Dive Safety

Are you physically and mentally fit for diving? This is a question you should ask yourself every time before you jump in the water. Most of us know that it's recommended to check once in a year if you are fit for scuba diving with a medical doctor. Some dive centers in the Maldives require a signed medical statement from a medical doctor before you can participate in diving activities. As you can understand, the medical statement is only reliable at the moment it was signed. From this moment to when you sign up at a dive center, your health conditions can change – in this instance, you need to inform the dive center about it.

The most dive centers will use a standard medical questionnaire during the registration that you have to answer with yes or no. When a yes is answered, the dive center will send you to a medical doctor for a check-up. In this case, you will need approval from a medical doctor that you are fit for scuba diving.

Many dive centers in the Maldives call your first dive a check dive and in my opinion, it is the most important dive during your trip. Some divers do not like to be checked. They are certified they are divers so why do they have to make a check dive? Most divers believe a check dive is a boring dive and they would prefer to go straight to Manta Point or Shark Point and not waste their time at a shallow place to be checked.

Why is the check dive so important? Basically, for two reasons. The first reason is that the dive guide needs to ascertain the real-level of the diver before the dive guide can plan the next dives.

What does "real level" mean? As a certified diver, you do have a scuba diving level as your certification, but this doesn't say anything about your skills at this moment in time. It doesn’t say anything about your air consumption, your buoyancy control and the buddy system. It doesn't say anything about how much weight you need and if you are relaxed or stressed underwater. Some divers dive frequently, some are diving once a year during a holiday, some haven’t dived for several years, maybe skills were never practised after completing a course and some are renting unknown dive equipment.

There are enough reasons to take the first dive slowly and spend time refreshing skills, finding out if you are weighted properly and get comfortable again being underwater. You are on holiday and you want to feel safe, comfortable and in control during your dives. A check dive can help you to build up this confidence.

Of course, you have divers who can demonstrate all skills, who is aware of how much weight they need, they know how to be a safe diver and how to behave underwater and that's great. Showing your skills and behaviour underwater is the only way to convince a guide.

The basic "skills" that should be explained and checked are:

1. hand signals
2. pre-dive safety check
3. pre-dive weight check
4. regulator recovery and clearing (option if need)
5. breathing from an alternative air source
6. mask clearing (option if need)
7. mask removal and replacement
8. 3 minutes safety stop at 5 meter
   
   

Some advice: try to practice at the end of every dive (during safety stop) some basic skills such as mask removal and replacement, out of air situation with your buddy, where you use the alternate air source. Some divers are uncomfortable with mask clearing or removing skills and never practice this after completing the Open Water Diver Course

When you dive in a new environment, a new country or even a new dive site, you need to be aware of the specific diving conditions and hazards of the dive site. The Maldives is known for its strong currents which can cause divers to feel stressed and stress can result in accidents. Make sure you receive a briefing from a dive guide, the kind of things you can expect during the dive and understand how to handle it. A good dive briefing can avoid problems and accidents.

You may be an experienced diver with 500+ dives in a lake in the Netherlands, but when you dive in an unknown location, with strong currents, you have to be aware of the new conditions. Coldwater with bad visibly in The Netherlands will not help you in a strong current in the Maldives. It sounds cruel and maybe disrespectful, but those are the facts.

DIVE BRIEFINGS
Listen carefully to briefings and make sure you understand the water entry and decent procedures, visibility, currents, water temperature, and understand the accent and exit procedures. Plan your maximum depth and dive time, and what you should do if you are separated from the group and/or dive buddy.

For example, you will dive in a channel with a strong current. The dive guide informs everyone that the group has to enter the water fast and descend immediately. The current will bring you to the reef-edge at 30 metres. If you wait on the boat too long or linger on the surface, it will be impossible to reach the reef-edge on time and you miss the dive site.

This is a clear part of the briefing but when you don't listen or you have your own plan, then you will miss the dive site, your buddy has reached the site alone, potentially causing a stressful situation which could result in an accident.

BUDDY SYSTEM
As long you are not a certified "self-reliant diver" and/or don't have the right gear set up for being a self-reliant diver, your only air back up and help is from another diver. I have seen many cases where small problems have become a bigger problem simply because there was no immediate help from another diver. When you dive with your regular dive buddy you don't have to explain too much to each other before the dive, but with an unknown dive buddy(s) you have to spend some time, before the dive, discussing the dive plan.

THE DIVE GUIDE
What do you expect from a dive guide? What will be the responsibility of the guide? First of all, you are an autonomous diver and you are certified to dive with a buddy in the limits of your certification and experience. That can be:

• 18/20 metres as an Open Water Diver
• 30 metres as an Advanced/Deep Diver (max depth for recreational diving in Maldives by law)

The dive guide is primarily there to brief you about the local diving conditions, potential hazards and guide you underwater from point A to point B. that's the main job of the guide. The dive guide should be a dive professional with training in emergency first response and knowledge about how to deal with diving accidents. The dive guide is responsible for choosing the dive site and should choose a dive site that is suitable for the whole group of divers. When the levels between divers in the group are different, then the group should be split in two and a second guide should guide the second group.

When you believe that the guide is responsible for you and the dive, request a private guide who can take personal care of you. This is impossible in a big group. As you are certified, you have to plan and manage the dive with your buddy(s) in the limits of your certification. The dive guide can be there to help with problems but it is not the main job of a guide. Of course, most guides will help you when problems occur but the guide needs to see that you have a problem. When you are the last diver in a big group, this will be almost impossible.

Every dive center has a legal obligation to provide safe scuba diving. All scuba diving related activities have to follow international diving standards, regulations and the local law.

Anyone can start a dive center and can ask money for services provided by the dive center. No requirements are asked until the moment the dive center is registered with a Scuba Trainings Agency, like PADI, SSI, etc. At that moment, the dive center has to fulfil the requested requirements from the agency to get registered as a scuba dive center. There are different levels for dive centers and each level has different requirements.

The scuba diving industry is regulated. That means, there are internationally accepted standards for diving courses and dive centers. You can find these standards in the ISO and EN.

Is a registered dive center a guarantee that they are providing safe diving and safe diving courses? The answer is NO, but at least those registered dive centers are monitored by the scuba training agencies and the non registered dive centers are not. They can do what they want without dealing with the consequences of losing a recognised status.

DIVING PROFESSIONALS
All scuba diving professionals (dive guides and instructors) have to be registered with a scuba training agency and be placed in active status, this also includes having liability insurance.

DIVING GAS
Clean compressed air and or enriched air Nitrox have to be provided to divers and students. Compressors and filling systems have to be checked and be serviced regularly, compressor filters have to be replaced on time according to factory guidelines.

DIVING BOATS
The captain, including crew, has to be certified in boat handling and emergency first response. The dive boat has to be equipped with radio, life jackets, fire extinguisher, dive flag, boat ladder, medical first aid kit and pure oxygen delivery system.

In the Maldives, there is a law to have one captain and a minimum of two crews on a diving Dhoni. There always has to be one person on the boat who is certified to provide Oxygen resuscitation and therapy or is certified as PADI/DAN Oxygen Provider.

RENTAL EQUIPMENT
The dive center has to provide safe diving equipment for the dives provided by the dive center. All Equipment should be serviced a minimum of every year or after 100 dives (depending on brand recommendation). Scuba tanks have to get hydro tested every two years and a visual inspection once a year.

PROVIDE SAFE DIVING
Dive center professionals should primarily take care of the safety of the students and certified divers. This includes the scuba training agency safety standards which have to be followed by the instructor during scuba diving courses and programs. The dive professional who guides certified divers has to give clear briefings and inform the certified diver about the local diving conditions, including potential hazards. The dive professional is responsible for choosing the dive site, organise the groups and buddy systems to maintain maximum safety for all guests.