The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has published ‘Minimum quantities of gas required offshore’ (IMCA D 050) to address the minimum amount of emergency breathing medium (air or mixed gas) required to be kept at an offshore dive site before the dive commences, and during it. Helpfully , the new publication includes a useful equation for determining the minimum quantity of oxygen required to maintain the desired oxygen partial pressure levels in a system during decompression.

“In preparing this document, which supersedes AODC 014 which has been in existence since July 1983 we had four objectives in mind,” explains IMCA’s Technical Director, Jane Bugler. “We wanted to assist the diving contractor in preparing the diving project plan; ensure that the amounts of emergency air and gas held at the site have been carefully considered and calculated; ensure that these amounts are displayed in dive control and in saturation/chamber control; and, lastly, to make sure that supervisors do not start a dive and have to call a halt to it if these amounts are reduced to below the identified minimum level.

“The new IMCA D 050 provides operational guidance based on sound safety principles highlighting the need for an adequate safety management system; hazard identifications and an appropriate level of risk assessment; and failure modes and effects analyses (FMEA).”

Tags: International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA)