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Diver Safety is Paramount says New Partnership KB Associates & MTCS Ltd

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Managing safety risk at sea is a challenge! Commercial divers work at depths of up to 300 meters and spend weeks living in enclosed hyperbaric chambers and often face tough working conditions requiring a high level of training and competence.

With training and competence playing a key role in todays industry, the joint partnership of Maritime Training & Competence Solutions  (MTCS Ltd) and KB Associates Group of Companies (KBA) is a leading initiative that will establish new benchmarks within the commercial diving and ROV industries. Both organisations have a keen passion for safety, training and competence and will be collaborating to deliver their range of services to the industry.

The joint partnership will see multiple benefits where both organisations will be sharing the knowledge to enhance the training courses offered, while both groups of clienteles are also able to enjoy broader diver / ROV competency development training at more training locations to fit their plans.

KBA Group provide an integrated professional specialist solution for consultancy and training that fosters safety excellence and quality in the Offshore Oil & Gas industry and onshore terminals construction industries.

Darren Brunton (CFIOSH), the Managing Director of KBA, brings a wide range of diving and safety management expertise to the courses planned by both companies. He has worked in the Offshore Oil & Gas Diving industry since 1990 as a diver, diving supervisor, client representative, diving system / company auditor, safety management and diving trainer with experience globally such as in the Asia Pacific, China, United Kingdom, Middle East and South American regions. Darren posses the hands-on experience of offshore operations, safety management, compliance and training deliverables in all the courses developed.

Darren commented: “We’re thrilled to forge this partnership with MTCS Ltd on the various training courses and other projects within the work scope. Strategically located in Singapore and Aberdeen KBA offers MTCS a platform to bring its brands and training to the Asia Pacific region and we gladly welcome MTCS instructors and trainees to our facility in both Singapore and Aberdeen, UK for the series of competency training courses conducted. We strongly believe that this synergy will set us apart and offers a more comprehensive solution to our clienteles.”

Some of the available KBA training courses include: Diving System Assurance Awareness – 1 Day course; Diving System Assurance – 4 Day course; OGP Client Worksite Representatives Training – 5 Day course; IMCA Air/Bell Diving Supervisor and Assistant Life Support Technician Training; Diving Technician competence courses such as DSI KBM Helmet Technician and a range of internationally accredited safety training such as NEBOSH Training from WSH Qualification to International Diploma levels.

MTCS Ltd are to deliver training alongside KBA at their new facility in Aberdeen as well as in Singapore, where they plan to run Diver Competency schemes and also a Skills Assessor course.

MTCS Ltd is a fully accredited assessment and training centre, whose head office is based in the Lake District and currently manage the largest independent assessment and certification programme for people involved in Subsea Operations such as ROV, Diving and Hydrographic Survey. Providing a full IMCA-aligned Competence Scheme Management service, MTCS Ltd ensure personnel are demonstrating competence in the offshore workplace.

Richard Warburton, Managing Director for MTCS Ltd said: “Working with KB Associates can only be beneficial for both companies, as many of our courses complement one another and the sharing of expertise will result in improved safety to divers and a better service to our clients. MTCS Ltd has extensive experience in competence working. There is an on going requirement for offshore personnel to demonstrate competence in the work place and one of these areas is in diving. The main driver for this comes from the oil companies who insist personnel are registered in some form of competence management system. This system must prove that personnel are competent, or working towards competence, in safety critical, operational and technical activities. Many of the contracting companies have had successful competence management systems in place for many years. There has, however, always been an issue regarding agency personnel or ‘freelancers’, in particular how do they demonstrate competence when they often work for a number of different companies.”

For further information on course opportunities, please contact Richard Warburton, MTCS LTD, Tel: 015394 48233 or email enquiries@mtcs.info; KBA – enquiries@kbassociates.org or +65 6546 0939.

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TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2

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Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.

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Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.

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The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.

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The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.

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Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.

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It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.

Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.

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Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.

Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.

Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.

Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit  www.thebreakers-somabay.com.

Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.

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TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 1

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somabay

For a week at the end of February I was invited to sample the diving with Orca Dive Club based at the Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge by courtesy of SOMABAY.

Somabay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential  compounds. Somabay caters for scuba diving as well as many other sports, including windsurfing, golf, sailing, go-carting, horse riding and many other activities.

All the activities are of a world-class standard and any or all of these can be booked directly from The Breakers.

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I took Easyjet from Bristol (UK) to Hurghada. Easyjet are not by any means my favourite airline but the flight was cheap and direct (except for the surprise extra £48 I was charged at the gate for my carry-on bag).

I was met at Hurghada airport by a driver and car and taken to the Breakers 28 miles (45Kilomaters) south along the coast. Once at the hotel I was too late for an evening meal and so a basic meal was delivered to my room. That and a beer from the fridge and I was fast asleep.

Early the next morning after breakfast I arrived for my rep meeting at the Orca Dive Center for 8.00am. I was immediately made to feel welcome, and after brief introductions I got some dive gear from the store, had a chat with my dive guide Mohamed and got ready to try the house reef situated at the end of a very long wooded pier where all diving gear and divers are taken out by buggies.

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Once at the end of the pier, a helping hand from staff makes sure your gear is set and then it’s a short walk to the very end where you can either climb down a ladder of simply jump in the water  next to the reef. The house reef extends both north and south giving a very easy and safe dive with plenty to see. At this time of the year the water temperature was a constant 22 degrees Centigrade and there was little or no current, so there were no issues in swimming back to the pier.

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Quite a few divers were in dry or semi-dry suits, but being from the UK and used to the cold I found a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm neoprene vest quite comfortable. Even after 50 years of diving I still find that first dive of a trip slightly nerving until I am actually underwater and then all becomes relaxed and I ease into auto diving mode. There was plenty to see with many of the Red Sea favourites along the way.

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After the dive and a buggy ride back to the hotel for a very good buffet lunch I was back in the water, once again on the house reef for an afternoon dive.

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Check in for part 2 tomorrow when Jeff gets on a day boat and dives a few of the off-shore reefs.

Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.

Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit  www.thebreakers-somabay.com.

Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.

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