Offshore Diving... A Risky Business (part 1)

[takamine206]

how much do these guys get paid?

[Waboozki]

Duck tape sealing your dry suit? 2:04 

[Berkcam]

@Waboozki it appears you aint never seen a diver working in COVERALLS before eh? We tape them up at the cuffs and ankles to stop them from riding up and to keep out the 'stingers'.

[lawstsoul]

Thanks for posting this. The company I work for does USCG certifications for saturation diving systems. Seeing y'all at work is a good reminder of what's at stake.

[BinoBanana]

hire me!

[Berkcam]

@BinoBanana sorry Bino but I have a regular crew and the que just to get on the 'waitlist' is long!

[UniteForgetLeftRight]

@Berkcam so theres no shortage of labor for this job?

[Berkcam]

@UniteForgetLeftRight ... you are correct, there's no shortage of qualified divers at present.

[davesport]

Bloody hell ! That's Sheldon & Phil.

[Berkcam]

@davesport ... of course it's Sheldon and Phil, who did you expect Cruise and Pitt?

[majsurfer]

bino you can do what ever you want in that hat

[BinoBanana]

can you turn upside down with a atmosveric divemask (that yellow thing lol)?

[lionOFjudah33]

Yes, you just have to crank the free flow valve as to not flood the helmet.

They're called dive helmets or dive hats. That paticualr hat is a Kirby Morgan SL17.

[otoole420]

I am considering attending a commercial dive school the only thing that is holding me back is my lack of knowledge of the job market for divers is there a fair amount of work available?

[bloodanddirt]

do you have a collge degree?

[TomsFriendKake]

@otoole420 Not right now, especially with the BP oil spill, things don't look good at all.

[TheBen2213]

How do you maintain buoyancy when out of the bell? Do you wear a BCD of some sort?

[Berkcam]

That's a good question. On my vessel we don't use BCD's though there are ones on the market for commercial diving use. We have twin 7 litre cylinders at 300 bar pressure for bailouts and they are f---ing heavy! So we have dense foam buoyancy blocks fitted between the tanks. Most of our work is on the bottom wearing 'wellie' boots so we want to be heavy anyway.

[salezmajjj]

Bercam where did you get your diving skills?

[Berkcam]

In the military first, then the oil business.

[salezmajjj]

Cheers for reply :)

BTW nice vid :)))

[AAKB08]

hi there I was wondering how much does a average diver weight? and are there tons of jobs out there? and what are some physical requirements? how many different jobs are there?

[Berkcam]

Difficult questions; I don't think there is an average weight, we have some big guys, some small ones and some in between. There isn't too much work around right now but I hope things will improve next year. Physically you should be equal to any manual laborer but the fitter you are the easier life in the water will be. There are so many different types of jobs a diver may be called to do, just look through the video's on here and you'll see what I mean.

[Berkcam]

You are not too big, that's a good size for a diver... you can put some power behind a chain hoist, lever hoist or Tirfor.

[ollietheocta]

another thing i was told by someone i wa to big to be a diver (im 6'4 and 240 pounds

[oliverbfe]

thank you very much.

[oliverbfe]

thanks, i heard that its really hard to find work, is that true?

[Berkcam]

I'd have to yes yes, it is fairly hard to get work unless you are very experienced and/or know the right people. The well-known guys can find work anywhere but those that are just coming out of school or have little experience will find it harder.

[ezyez79]

if that's the case.. how is the new comers get the chance to break through..? pls advice..

[Berkcam]

At present new guys don't have a chance to break in, the job that I am on right now has no air divers onboard - just sat divers!

[oliverbfe]

do Divers Dive in pairs or by themselves?

[Berkcam]

Can be either, depending on elements like the timescale for the project, the vessel, dive system used (hardware) and personnel available. Generally, most air dives are done with one diver and saturation (bell) dives have two guys in the water as that's more cost effective - if the bell is big enough that is.

[richfilmswales]

im a nuclear reactor vessle diver. id love that job you do. we do very simular work. i wouldnt mind deep sea diving.

[Berkcam]

Work is very quiet right now but it will pick up again and you may get your chance rich... we should have no problems seeing you in the dark eh?

[richfilmswales]

your right there mate! All the best and keep safe!

[Berkcam]

There is a seal that fits close to your neck made from either neoprene or latex deoending on whether you are diving on open circuit air or gas reclaim. This neck seal clamps to the bottom of the helmet. If your neck seal fits correctly you really can turn upside-down without water ingress or gas loss.

[Tucuxi3]

What is the name of the song in the very beginning of this video?

[ninja00inja]

Jeez like,judging from this and other comm.dive video responses there doesnt seem to be much love betwen you badass divers.every diver seems to think they're more hardcore than the dogs bollocks. wouldnt want any off you as my standby, if the shit hit the fan you'd probably leave me there...haha...where's the love?

[Berkcam]

ninja00inja, I know... I can't get my head around it. It maybe something to do with 'wanting' to be something one isn't and slagging-off those that ARE what you want to be. That attitude certainly ISN'T what the true spirit of an offshore diving team is, so it kind of proves that most of the crap comes from those that aint involved in diving at all.

Cheers ninja

[ninja00inja]

Yeah it must be something to that effect. at least the divers I've come across all seem to be be pretty friendly people and share their love for the ocean and their niche...safe diving

[matmess]

look at that vis, must be really hard to see down there (HA HA)try a bit of zero vis working fella

[Berkcam]

You think that 'we' sat-rats haven't done the the zero-viz, freezing our nuts off, in-out-in-out of the water all fcuking day (and night)in a dry-bag for 36 hours solid shit? When you have been around a bit your whinging will carry more weight matmess. Baby divers, ha, if only they could dive like they post on the internet!

[lehandropinheiro]

The off shore diver..the best!!!

[Berkcam]

This video was shot during a lump-sum project in India, it was balls to the wall from the start so little time to film. For those that want to be or think they already are divers - the red-haired Canadian dude at the start is one of the very best professional divers around - reach his standard and you can be be proud of yourself!

[annorth1]

The guy with the long blonde hair is a badass diver?! haha...no way...

[Berkcam]

And you are a badass diver eh annorth1??? He, and other guys in that video have more days in sat than you have had in long trousers mate. It amazes me just how many people are prepared to 'gob-off' about diving without ever having done any!!!

[annorth1]

Relax buddy...not making fun of your superhero. I'm sure he's an excellent diver. Just took me by surprise from watching the video. And yes, I am a badass diver.....mate

[Berkcam]

No you're not annorth1, you are on a diving course therefore a 'wannabe' badass diver - BIG difference buddy.

[ButtsontheBarbie]

Yeah, very big difference, after dive school they gotta get work - and thats hard to find - before they can get anywhere near the water to start practising to be a badass

[Groom117]

its not hard at all to get work as a diver in norway atleast.. my teacher said I was guaranteed work after the school

[Berkcam]

Lets hope your teacher is correct . Then you can post again on here once you are working in that guarenteed job.

[annorth1]

I don't give a shit what you think. Always been good at what I do and I don't see how this will be any different. If there is one thing I know for sure it's that I'm gonna be better than you. Count on it. And no, it's not hard to find work. You just can't be a complete tool. Peace beeeyatch.

-Badass Diver

[Berkcam]

annorth1, when do you complete your diving course? I will be looking to meet and maybe supervise you in the future mate. I'm not being sarcastic here - the business demands confidence - and you show that. You get one chance though... fcuk-up and you're back on the crewboat.

Cheers and safe diving!

[annorth1]

I'm done in April. I'll be in the GOM. Just look for the red hat whos kickin ass!! Hope to see you out there.

Cheers

-Badass Diver

[ButtsontheBarbie]

Well badass diver i hope do get better than me cos i've been a sat twat for years and i'm still crap. But you got a long way to go my friend a loooong way, enjoy the ride!

[scubadooby]

cool vid :)