IN 1253 – Opportunities for trainee bell diving supervisors to gain panel time as trainee air diving supervisors

In the past few years some diving companies have stopped undertaking air diving operations due to the nature of their business. This has created a problem for trainee bell diving supervisors within the IMCA offshore diving supervisor certification scheme. Some of these applicants have been finding it increasingly difficult to get the opportunity to act as trainee air diving supervisors on at least ten offshore commercial dives (as required by the IMCA offshore diving supervisor certification scheme).

In order to accommodate these changes in diving companies’ operations, an alternative route has been developed. This will provide an alternative route for candidates to obtain the necessary developmental training in air diving supervision to meet the entry requirements for the exam.

In addition to the existing routes, IMCA will allow trainee bell diving supervisors to meet the entry requirements for the IMCA Bell Diving Supervisor exam by acting as trainee air diving supervisors on a minimum of ten air dives conducted at any commercial diving school which issues an IMCA recognised diver training certificate, providing they meet the following criteria:

• The supervised training must be undertaken over a minimum of five days.
• The trainee supervisor must be involved in all aspects of the dive including; the planning, dive briefing, risk assessment review, emergency plan review and diver checks. It must be recognised that the training of student divers creates different risks to those offshore.
• Two of the dives must be undertaken from a wet bell.
• Two of the dives must be in excess of 30 metres.
• Two of the dives must involve surface decompression (this may be simulated, but must involve putting a diver under pressure in a chamber within the allotted surface interval time).
• Two of the dives must involve in-water decompression.
• Two of the dives must involve training in diver rescue from depth.

These dives must be undertaken under the direct supervision of a qualified instructors employed by the school who must counter sign and stamp the candidate’s log book. In addition, for the sake of planning, a number of the required skills may be combined into one dive. However, all of the required criteria must be met..

Should a candidate wish to take this route, suitable arrangements must be made with the relevant training facility and copies of the relevant logbook pages must be submitted as part of the application to sit the IMCA examination. IMCA will accept applications from candidates who choose to meet the air dive requirements either using the method outlined in this Information Note or by following the requirements as detailed on page 8 of IMCA offshore diving supervisor and life support technician certification schemes (IMCA D013 Rev. 4) The changes described in this Information Note will be incorporated in the next revision of IMCA D013.

Note that IMCA will not accept dives supervised by instructors at diving schools in the normal course of their work as qualifying offshore surface dives within the IMCA Offshore Diving Supervisor Certification Scheme.

Further details on the scheme may be obtained by contacting IMCA.