Â

The highest Level of commercial diver is the Closed Bell / Saturation diver.  This qualification takes a few years to reach.  Once the diver has completed class II the diver needs to gain experience as an offshore air diver completing 100 offshore dives and 100 hours of underwater work before the Class II diver can attend this Closed Bell Saturation training course.

Â

Saturation divers are the most experienced, dive the deepest and get paid the most.  All levels of commercial diving are based on risk verses reward.

Â

Saturation divers live under pressure for 28 days in a steel living chamber, which is part of a system of chambers called a saturation system.  The system is kept of the deck of the ship / vessel or oil rig.    There are living chambers where the divers sleep and eat and a wet pot where the divers transfer under pressure to and from the closed dive bell. In the wet pot there is a shower and toilet as well.Â

Â

Divers in the chamber system get their meals etc. passed in through a pressure lock.  The lock allows a small area to be pressurized to pass food in & brought back to surface with the dirty knives and forks etc.  It is living in a very confined area, compare this to your bedroom at home with 9 beds, so it is a small area to be in for 28 days. Â

Â

Diving takes place around the clock 24 hours, with 3 bell runs per 24 hours.   A bell run is when divers transfer under pressure into the bell and the bell locks off the chamber system for 8 hours and is lowered to just above the seabed where at depth the divers lock out (swim out and go work).  The divers generally spend long hours in the water, but limits are there for safety and the bell must lock back onto the chamber system within 8 hours.Â

Â

These divers breathe a mixture of oxygen and helium. So, for example at 100 meters working depth the divers breathing mixture out the bell would be around 6% to 7% oxygen and the balance helium.  In the living chambers the breathing mixture would be lower as they normally live 10 meters shallower than working depth and thus the breathing atmosphere would be around 4,2 % oxygen.Â

Â

There is a team of highly qualified personnel taking care of the saturation divers from the outside of the saturation system called life support personnel, such as Diving Supervisors and Life Support supervisors with more team members working under them.  There is no place for error or a causal approach as it may cost lives.  The same goes for all levels of commercial divers. Â

Â

Saturation divers generally work in the oil and gas fields doing construction and maintenance work on subsea equipment and structures such as wells and pipeline end manifolds on the seabed including the pipelines or the oil rigs subsea frame work.   They are also called upon to recover downed aircraft, oil from sunken ships or at times treasure from old ships and even gold from aircraft or anything else requiring divers at depth.  Â

Â

The Closed Bell Saturation Diver is a level most commercial divers work towards.

.