IMCA

Diving Division

Evacuation of Divers
from Installations
IMCA D 025 – April 2001

IMCA – The International Marine Contractors Association

Carlyle House, 235 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EJ, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7931 8171 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7931 8935
member-information@imca-int.com
VAT Registration Number: GB 653339823
Incorporates AODC and DPVOA
 IMCA
The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) is the
international trade association representing offshore, marine
and underwater engineering companies. It was formed in April
1995 from the amalgamation of AODC (the International
Association of Underwater Engineering Contractors) and
DPVOA (the Dynamic Positioning Vessel Owners Association).

IMCA promotes improvements in quality, health, safety,

environmental and technical standards through the publication
of information notes, codes of practice and by other appropriate
means.

There are two core committees that relate to all sectors of

members’ operations, covering:
♦ Safety, Environment & Legislation
♦ Training, Certification & Personnel Competence

The Association is organised through four distinct divisions

each covering a specific area of members’ interests: Diving,
Marine, Offshore Survey, Remote Systems & ROV.

IMCA Diving Division

The Diving Division is concerned with all aspects of the

equipment, operations and personnel of offshore diving
operations, including atmospheric diving systems.

www.imca-int.com/diving/

The information contained herein is given for guidance only and endeavours to reflect best
industry practice/to accurately portray industry-provided data. For the avoidance of doubt, no
legal liability shall attach to any opinion and/or recommendation and/or statement herein contained.
 Evacuation of Divers from Installations

1 Introduction

This guidance addresses the arrangements for evacuation of divers which should be
considered when diving from offshore installations, e.g. fixed or mobile platforms and
FPSOs.

It covers both surface supplied and saturation diving.

For any diving project, the safety of diving personnel should be addressed by the
application of the following:
♦ An adequate safety management system
♦ Hazard identification and risk assessment
♦ Provision of working procedures approved by relevant parties as defined in the
safety management system
♦ Adequate briefings prior to commencement of diving operations

2 Diving From Installations

The following guidance has been written to assist both operators and contractors in
reducing the risks to divers in the event of an emergency evacuation from an
installation.

When diving from an installation, there should be close liaison between the diving
contractor and the installation owner/operator.

2.1 Safety Considerations

The following safety considerations should be addressed when planning such

an activity:

a) The risk assessment should identify the various events which could
give rise to a major accident on the installation or the need for
evacuation while the diving project is being undertaken. The
installation owner or operator needs to consider whether such projects
are undertaken whilst the installation is fully operational or whether
normal operation should be suspended whilst the diving project is in
progress.

b) Since the diving activity is planned to take place from the installation,
the installation owner or operator will need to ensure that the diving
project is adequately addressed in the safety management system of
the installation.

c) The installation owner or operator will need to address the

arrangements for evacuation of personnel from the diving project.
Consideration will also need to be given to escape of such personnel
in the event of failure of the evacuation arrangements. The provision of

IMCA D 025 Page 1

 means of escape should be based on the findings of the risk
assessment.

d) The installation will have arrangements for evacuation of its personnel,

however the presence of diving equipment, particularly a saturation
diving system will require additional arrangements to be put in place.
The following sections provide guidance for the latter.

e) Zoning requirements with regard to hydrocarbon safety for the diving

equipment, including tie-in to the installation’s gas detection and shut
down systems.

3 Surface Supplied Diving

When surface supplied diving from an installation, the diving should be planned/
managed to minimise any requirement for surface and/or in-water decompression.
Suitable recompression facilities should be provided on the installation.

The operator of an installation, in consultation with the diving contractor, should have
suitable evacuation arrangements in place for all personnel involved in the diving
operation. It is anticipated that the recompression facilities will be located in an
appropriate position to facilitate the safe escape of diving personnel in the event of an
emergency on the installation which requires evacuation.

The location of other/alternative recompression facilities for use in an emergency,

within reasonable travelling distance from the dive site, should be identified at the
project planning stage.

4 Saturation Diving

Saturation diving is, in general, carried out from a diving support vessel offering a
range of capabilities for this type of diving. However there may be operational
requirements which require saturation diving from the installation itself. In such
circumstances it will be necessary for the saturation diving system to be located on the
installation. Due consideration should be given to the effect of such a location on the
safety and efficiency of the diving project.

4.1 Evacuation of Diving Personnel

When making arrangements for evacuation of divers, the installation owner or

operator should identify and take into account the location of the evacuation
system and its configuration.

In an emergency, divers in saturation cannot be evacuated by the same means

as other personnel on the installation. Special arrangements and procedures
will need to be made to evacuate them safely while keeping them under
pressure, for example, in a chamber capable of being removed from the
installation to a safe location while maintaining the divers at the correct
pressure and with life support for a minimum of 24 hours.

Page 2 IMCA D 025

 The type of such equipment and its method of deployment will depend on the
facilities available and the number of divers to be evacuated. These factors
need to be considered during the risk assessment. The use of a purpose built
hyperbaric lifeboat (HLB) is one option which can be considered.

Where a chamber or hyperbaric lifeboat is provided on the installation to

evacuate the diver under pressure, the following factors should be taken into
consideration when deciding on the location:
♦ The location of the compression chamber
♦ The method of transferring the divers under pressure to the chamber/HLB
♦ The length of trunking required to achieve the transfer
♦ The diameter and route of the trunking
♦ The time taken to achieve transfer of the divers under pressure
♦ The ease of transferring any injured diver through the trunking in an
emergency situation
♦ Any need for sampling and analysis of atmosphere in this trunking
♦ The length of time needed to vent the trunking

Suitable arrangements for removing the chamber from the installation should
be considered, such as lifting it off directly onto a suitably equipped supply
vessel.

Where an HLB is provided, launching arrangements on the installation need to

be carefully considered and should be subject to a HAZID (hazard
identification) type analysis. The following factors should be taken into
account:
♦ The disconnection arrangements of the HLB
♦ Facilities available on the installation to launch the HLB
♦ The orientation of the HLB on the installation to facilitate its departure
from the installation
♦ The practicality of using a Preferred Orientation and Displacement System
(PROD)1 to facilitate the HLB’s movement away from the installation after
launch.
Alternative arrangements to launching of the HLB should also be considered.

1
Additional information on PRODS is available in UK PROD trials – UK Health and Safety
Executive Offshore Technology Report – OTO 96 707

IMCA D 025 Page 3