Fixed hyperbaric rescue facility

All saturation diving vessels working in the north sea possess a rescue contingency for their divers in the form of a hyperbaric lifeboat (HLB).

In the event of an emergency evacuation, hyperbaric lifeboats accommodate saturation divers during transportation to a facility where the divers can be safely decompressed. HLBs typically have 48 hours of on-board life support so fast recovery and an efficient reception facility is imperative to saving the divers’ lives.

The National Hyperbaric Centre houses the only land-based saturation diving complex in the UK. Significant investment took place earlier in 2014 to ensure hyperbaric lifeboat rescue could be carried out as smoothly and efficiently as possible. We provide services for several major clients working in the north sea and are currently developing facilities overseas.

The National Hyperbaric Centre has had a historic involvement with lifeboat reception, having been one of only two centres to offer such a service, since opening in 1987 making us an obvious choice for companies looking for support in this area. The NHC life support and technical staff work with the centre’s saturation system on a daily basis. Our in-depth knowledge and skills are invaluable for a challenging task such as receiving a lifeboat.

• Fully equipped 16-man saturation diving complex connected to a hospital medical chamber
  
  
• A service to transport an HLB from any UK port to the NHC
  
  
• Contracts are in place for lifting, transport and police convoy to NHC
  
  
• Supported by a life support package, generator as well as gas and trained personnel

NHC facilitated trials for various lifeboats during 2014/15.

The trials not only permit mating of the SPHL to the NHC saturation diving system, but also simulated the SPHL recovery and transfer from a safe haven to the National Hyperbaric Centre, as per the hyperbaric lifeboat rescue procedure.

NHC supports the operation from the quayside, providing escorted transportation to the NHC facility in Aberdeen, where the pressurised lifeboat is lifted onto the new docking cradle and locked onto the decontamination chamber.

Successfully mating HLBs of around 20 tons in weight comes with many challenges such as variations in vessel design, centre of gravity, flange heights and positioning of alignment pins, which could easily result in a mating failure. All the trials performed during 2014 experienced engineering challenges, which, due to the adaptability and knowledge of the centre and staff were rapidly resolved. This has proved how important it is to perform real hyperbaric lifeboat trials in order to resolve any tolerance issues prior to an actual emergency evacuation.

For more information about our HRF facility and how we can help with your rescue procedures contact us.