowing him back down. Eventually, he lost comsciousness and died. Reported that actual cause of death was oxygen poisoning. Bubblesbloer/Longstreath
  226. 1972 0 0 Not Recorded USA 37 S/S Air “The victim was diving from a salvage ship and removing steel from a sunken ship at 120 feet. He wore a variable volume dry suit and lightweight helmet. The victim had been down 26 minutes on his first dive of the day when he told the surface personnel that he could not get any air and that a piece of steel had fallen onto his air hose. According to the accident reports, the standby diver was in the water within 3 minutes and two SCUBA divers were in within 10 minutes. The victim was brought to the surface, re compressed and CPR administered to no avail� Reported in the statistics of the University of Michigan, Michigan Sea Grant Program, 1979.
  227. 1972 0 0 Not Recorded Tunisia Cocean 57 SCUBA Ashtart field, installation of a shackle on an anchoring pipe. Diving SCUBA/Trimix from SBM Installer I. Descent along the chain - High swell, chain moving in chain direction in upper zone, vertically up and down (4 to 5 meters) below 60 m where it was almost horizontal in reduced visibility water. Chain hits Scuba tanks braking the attachment between tanks. Diver catches the chain to prevent further hit, movement of water removes mask and one fin. After releasing the chain, diver could replace mask and locate the fin and come up, the buddy diver was watching above in a zone with visibility (bubbles still coming up), both returned safely at surface.....
  228. 1972 0 0 Savard Robert USA Marine Contracting S/S Air Bridge construction Naragansett Bay, high currents, wearing borrowed heavy gear, apparently lost/turned off air, unconscious, but also botched rescue, body not recovered for several hours, Jones case reported October 1972.
  229. 1972 0 0 USN USA Military 308 Deep Diving System Mk II sets in-water diving record to over a thousand feet
  230. 1971 11 1 Minn Hnutt UK Divcon Oceaneering 84 S/S Mixed Gas British, aged 31. Drill ship "Glomar III", "Standard gear", no bell, tangled in lines, overan dive, surfaced rapidly (suit malfunction), embolism, recompressed on air in DDC, died
  231. 1971 8 18 Koh John Kay Lim Singapore Straits Diving Singaporean aged 33, diving to clean a water suction tube at the Jurong power station. Dive team "found Koh stuck to the wire netted entrance of the tube limp and lifeless". Verdict was drowning by misadventure. Straits Times
  232. 1971 3 26 Pasquier Jean Pierre Italy Comex SCUBA Oilfield dive. Breathing 50/50 during decompression stops, hyperoxia, drowned. PC
  233. 1971 3 0 Brushneen Michael George Norway Comex 61 S/S Mixed Gas British, aged 33. "Ocean Viking", Bell bounce dive in a new design (possibly untested and subsequently discontinued) constant volume suit, blew up from seabed, pulmonary barotrauma resulting in pneumothorax
  234. 1971 2 1 Lally Thomas "Mick" Norway Comex 71 SCUBA British (Not, as widely reported, American), aged 32. Noted as the first of 55 North Sea fatalities between 1971 and 1984 by Jackie Warner, “Requiem for a diver� (He had no knowledge of RJ Lyons death in the Norwegian sector in 1967 or the double explosion fatality in 1970 off Great Yarmouth), "Ocean Viking", surface jump in a wetsuit (SCUBA with heliox), no bell, at end of dive partner Bjorn Lilleand shivering violently surfaced 5 minutes early from 3 metre stop, put in single person cage and recovered, Lally died, drowned on surface, reported 20 minute delay in recovering him from the sea, probable hypothermia
  235. 1971 1 17 Not Recorded Australia Deep Sea Divers “Diver dies� PERTH, Sunday. — “A diver from NSW working underwater on an abandoned oil exploration rig off the WA coast, died at Royal Perth Hospital yesterday. The man, aged about 35, was found with severe cuts to his head and other parts of his body. Perth CIB has been called in to investigate the circumstances. He was working for a Melbourne-based company, Deep Sea Divers, at the abandoned Charlotte No 1 well, 25 miles north-west of Fremantle. The company is removing an underwater guiding system used to position oil drills. The diver was brought to the surface by a tug and flown by helicopter to Perth. He was dead on arrival�. Reported in the Canberra Times
  236. 1971 0 0 Hamblin Steve USA Taylor Diving and Salvage A tug was brought alongside unannounced on the opposite side of the barge from the dive station while the diver was unhooking davits. Heavy seas, barge was dragging anchors. 20' of dive hose was recovered from the tug's propeller, the diver's body was never found or recovered. PC
  237. 1970 12 30 Strano John Australia Tweed Heads Porpoise Pool “Diver better� SYDNEY. Thursday. “Mr John Strano, 30, of Palm Beach, Queensland, a diver from the Tweed Heads porpoise pool, was recovering today from an injury he received when he was attacked by a 300 lb groper (Newpaper typo, I think….?) in the pool yesterday at feeding time�. The Canberra Times
  238. 1970 10 0 USN USA Military 259 Deep Diving System Mk I sets in-water diving record to 850'
  239. 1970 9 19 Bielanski John USA Aged 32, professional diver from Oak Forest drowned while repairing a broken water main at the bottom of a man made lake (Lake Camelot?) No other details. Chicago Tribune.
  240. 1970 8 16 Sims W. D. USA Aged 44, Rescue diver looking for the body of 16 year old sports diver Fred Schmitz (Apparently blacked out and then disapeared into the depths) who was diving with 31 year old Hal Watts (Who suffered a DCI and was treated in a DDC for 5 hours at Cape Kennedy during the SAR operation), both were members of the Orlando Otters SCUBA Club diving in a 400' deep sinkhole looking for equipment lost on earlier dives. Speculated that the rescue diver, Sims, suffered from nitrogen narcosis, got entangled in safety ropes, ran out of air and drowned. Rescue operations were then called off pending the use of deep diving equipment. Unclear if this was a 'professional' or amateur rescue attempt. St. Petersberg Times
  241. 1970 6 21 Wojcik, RAN CD Bogdan Kazimierz Vietnam Military In May 1966 Clearance Diving Team 1 spent a short period in Vietnam working with US Navy Divers. Clearance Diving Team 3 was deployed from February 1967 until May 1971 for clearing rivers and shipping channels of mines and booby traps. The team also carried out salvage work and trawler searches to protect and secure South Vietnamese ports from sabotage. Over this period there were 7573 ship searches, 153 major diving tasks, 78 explosive devices removed from ships, 352 tons heavy ordnance destroyed, 42,000 items of unsafe ammunition destroyed, 68 special operations including canal barricades, search and destroy missions plus reconnaissance and ambush missions in three fire zones. Casualties were one clearance diver killed and one clearance diver wounded on active service.
  242. 1970 5 15 Not Recorded Israel Military Elath, salvage operations on a Naval Axillary Vessel sank three months earlier in an attack 'by underwater raiders' One diver killed, three others injured in an explosion reported as being due to a mine planted by Egyptian frogman on the worksite. No other details. St. Petersburg Times
  243. 1970 5 2 Chorinsky Australia Ocean Systems 61 S/S Air Reported as dying on offshore operations in the Bass Strait after being employed less than two weeks. Allegedly no medical and previously sacked by another diving contractors after panicking in deep water. Working on a pipeline at 200' with only one dive to 120' the previous week, rapid ascent. 'Weight belt attached to air line, no bail out, no first stage regulator, died 25 minutes after entering the decompression chamber'
  244. 1970 4 19 Not Recorded UK 11 S/S Air "..diver died the other day whilst six fathoms deep in the water at Southampton where some new apparatus taken from the womb...No other details (Pay for access archive) Reported in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph/The British Newspaper Archive
  245. 1970 3 25 McKee RAN Able Seaman Quatermaster Gunner David Australia Navy “Diver dies. Able Seaman Quarter master Gunner David McKee, aged 20, of Mentone, Victoria, a diver in the crew of the RAN destroyer escort, HMAS ‘Derwent’, died during a standard diving exercise in Manila Bay on Wednesday. An inquiry has been ordered. Reported in the Canberra Times.
  246. 1970 2 19 Palmer David USA Need a Diver Marine Services 3 SCUBA Aged 26, Florida Power Corporation dock on Weedon Island, patching the hull of the tanker “Delian Apollo� (Which had run aground in the bay and caused a pollution incident in Tampa Bay), 40 minutes into the dive, stand-by diver got no response on lifeline, went in and found the diver against the hull of the tanker and brought him to the surface. Regulator and cylinders had been ditched (later recovered from the bed of the dock in 33' of water, reported as “in good working order but low on air supply�), reported as drowned. No real explanation. Reported in the St Petersburg Times
  247. 1970 1 29 Othman Cpl bin Shafie Singapore Marine diver SCUBA Marine corporal, aged 34, one of a three man team aiding investigators into a double murder (mutilated bodies dumped in a car into the pool) in an 80' deep 4 acre pool on Bidor-Tiluk Anson Road. Colleagues noticed that his bubbles had stopped and went in to recover him but he was already dead. Wife and three young children. Straits Times
  248. 1970 0 0 Cleary G USA “The findings in this report illustrate a pattern of fatal incidents associated with inadequately trained divers; only one diver with commercial dive training has died in Alaska since the 1960s (G. Cleary, Alaska Divers and Pile Drivers Union, personal communication, 1998).� Quoted in a NIOSH into occupational diver fatalities in Alaska
  249. 1970 0 0 Kinderman Gunther Australia Dive Con Topsides Boss of Dive Con Australia, bell run in heavy weather (may have been trying to impress a new client on the rig) bell snatched and a sheave wheel pin parted, the sheave wheel struck him on the head killing him instantly. Bubblesblower/Longstreath
  250. 1970 0 0 Mumford Paul Saudi Arabia Algosaibi Drowned in shallow water when his suit over-inflated leaving him 'feet up, head down' in the water. PC
  251. 1970 0 0 Not Recorded Japan Chamber Diver died in a fire caused by a 300W elecric light lamp inside the chamber igniting matress and blanket. Sheffield and Desautels “Hyperbaric and hypobaric Chamber fires, a 73 year analysis�, Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, 1997, 24 (3): 153-164.
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