The Underwater Centre in Fort William has recently finished training the first ever Angolans as saturation divers.

Antonio Quetes and Antonio Njiva, who work for Angolan oil and gas service provider Operatec LDA, were taking part in the three-week HSE Closed Bell course.

The HSE Closed Bell course teaches experienced divers the procedures and competencies required to dive using a saturation system.

Saturation divers live in a chamber, for up to 28 days, which is pressurised to the same pressure of the sea at the depth that they will be working at. Living and working at pressure means that they can be transported quickly and efficiently to the work site under the water without decompression stops, allowing divers to work to much greater depths and for much longer periods of time than on air.

Tags: Underwater Centre