Just read a report on commercial diving injury rates that made me pause

I was looking through some old safety reports from a job in the Gulf a few months back, and one stat jumped out. It said the rate of serious incidents for inland diving, like in rivers and tanks, was actually higher than for offshore work in some years. I always thought open water was the bigger risk, you know? Found it in a five year review from a big insurance group. Has anyone else seen numbers like that, or is my old report just an odd one out?

3 comments

3 Comments

david82111d ago

Man, yeah that report sounds right. I've done some inland work in the Mississippi and the problem is the visibility goes to zero real fast. You can't tell if a current is gonna drag a log right into your hose or line. Best thing I learned was to run a dedicated safety line from your tender that's separate from your air hose, so if something snags you can cut the hose and still have a way out.

sean_murray2mo ago

Your report is probably right, that data tracks. Confined spaces and bad visibility in rivers create a different kind of danger than open water. It's a hidden risk a lot of folks don't consider.

betty_scott182mo ago

Yeah, and the water itself is totally different. River current isn't just pushing you, it's pulling stuff from the bottom too. So you've got branches and junk moving in zero visibility, not just sitting there. It's like getting hit by stuff you never even saw coming.