RAID UK and RAID International have announced that one of the world’s leading figures in polar and expedition diving, Kelvin Murray, has joined the RAID Team.

A dedicated naturalist and marine conservationist, Murray specialises in cetaceans, seals and Polar Bears and is an ardent advocate of shark conservation, having personally dived with over twenty species. Previously serving as Education Officer for the Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society (now known as WDC), Murray has spent over 20 years studying and protecting marine animals. A collaborator with Dr. Sylvia Earle’s SEAlliance and Mission Blue to contribute stills and video images to the Ocean layer of Google Earth, Murray also sponsors and encourages aspiring ocean champions through Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society, enabling young explorers to dive some of the wildest places on the planet.

Terry Cummins, RAID International Director of Business and Marketing, said on the announcement: “It seems like each morning when I wake up I hear another diving icon has joined RAID. It is amazingly gratifying for the RAID Team globally that such recognition of our philosophy on training and diver safety is sweeping the world at such an astonishing rate and that we are attracting individuals of such high quality like Kelvin.”

Kelvin said: “Having dived in some of the most inaccessible and challenging locations across the globe, I know the need for robust training systems to enable us to explore underwater safely, and responsibly is paramount. The RAID online management of courses is particularly impressive; it is environmentally sound, progressive and accessible worldwide. RAID’s pioneering approach and dedication to high quality training and rigorous standards are extremely appealing to me so I am delighted to join the RAID Team.”

Bringing to RAID extensive experience in extreme cold water and remote expedition diving, Murray was Field Diving Officer for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in 2007. There he managed a world-class scientific diving programme throughout the harsh polar winter. In air temperatures down to -28 ^OC, Murray was responsible for over 500 scientific dives without incident and the first winter season in BAS history without a ‘freeflow’ event. Later joining the expedition industry, Murray combined natural history filmmaking with leading and adventurous divers in the world’s most remote locations, including exploratory diving expeditions to the Antarctic paradise of South Georgia, the archipelago of Svalbard at 80^o North, and the world’s largest fjord system in East Greenland. Murray has explored the underwater worlds of Arctic Canada and Iceland, as well as multiple warmer locations including isolated destinations such as Chile’s Juan Fernandez Islands and the Tristan da Cunha group, culminating in thousands of expedition dives worldwide.

Working alongside RAID UK & Malta Director James Rogers and RAID International Training Director Paul Toomer, Murray will contribute to new specialist courses to compliment RAID’s current comprehensive range. Rogers said: “Murray’s extensive practical experience combined with multiple instructor and assessor credentials has seen him write and develop training and supervision programmes for BAS and other polar diving outfits. Credits include the Standard Operating Procedures for Oceanwide Expeditions’ diving programme, polar diving operations procedures for Lindblad Expeditions and the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Frequently consulted on remote diving locations, Murray has supported National Geographic photographers, the BBC Natural History Unit and other filmmakers, so he will be of particular help to RAID in developing further our recreational and technical cold water training programs and a few other unique ideas we have in mind.”

To learn more contact your local RAID Regional Office or find all the information you need on all RAID programs at www.diveraid.com and freediving at www.freedivingraid.com. You can visit RAID’s Facebook page here.