Who Actually Needs a Commercial Diver? Nine Asset Owners Who Do
By Ray Whitfield, ADCI-certified commercial dive supervisor. Reviewed by Amanda McCallister, editor.
Underwater Inspection | Commercial Diving Contractors Alabama October 2014, I was 40 feet down on the face of a hydro dam in Oregon, with flow so strong I had to lock my arm around a trash rack bar. The plant manager said the debris load was 'not a problem.' I surfaced with a fistful of carp and a steel fence post, and the plant lost a week. That's the thing about my job. Most people who need a commercial diver don't know it yet. They manage assets that sit in water, and they only look at them from the surface. By the time they call, it's always an emergency, and emergencies are always more expensive than inspections. So here's my list. Nine asset owners who need commercial divers in their Rolodex today. Some of these you'd expect. Others you'll learn about the hard way.
Dams, Hydro, and Drinking Water Intakes
If you own a dam, you're on the hook for federal safety inspections. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requires periodic structural reviews, and the entire upstream face is underwater. A visual inspection from a boat doesn't cut it. I've done hundred-foot dives at John Day, Bonneville, and other Corps-owned projects where the concrete looks fine until you put your glove on it and feel the spalling. Same goes for municipal utilities. Your raw water intake structure is just sitting there, 30, 40, 80 feet down, collecting everything that floats past. A typical debris clearing job at a water intake might involve a pair of divers on surface-supplied air, using Kirby Morgan 37s and a crane. We've pulled out shopping carts, construction timbers, and once a dead deer wrapped around a valve stem. In the Pacific Northwest, we do a lot of work in early spring after snowmelt brings logs down. If you've got a dam, schedule a debris and scour inspection in spring and fall. It's cheap compared to a trash rack collapse.
Nuclear and Thermal Power Plants
Every thermoelectric plant needs cooling water, and that means intake lines, water boxes, and discharge canals. I've worked in the circulating water intake of a coal plant in Ohio where zebra mussels had reduced the flow by 25 percent. The only way to clean those screens is divers with high-pressure washers, called stick buckets or shovels, and it's dirty work. Nuclear plants are even more demanding: they require exact documentation, contamination control, and divers who've completed radiation worker training. We follow the plant's radiation protection procedures to the letter, and that often means limited bottom time. I won't name the plant, but I once spent six hours inside a condenser water box alternating between warm effluent and near-freezing bay water. The bolts holding a baffle plate had snapped, and the plant was running at 80 percent. A two-man diving team replaced the bolts in a single outage window. That's the kind of turnaround you get with divers who've done it before. If you run a power plant, you should have a diving contractor prescreened and under contract before the next forced outage.
Bridges and Ports
Bridge inspection is governed by the National Bridge Inspection Standards, and for underwater piers, that's where divers come in. Scour is the silent killer. During floods, the water moves extra fast and erodes the riverbed around the pier. A diver can change the depth profile from the bottom, measure mean depths, and feel for voids under the footing. I've found voids big enough to stand up in under a 50-year-old bridge that inspectors passed a month earlier. One thing that never fails to surprise me is the amount of discarded fishing line around bridge piers. We've pulled up miles of it, along with a couple of anchors. Anyway, back to scour. Ports and harbor masters face a different set of problems. Pilings rot, fenders tear loose, and sunken debris collects at the berth. If a cruise ship or a bulk carrier is coming alongside, even a 2-foot-long log can puncture a hull if it gets caught. I've done bottom surveys for container terminals in Charleston and Savannah, and you wouldn't believe what's down there. If you run a port, you should have someone checking the apron line at least once a quarter, and after every major storm.
Offshore Oil, Gas, and Pipelines
Offshore platforms get inspected routinely—state and federal regulations require it—but most of that is done by ROVs. ROVs are great for video and cathodic potential readings. But when you need a hydraulic fitting replaced, a valve repaired, or a riser clamp adjusted, you need a diver. I've done air dives to 90 feet on jackets in the Gulf, and saturation dives aren't my specialty but the same principle holds: the asset owner needs a diving contractor who can mobilize quickly. Pipelines are the same. They need internal inspection by smart pigs, but external damage happens where the pipe meets the bottom. Call it 'bottom rough,' we call it 'spanning' when a pipe is suspended on a rock. A diver can bail the line, put concrete mattresses, or set grout bags. If you own a subsea pipeline, you already know this. If you own a pipeline that's on the shoreline and you haven't thought about the underwater section, this is your wake-up call.
Aquaculture and Fish Farms
Fish farms are a growing part of my business. Net pens need periodic inspection for tears and marine growth, and anchor lines need tension checks. In cold Norway waters, we use dry suits and hot-water suits. A tear can mean millions of dollars in fish escapement. The divers aren't just eyeballing, they're running gloved hands over every mesh intersection, checking for tiny holes that can split under storm load. That's it. Nine asset owners, nine reasons to have a qualified commercial diver on a contract before you need them. If you're not on this list but you have anything underwater that keeps your operation alive, you're probably one of them. Call a reputable diving company now. Do it before the debris pile finds you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I have my underwater assets inspected? Depends on the asset. Dams and bridges should be inspected annually, or after any flood or seismic event. Power plant intakes can go quarterly if you're in a fouling area. For anything critical, call a diving contractor and ask. They'll give you a schedule based on your specific risk. Can I use a remote operated vehicle (ROV) instead of a commercial diver? ROVs are good for video surveys in clear water. But they can't feel for cracks, they can't operate valves, and they're nearly useless in visibility under a foot. For hands-on work—cleaning, bolting, removing debris—you need a person. Many times we use both: ROV first, diver second. What should I look for when hiring a commercial diving contractor? Look for an ADCI-compliant company. Divers should have a valid certificate, and the company should have a documented safety program. Ask for references from similar plants. And never go with a bid that's half the others—you'll get what you pay for. How much does commercial diving work cost? It's not a single number. You'll pay for mobilization, equipment, air fills, and the diver's day rate—call it $60 to $150 per hour per diver depending on experience and location, plus the support crew. Always ask for a line-item quote, and include standby time. The cost of prevention is always a rounding error compared to the cost of failure.