Turkish Delight

On deck of the DSV Alcatas

Descend Underwater Training Centre recently conducted the first ADAS certification of non-English speaking divers. The program was conducted in Turkey for 17 veteran divers to ADAS level 2 restricted standard. The divers, some with up to 20 years experience, had been working in Qatar building sea walls, and the principal requested a qualification that is acceptable to IMCA.

International certification of non-English speaking divers has never been tried and it introduced a set of challenges not previously considered. After much discussion with ADAS we set some ground rules for the RFT (recognition of formal training). We didn’t want to be in a position where the customer had spent a considerable amount of money to get our team to Turkey then fail the divers because they could not read the examination papers so we decided that all the formalities needed to be completed before we left Australia. This included a current AS2299 medical and a current recognised first aid certification. The first aid certification turned out to be DAN certification so we were familiar and happy with that. Then the examinations were translated into Turkish and sat under the supervision of an invigilator from the Istanbul University, translated back into English and marked by us. Papers were spot checked by ADAS to ensure correct translation. In addition the divers had to submit a portfolio of experience and qualifications to meet the ADAS requirements manual.

With all of this in place we were ready to go to Turkey for the practical dives. Again another set of problems in that the customer is

Admiring the 2000 year old Anya Sofia Mosque

supplying all of the equipment. How can we guarantee the quality? What we found is that turkey is quite organised as far as commercial diving is concerned. Each registered contractor gets audited by a government committee each year. The committee consists of a naval officer, a doctor from the hyperbaric centre, a professor from the diving section of the Istanbul University and a government public servant. They physically inspect the equipment and certify the company as suitable for tendering for government diving projects. So we were able to have the lists of certified equipment, including recompression chamber supplied to us. In addition the boats used for diving must be registered as Diving Support Vessels and permission to dive each day must come from the harbour master. A complex but effective system that helps ensure compliance. With dive sites approved by ADAS and emergency plans in place we start the long journey to Istanbul some 36 hours of travel time from Albury.

Istanbul blew me away. Australia only has a couple of hundred years of European history but in old Istanbul walked the streets,

Stand by diver, seen with Murat Egi and our translator

entered buildings and saw the same sights as emperors Justinine and Constantine. 1500-year-old buildings are commonplace. The Anya Sofia Mosque, that started out as a Christian church is simply amazing. I have no concept of how it was built. The Turkish people are friendly and the food great. Our host, professor Murat Egi, who organised the program, is the DAN director for Turkey and the Turkish representative to the European Diving Technology Committee. He insisted that we eat every combination of Turkish meal. All I can say is stunning.

From Istanbul we travel to Zonguldak on the Black Sea and join our boat the DSV Alcatas. This is a 35-metre vessel, which started life as a car ferry and has a dropdown ramp on the back and plenty of deck space. Ideal for diving. Of course it’s the middle of winter and very cold. We travelled through the snow to get from Istanbul to Zonguldak. The dive gear is excellent. New Fibron umbilicals, three DSI37 helmets, two band masks, two exo 26 and beautiful big two stage electric compressor running a divex surface supply panel. Good gear.

The divers are good guys, friendly, competent, willing and eager to please. They didn’t really see the need to use BC’s, DCIEM tables and to do the drills we teach them but they go along with it all very willingly.

It was particularly gratifying to us when, about half way through the program, the divers asked professor Egi if we would ask their company to provide them with BC’s and DCIEM tables because they liked them and we noticed the drills we had taught them had become part of their routine and not just completed because they had to.

We were extremely lucky with the weather. It didn’t snow while we were on the boat and we only had one really rough day that got so rough the 20 man self inflating life raft launched itself from the top of the bridge and had to be recovered via the back ramp.The dives were no challenge to these guys; clearly they were very competent divers. Towards the end of the program the ADAS Executive Director, Paul Butler visited to audit the program. He checked dive log books, inspected the equipment, watched as we jumped the student and staff standby divers and generally created chaos, but it’s important for all those concerned to be able to have the program verified and fully transparent.

All students were successful and all concerned, including Descend were happy with the program. We have put in place some plans for future programs that include monitoring the examinations via a web cam and burning the examinations to disc for future scrutiny. I do know that we will be very happy to conduct future programs in Turkey.

Impressions at a glance

Turkish food – brilliant

Turkish people – friendly and hospitable

Turkish public toilets – the only truly paperless society

Turkish history – blew me away

Turkish taxi drivers – suicidal

Turkish carpet sellers – to be avoided just like the shoe shine boys

See the following links for more photos from Turkey

http://www.descend.com.au/training/gallery/PhotoGallery.asp?whichcategory=Descend%20in%20Zonguldak,%20Turkey&AreaID=17

http://www.descend.com.au/training/gallery/PhotoGallery.asp?whichcategory=Descend%20in%20Zonguldak,%20Turkey%202&AreaID=17