JFD has acquired the closed bell saturation diving system and associated assets formally owned by The Underwater Centre.
The acquisition should enable JFD to re-establish the global closed bell diver training programme – also known as sat diver training – and the only UK-based training capability that should fulfill market need for skilled saturation divers.
The re-establishment of closed bell diving training in the UK will allow commercial divers to gain the skills and expertise they need to safely dive using a saturation diving system, enabling them to reach their field of work and return safely to the surface for every operation they conduct, JFD said.
According to the company, once established, JFD’s saturation diving training will be one of only two programmes in the world that will provide divers with an internationally-recognised closed bell saturation diving qualification.
Giovanni Corbetta , managing director, JFD, said: “ Re-establishing closed bell diver training at Fort William is very much in line with JFD’s ongoing drive to provide divers and subsea operators with the skills, equipment, capabilities and training they need to carry out their work whilst ensuring their safety at all times. Given recent growth in the industry, now more than ever it is essential that there is a training capability in place that fulfills an urgent need for skilled saturation divers, whilst ensuring that the highest standards in safety are always maintained .”
Before delivering closed bell diver training, JFD will make further enhancements to the system to further develop its capability.
The system also includes a Self-Propelled Hyperbaric Lifeboat (SPHL), giving divers the ability to undertake emergency escape training as part of the saturation diving course.
The diving facility in Fort William has been training divers for over 40 years and has long been seen as being one of the world’s foremost diver training locations.