The most advanced closed-bell diver-training system in the world, and the only one of its kind in the Northern Hemisphere – that’s the claim for a new pathway into commercial saturation-diving now available in the UK.
The DEEP facility in Gloucestershire has just opened applications for its UK HSE Closed Bell Diver training courses, a qualification it says is essential for sat-divers working in offshore oil, gas and renewable-energy projects in the North Sea and elsewhere.
The three-week courses, priced at £30,000, are designed to equip those who already have at least 100 hours’ experience as offshore surface-supplied divers to make the move into closed-bell diving.
The programme combines classroom-based theory with hands-on practical training, covering closed-bell operations, life-support systems, transfer under pressure and emergency response procedures.
The initial courses this autumn have already been allocated, so new applicants will start their training from next January.
Making humans aquatic
The DEEP ‘campus’ is built on a barge system in the 80m-deep Dayhouse Lake near Tidenham formerly known as NDAC (National Diving & Activity Centre), which closed to recreational divers in 2022.
The facility describes its mission as being “to make humans aquatic”, developing subsea habitats as well as training “to enable a continuous human presence in the ocean”.
For the sat-diver courses the facility provides a six-person living chamber and a three-person bell, with the sheltered environment said to enable “safe, controlled training conditions year-round”.
“The course is ideal for divers who have completed surface-supplied training and gained industry experience, and who are now looking to take the next step in their career development,” says DEEP Institute CEO Dennis Nelson.
“Longer-term, the application of the saturation system will be broader – from habitat diver training to providing a pathway for experienced divers from scientific, research, military and other communities to develop the skills needed to work under water for extended periods.”
The UK HSE Closed Bell Diver certification will be the highest-level professional commercial-diving certification issued by the UK Health & Safety Executive for saturation and mixed-gas bell diving, says DEEP, and a qualification recognised worldwide.
DEEP also currently offers training for recreational divers and others, including Closed-Circuit Rebreather, Diver Medical Technician and Submersible Search & Rescue: find out more about all its courses here.
