Navy divers' 60 metre depth capability to be restored

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Royal Navy divers will soon be able to dive down to depths of 60 metres following the signing of a contract between the Ministry of Defence and DIVEX Ltd of Aberdeen.

Royal Navy divers will soon be able to dive down to 60 metres
[Picture: Royal Navy]

The contract will see DIVEX Ltd provide the Royal Navy with a new state of the art mixture gas re-breather diving set. The set, called Clearance Divers Life Support Equipment (CDLSE), will restore the Royal Navy's 60 metre capability, a capability the Navy has not had since 2003.

CDLSE is the most advanced electronic mixture gas re-breather in the world today and will enable Royal Navy Clearance Divers to conduct their full range of tasks worldwide against the most modern threat.

Commander Chris Ameye, the MOD Superintendent of Diving and CDLSE FLEET Customer, said:

"The award of this contract represents a significant step towards the restoration of a safe and viable 60 metre diving capability. The arrival of CDLSE later this year will be a major boost to the clearance diving specialisation and will provide the Royal Navy with a first class diving capability. I very much look forward to CDLSE's introduction into service."

The state of the art mixture gas re-breather diving set will restore the Royal Navy's 60 metre capability
[Picture: Royal Navy]

CDLSE unmanned testing and manned trials are planned over the next few months and will be followed by the Royal Navy evaluation phase which will culminate with an initial capability for the Fleet Diving Squadron in November 2007.

The first two batches of production sets are due for delivery in mid 2008 and will allow an enhancement of front-line units and the commencement of career training at the Defence Diving School by September 2008.

Since the first military diving operation in 1838, the Clearance Diving branch has provided the Fleet with the means to conduct bomb and mine disposal, underwater engineering and all manner of diving capability both in the UK and worldwide. Navy divers have a proud history of service in every military conflict from WWI to recent operations in Iraq.

They have an equally proud reputation of providing a valuable peacetime service both at home and abroad by clearing mines from local and international waterways, responding to bomb disposal tasks to reduce the risk to civilian populations and providing a specialist underwater response in the fight against terrorism.

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