Kursk divers: Highly trained with nerves of steel

A United States navy saturation diver

In this story: Kursk depth relatively shallow Alien environment. RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Paul Sussman CNN.com writer

For most people the idea of working an eight-hour shift 330 ft (108 metres) beneath the surface of the sea in freezing pitch-black water sounds like the stuff of nightmares.

For the divers currently engaged in the Kursk salvage operation, however, it is just another day at the office.

VIDEO CNN's Steve Harrigan reports the latest on the effort to recover the bodies from their watery graves (October 27) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Video of the recovery effort Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     AUDIO Russian Navy chief Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov announces that a note was found 414kb/38 sec. WAV sound

Working at such depths requires both special skills and special equipment, and the Kursk divers will be well prepared for the unique rigours of operating in such hostile conditions.

"These are tough guys," says Don McGregor, 49, managing director of the Underwater Centre in Fort William, Scotland, one of the world's foremost commercial diver training schools. "They've got nerves of steel."

Eighteen divers are currently involved in the underwater operation, nine from the Russian military, nine -- including British, Norwegian, South African and one Dutch diver -- on loan from the Norwegian wing of US oil company Halliburton.

They belong to a close-knit community known as "saturation" divers, so-called because to survive at such depths they have to breath a special mixture of oxygen and helium, with which the tissues of their bodies become saturated.

Training to become a saturation diver is arduous and expensive. At the Underwater Centre, for instance, students must undergo an initial 12-week course costing £8,000 ($11,598) where they learn basic commercial diving techniques breathing normal compressed air.

They are then required to gain at least one year's industry experience before returning for a further intensive 3-week course -- at a cost of £8,500 ($12,322) -- to learn the rudiments of saturation diving.

"What you have to remember is that the diving is just one part of it," says Hamish Peterson, 47, managing director of diving contractors KD Marine and himself a commercial diver of many years' standing. "It is simply a means of getting the man to the site.

"He then has to deliver a manual skill. He might be an expert welder, or a site inspector. The engineering skills are as important as the diving ones."

For the duration of the operation the Kursk divers will live in a special pressurised complex carried on board The Regalia, a high-tech diving support vessel moored above the site.

This "saturation" complex -- similar in many ways to a space module -- consists of a 7 ft (2.1 metre) diameter living compartment with bunks along either side, and a separate "wet" compartment containing sanitary facilities.

A maze of stainless steel pipework feeds high-pressure helium into the chamber, maintaining its internal pressure at that of the depth at which the men are working.

"It's not actually as bad as it sounds," says Peterson. "You're well fed, you're warm and dry, you get music played to you by headset, you can watch videos. I've stayed in hotel rooms that are a lot worse."

The divers will have been trained to work to depths of anything up to 800 ft (240 metres), so the Kursk will for them seem relatively shallow.

They descend to the wreck in a special diving bell that "mates" with the saturation chamber, ensuring a constant pressure, and work in teams of three, one remaining inside the bell, the other two working outside.

Divers working around one of the Kursk's hatches

According to Birger Haraldseid, a spokesman for Halliburton, the divers are currently operating in eight-hour shifts, 24 hours a day. Only Russian divers will actually enter the submarine.

In terms of equipment they will wear a neoprene-canvas bodysuit with an attached tube through which hot water is pumped to keep them warm (water temperature at that depth is only about 3 C).

On their heads they wear a "Superlite" full-head helmet -- each one costing some £11,000 ($15,947) -- to which a further two tubes (the umbilical) are attached, one supplying their oxygen-helium mixture, another recycling the helium so that it is not wasted.

Also built into the helmet are lights, weights, an intercom and a video camera, the latter allowing a "supervisor" on the support ship to monitor their every move.

Because the helium they are breathing distorts their voices their intercom system requires a special in-built scrambler so people on the surface can understand what they are saying.

Despite the alien nature of the environment, experts insist that deep-sea diving is actually no more dangerous than any other industrial activity.

"Obviously you're remote," says Peterson, "And if you drop something on your foot 500 ft under water it can be a bit more problematical than it would be on the surface.

"The actual diving dangers, however, are negligible. It's a very closely regulated industry. Accidents are rare."

Dr Alfred Brubbakk of the pan-European Diving Medical Advisory Committee, agrees: "There is some indication that saturation divers can suffer from mild neurological defects," he says. "There is also the potential for minor pulminary problems and bone necrosis.

Deep-sea diving is a lot safer today than it was when this sort of equipment was used

"Basically, however, for a saturation diver the risk of any health damage in the long term is negligible."

The real hardships of the job are more mundane. Saturation divers tend to work on a freelance basis, which means they have very little job security.

"The work comes and goes," says Alfred Boga, 50, of the Norwegian State Diving School, "But the bank is there all the time."

Divers spend extended periods away from family and friends, while the work itself is extremely taxing.

"Boredom is also a problem," says Peterson. "There's an awful lot of waiting around involved. You're waiting in the compression chamber, waiting on shore for a new contract. It's not exactly glamorous."

At the same time the job does have its benefits. "Some of the work is very interesting," says Boga, "And there's a real sense of camaraderie."

The pay is also good, for the commercial divers at least. They receive an average day rate of £250 -- although it can be as high as £800 depending on experience -- plus a "saturation bonus" for every hour they spend in the compression chamber.

"You can earn as much as £100,000 a year," says Peterson, "Although it can be as little as £15,000. It all depends how much work you can get. There are a lot more divers than jobs. It's fiercely competitive."

There is no upper age limit to a diver's working life. "Provided you keep passing your medicals you can work as long as you want," says Boga. "There are divers as old as 60 in the North Sea, although the average age is about 45."

"Ultimately they're all just normal guys," says Peterson. "They've got a wife, 2.4 kids and a mortgage, and they all worry where the next job is coming from. They're no different from anyone else."

Note found in Russian sub says 23 sailors initially survived Kursk blast
Divers find first Kursk bodies
Norway to train Russians for Kursk recovery
Norwegian divers leave Kursk site
for now

Norwegian State Diving School
KD Marine
Halliburton
Deep-sea diving history
Underwater Centre Fort William

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