ADCI extends its condolences to the friends and family of Randy Abadie, who passed away on Friday, April 26, 2019, at the age of 62. Randy had an incredibly passionate and tenured career in structural engineering, offshore oil & gas, and deep water diving. He was employed by Shell Global Solutions (US) and his contributions to the industry were immense. Randy was one of the individuals responsible for creating the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Diving Safety Work Group. Randy will be incredibly missed by all who knew him. 

2019 will be the final year of the ADCI Audit Initiative. By March 1, 2020, every ADCI Member will need to have submitted to an audit. The 36-month initiative kicked off on March 1, 2017. The purpose of the initiative is for ADCI member companies and schools to formally demonstrate adherence to the International Consensus Standards for Commercial Diving and Underwater Operations. 

The International Diving Industry Forum (IDIF) has been established by three key industry stakeholders – the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA); the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI); and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) – to reduce and control the risks associated with energy industry diving operations carried out anywhere in the world.

The U.S. Navy is employing tools it used in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 to help find a Japanese F-35A that crashed earlier this month, U.S. 7th Fleet announced on Thursday. The service is sending out a Navy salvage team with a commercial deep-sea submersible, unspecified unmanned underwater vehicles and a TPL-25 “black box detector” – a towed sensor that can locate emergency beacons up to 25,000 feet below the ocean’s surface.

 

 

 

 

 

In an effort to continue to be the strongest advocate for the entire underwater industry, the ADCI formalized two strategic partnerships with other industry associations. One is with the American Salvage Association (ASA), and the other, with the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA).

 

The March/April Issue of Underwater Magazine is online now. This issue features a fresh new design for Underwater. It features a recap of Underwater Intervention 2019, an article on dive safety, an article on dive medicine relating to common illnesses, and much more! All of this in the latest issue of Underwater Magazine.

UNDERWATER Magazine and the ADCI are looking to continue their library of industry-related images. If you have any great pictures of commercial divers, job sites, equipment, or anything else related to the industry that you would be willing to share and possibly see published in an upcoming issue of UNDERWATER Magazine please contact Steve Guglielmo at sguglielmo@naylor.com

NUI AS, on behalf of The Association of Operators for Hyperbaric Lifeboat Reception Facilities (OFHB) will hold the 26th Bergen International Diving Semi-nar on the 13th and 14th of November 2019. For the 2019 seminar we are aiming to have similar success as in the previous 25 events and hope to achieve more participants this year as we had in 2017 when 169 delegates from 77 Companies and Organisations enjoyed two very good days in Bergen listening to the 28 speakers and participating in lively discussions relating to the diving industry.

The Divers Alert Network and Rolex announced that Dr. David Wilkinson has been selected as the 2019 DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year. The award was presented April 13 at the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society 45th Annual Awards Program in New York. Wilkinson has dedicated his career not only to diving medicine but to treating many of the ailments that can be improved with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. And rather than being content with the accepted limitations of hyperbaric medicine, Wilkinson has pushed the envelope of its utility, studying its effectiveness in treating even more conditions, including diabetes and the side effects of radiation therapy. He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to hyperbaric medicine.

Ashtead Technology announced Wednesday it has acquired Louisiana based subsea equipment rental and cutting services specialist, Aqua-Tech Solutions.

The latest version of Forum Subsea Technologies’ VMAX simulator launched this week is designed to integrate with its next generation of electric remotely operated vehicles (eROV).

The new eight-thruster remotely operated underwater vehicle is battery powered and highly maneuverable.