In planning an extended diving operation, care must be taken to ensure that sufficient
supplies and power to support a diving mission are available. When
operating at remote sites, the Commanding Officer and Diving Officer must carefully
evaluate the availability of shore-based support. Loss of steam and/or
electrical power at sea is an emergency situation. The loss of either of these vital
services to the saturation dive system with a dive team committed to lengthy
decompression constitutes a major emergency that must be acted upon quickly.
Accordingly, transit times and contingency plans must be made prior to
commencing saturation diving operations at remote sites in case support services
for the dive complex are threatened or lost.
