Pushing the Limits: The Power of Saturation Diving

When diving to extreme depths — from 40–50 meters and sometimes well beyond 100 meters — the most effective and safest approach is saturation diving.

In saturation diving, divers live in a specially pressurized chamber and travel to and from the worksite inside a pressurized diving bell. This means divers only undergo compression once at the start of their shift period. For the rest of the operation, they remain at working pressure inside the chamber, sometimes for up to 30 days. When the job is done, they return to the chamber, swap out with the next team, and undergo a controlled decompression process — ensuring safety and efficiency.

Resources, Equipment & Expertise

Saturation diving demands cutting-edge equipment and highly qualified personnel. A single operation typically requires 6 to 8 specialized 20-foot containers filled with life-support systems, decompression chambers, and control units. Managing a dive site usually involves 16 to 20 experts, though this can vary depending on the complexity of the project.

Efficiency That Goes Deep

Despite the larger operational footprint, saturation diving dramatically boosts efficiency. With a mobile saturation dive system, teams can achieve up to 22 hours of productive bottom time every 24 hours — a level of performance unmatched by conventional diving techniques.

NDE Offshore offers Saturation Diving as a service. Please contact us at rfq@ndeoffshore to see how we can help.