Preparation of the course continues. Recently instructors at the School of Military Divers project tested some new types of diving equipment, which we are going to acquire and deliver to the divers protecting Ukraine’s territorial waters.
Th venue for the testing was the Dnipro River in Kyiv on Trukhaniv Island. This helped the city’s rescue specialist diving services take a look at what is submerged in the waters of the river.
The implementation of our project involves not only the purchase and delivery of diving equipment, but also the development of a new curriculum for training divers. This requires our instructors to undergo constant training and self-improvement. Continuous testing and practice of skills is needed not only by students. Instructors use every opportunity to practice and are prepare to start the training program.
What equipment did our experienced instructors use? We will start with wetsuits.
Dry type wetsuits protect a diver from hypothermia and from injury during operations. Modern high-tech fabric is made from a sandwich, which includes rubber, Cordura and Kevlar fabric. Under the suit is worn insulation to keep the diver dry and warm.
The maritime signal flag “Alpha” is raised during diving operations, and means “dive in progress, stay away”.
Underwater, the diver is breathing a compressed air or gas mixture. The main or reserve supply of air is situated in cylinders that are fastened to the diver’s back using a suspension system.
Our instructors tested “Interspiro Divator MK2” – the global standard for professional and military divers. These masks provide for easy and smooth breathing and protect the face.
The legendary flippers “Jet Fin” have been produced almost unchanged for more than half a century. They are powerful, strong, and reliable. For the divers we chose this ageless classic.
Jacques Cousteau said: “A thousand times you will not need this in the water, and the thousand-and-one time, it will save your life!” It’s a diving – multi-tool with a saw, knife, notch for cutting hoses, ruler, and hammer incorporated in the handle.
Diving gauge – shows the operating pressure in the cylinders, graduated to the atmosphere, the amount of applied phosphor and other labels that are visible even in the dark. According to the rules of diving, a pressure reading of 50 Atm requires the diver to go to the surface.
Console device includes a pressure gauge, thermometer, compass and depth guage. There are both analog and digital consoles. Analog has the advantage not only for its simplicity and reliability, but the numbers are more accurate.
Set of light diving equipment, so-called “SCUBA”. Includes compressed air, dive vest – buoyancy compensator, pressure reducer, breathing mask and backup aqualung. Allows diving to depths of 60 meters. It is based on a schematic diagram by the inventors of the aqualung French Navy officer Jacques Cousteau and the engineer Emile Hanyan back in 1943.
Diving signal. Used to transmit signals to other divers as well as for insurance. One end of the signal is attached to a diver, and the other – provided to a diver who holds it. According to the rules, the securing diver may not sit down or let the end go. Signals are sent from diver to diver and recorded in a special table, for example one pull means “How are you feeling?”
Diving lamp – a light source under water. There are plenty of underwater lights – from small hand-held lamps to powerful lighting installations that are powered from the surface. For the project we chose compact, robust lights.
Soon we plan to start training divers. A detachment of maritime security and instructors constantly preparing for meeting in Mariupol. To all who support the training of divers, the purchase of new equipment and, most importantly, the passing on of new knowledge and skills to Ukraine’s maritime defenders, we need your help – get involved and support the project.
