Day Rate, Job Rate or Unit Price? How Dive Contractors Actually Bid
By Priya Raghunathan, Port authority procurement analyst. Reviewed by Amanda McCallister, editor.
Underwater Inspection ["Last month I sat across from a dive superintendent who quoted me a day rate without compressed air. He genuinely thought I'd assume air was part of the spread. I didn't.", "That's the thing about underwater contracts. Prices aren't set in stone — they're negotiated in the margins. And the way a contractor prices a job — day rate, job rate, unit price — tells you more about their risk appetite than the condition of your fender piles.", "In my decade at the port authority, I've scored dozens of dive RFPs. I've seen contractors lowball a job rate and then pile on extras. I've seen unit prices that made me laugh, then weep. So let's talk about how these bids actually come together."]
The Three Pricing Models, Plainly Put
['Commercial diving work gets priced in one of three ways. Day rate is straightforward: you pay a lump sum per day for the dive team, the equipment, and whatever else is in the box. Job rate is a fixed price for a defined task — say, replace the portside transponder bracket. Unit price is where you pay per quantity: per linear foot of underwater weld, per cubic yard of tremie concrete, per set of lifting bags. Each model shifts risk from buyer to seller, or the other way around.', "In practice, you'll see a mix. A contractor might quote a day rate for inspection, then give you a unit price for repairs found. Or they'll bundle mobilization into the first day. The key is to know which piece of the job each price covers. I've had bids where the commercial diving day rate was tempting, but the list of exclusions was longer than the list of inclusions."]
Day Rate: Simple on the Surface, Complicated Below
["A commercial diving day rate isn't just for a diver. It's for the whole spread: the diver, the standby diver, the tender, the supervisor, the decompression chamber, the compressor, the boat, and the Kirby Morgan helmet on the diver's head. That's why day rates vary so much. A shoreline inspection in a drysuit in 20 feet of water might run you a few thousand a day. But a saturation dive on a deep pipeline? Different galaxy entirely. Call it supply and demand.", "What really drives me nuts is the definition of a 'day.' Some contractors count 8 hours from leaving the dock. Others count 12 hours from arrival on-site. Weather hold days are another beast. One digression: I once had a contractor try to bill a weather day because the current was 2 knots. In a port with 6-knot tides. He didn't get paid. So if you're writing an RFP, define the day, define the weather window, and define what happens when the wind picks up at 2 PM.", "And don't forget the fine print on equipment. A 'day rate' often assumes all gear is in good working order. But if the compressor goes down, the clock keeps running — unless you've written a clause for equipment failure. I've learned to ask: 'What happens if the boat needs a new starter solenoid?' You'd be surprised how many bidders don't have an answer."]
Job Rate and Unit Price: The Trade-offs
["Job rates are great for small, well-defined jobs. You know what you're fixing, the contractor has seen it, and both of you can shake hands on a number. But the moment hidden conditions appear — thick marine growth, cathodic protection that's shot, a buried pipeline — the contractor's back at the table asking for more. That's fair, as long as the change order gets written before the work, not after.", "Unit prices make more sense for bigger, repetitive projects. Say we've got 400 linear feet of quay wall cracking to repair. A unit price per foot lets me multiply by the actual repaired footage and pay for what's done. But if the unit price assumes clean water and 2 feet of visibility, and you find out it's 4 inches, the contractor just ate a lot of risk. Or they'll add a 'low visibility' allowance that makes the day rate work look cheap."]
What I Look For When I Score a Bid
["When I score a dive bid, I'm not just looking at the bottom line. I look for three things: clarity, assumptions, and exclusions. Does the contractor list exactly what's included in the day rate? Are they willing to state their assumed dive depth, water temperature, and visibility? What happens if a workday gets lost to weather? The best bidders answer these questions before I ask.", "I also pay attention to the way they describe their equipment. A bid that mentions a Kirby Morgan 37 without extra breathing gas is like a car rental with a full tank but no tires. And I always ask about mobilisation. One contractor's 'mobilisation' was a truck drive from the yard to the berth — 300 yards. We didn't pay that. But we did pay for jetting equipment. That's how the game works."]
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do dive contractors often bid a day rate instead of a fixed price? Because the underwater environment is unpredictable. Currents, visibility, and weather can change the job in minutes. A day rate lets the contractor cover their crew and equipment costs while the owner pays for actual time spent. It also keeps the bidding honest if the scope is vague. What's a typical 'day' in a commercial diving day rate? Most define it as 8 to 10 hours of actual dive time, give or take. Some count from first line to the boat's return. Always read the contract section on overtime. And never assume a weather hold is free. Should I ask for a job rate instead of a day rate for my underwater repair? Depends on the plant. If the repair is small and well-documented, a job rate gives you a fixed budget and transfers some risk to the contractor. If you're not sure what's down there, a day rate with a not-to-exceed cap might save you from a change order. How can I avoid weather-day surprises in a dive bid? Write the threshold into the RFP. Use a Beaufort wind force number or a wave height, and specify who decides to pull the team. Also agree on a split-rate for standby time — lower than the full day rate, but enough to keep the crew on site.