Apparently, when Hill and Duque entered the water, they were tethered to lines handled at the surface. Inexplicably, the two divers were carrying more than twice the amount of lead weights required for the dive. Unable to ditch the weights, the pair quickly entered free fall. Single jerks on the line signaling "stop" were misinterpreted by unqualified dive tenders who erroneously paid out more line. Hill descended to 187 feet, and Duque plummeted more than 200 feet. By the time the tenders realized what happened, the pair was dead.

Want to learn more? This week, the the Coast Guard released a 33-page (PDF) Final Action Memorandum on the tragedy.

Calling for new laws to ensure wrecks are given the same respect as war cemeteries, Hannah Rickard, whose father survived the sinking of the Prince of Wales, claims, "It is obvious from some of the videos and photos circulating that the graves of these men are being disturbed... If it was British divers doing it, they would be prosecuted." However, Rickard admits that visiting the outside of the wrecks is not wrong, though the wrecks should be treated with the respect of a military cemetery: "to dive and just have a look at these wrecks I don't see as a problem. It's not ghoulish at all. We have battlefields that we go to in this country and the Tower of London where lots of people died."

Additionally, campaigners are comparing the taking of artifacts on the wrecks to grave robbing and are calling for a complete moratorium on that, as well. Admittedly, the loophole seems ridiculous and quite unfair.

[Via Diving News]

Last month, we reported that divers had located a Japanese midget submarine off Sydney's beaches. Sunk in 1942, the tiny sub serves as a tomb for the two crewmen who died inside it. As a result of unspecified "technical difficulties" -- including astronomical cost; the fact that the sub is believed to contain live ammunition and could explode at any second; and that it has war grave status -- Australian authorities have decided to leave the sub on the ocean floor indefinitely. In order to protect the vessel, authorities have stepped up surveillance in the area, placing a 1500-foot protection zone around and over the wreck. Divers or boaters who breach the zone face penalties of up to 10,000 Australian dollars or five years jail.

Is your New Year's resolution to get smarter? Learn more:

• Department of the Navy's overview of Midget Subs
• David Kennedy's treatment of the midget sub attack on Sydney
• The Japan Times' interview with the brother of one of the crewmen

Like a scene out of a bad science fiction show, two men recently endured a grueling, 13-hour underwater experience when their submarine rescue vehicle (the Remora) became stranded on the ocean floor off Australia's coast. The pod was carrying out a certification training when one of the two cables in its winching system failed. While rescuers riddled out how to bring the men to safety, the sub was lowered 430 feet to the sea floor. Battling high seas, it took three rescue attempts to finally bring the men within 45 feet of the surface, where rescue divers assisted the men in their escape.

While the submariners were uninjured, this is a terrible setback for the Remora. Since the rescue vehicle failed its certification test, if there is an accident on a navy submarine, help will have to come from either Singapore or the US, which could mean a delay of more than 24 hours.

In August, Divester reported the deaths of two Seattle-based Coast Guard divers who died during an operation in the Arctic Ocean. Apparently, Lt. Jessica Hill and Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven Duque were diving beneath the Coast Guard Cutter Healy, inspecting the ice-breaker's rudder. At the time, the Coast Guard declined to provide many details of the incident; they simply described the dive as a cold water familiarization exercise turned tragic. The following month, the Coast Guard revealed that when crew-members aboard the boat noticed something was wrong with the divers after only 10 minutes, they pulled them from the water. Since then, the Coast Guard has released no additional information about the divers' deaths, although the agency has relieved the Healy's commander, citing a loss of confidence in his ability.

Hill's father recently released the autopsy results of his daughter and plans to ask an independent pathologist to review the findings. According to the autopsy summary, Hill suffered "an uncontrolled descent to a possible depth of 189 feet." The autopsy ruled Hill's death accidental, concluding that her death was asphyxia, lung trauma caused as pressure decreases during ascents, and possible air bubbles in the blood. The Coast Guard claims Hill and Duque were planning to dive to a maximum depth of 20 feet that day. If that's true, why did the surface support team allow nearly 200 feet of rope to enter the water? A spokesman said the Coast Guard would not discuss Hill's autopsy report prior to the outcome of its investigations, which are expected next year.

On the night of May 31, 1942, three Japanese midget submarines launched from a fleet of five larger Japanese subs and raided Sydney Harbor. Prior to completing their mission, two of the subs were spotted and attacked in the Harbor, but one of the subs -- the M24, which attacked HMAS Kattabul, killing 21 sailors -- was never found. Some people believe the sub slipped out of the harbor after the attack. However, historians have long argued about whether it managed to make an escape.

Recently, divers exploring Sydney's northern beaches discovered a wreck -- complete with the the remains of two crewmen. The divers asked the head of the Royal Australian Navy's heritage collection, Commander Shane Moore, to verify it. According to Moore, "It can only be the M24." Reportedly sitting on its keel on the sand, the divers who discovered the wreck said they hoped the Japanese government would agree to raise it, as it's an important part of WWII history.

The U.S. Navy's USS Safeguard is the lead ship of the "Rescue-Salvage" class of vessels operated by the Navy. Deployed from Japan, the mission of these ships is to de-beach stranded vessels; lift heavy objects from ocean depths; execute manned diving operations; and more. Last month, divers from Safeguard, working in conjunction with the Naval Historical Center and The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, spent four days surveying two submerged WWII aircraft in waters surrounding the Marshall Islands. The two U.S. Douglas Torpedo Bomber Devastators -- lost since the early days of World War II -- were surveyed to evaluate their suitability for possible recovery and preservation. Resting in the Marshalls' large central lagoon near the Jaluit Atoll, one of the airplanes sits on a coral ledge in 50 feet of water; the other lies at 130 feet.

What does a suitability survey for a possible recovery involve? During the operation, the teams mapped the extent of corrosion to both wrecks and conducted analysis of water chemistry, aluminum thickness measurements, and site mapping. In addition to giving Safeguard divers the opportunity to brush up their skills and to "be involved in the conservation and preservation of an important part of naval history," Lt. Cmdr. Doyle Hodges, Safeguard's commanding officer, let the cat out of the bag. In his words, "diving conditions in the lagoon were terrific." It's great when work is fun.

[Via Newsvine]

Last week, Homeland Security Group International (HSG) announced a new product, the Neptune EBD1, which is designed to provide extended breathing time in emergency situations. Measuring 13 inches by 4.5 inches, and weighing a mere 5 pounds, the EDB1 can supply 55-60 minutes of breathing time for divers, aircrew members, workers in confined spaces (such as mines), firefighters, law enforcement, hazmat workers, etc. HSG claims "this newest generation will revolutionize the diving industry... trained military and civilian professional divers are telling us this is the greatest thing that the diving industry has seen in a long time."

Thanks to its small size, large capacity, quick deployment, long shelf life, and other attributes, HSG claims the EDB1 is a winning air-delivery device. If you want to learn more, check out HSG's short, dry video presentation of the EDB1(featuring a semi-comical patriotic soundtrack and slightly different specs for the unit). Interestingly, HSG is working on a new BC that will incorporate the EBD1 within the design. If you want one for yourself, they should be available in mid-November.

[Via Asia Dive Site]

British Royal Navy diver Lt. George Wookey dived 600 feet below the surface of a lake near Sorfjorden, Norway on October 12, 1956, breaking the previous record. Breathing a helium-oxygen mix, and wearing a Siebe Gorman helmet and a flexible dress standard diving suit, divers have gone deeper since then, but never using the Siebe Gorman helmet.

In conjunction with a dive show this week in Norway, a plaque commemorating Wookey's achievement will be unveiled near the site where he achieved the record. Wookey, who is now 83 years old, is scheduled to speak at the plaque's unveiling. Sadly, his sister says she asked if she "could go and help George celebrate but because of all the red tape involved, it would have been very difficult." Come on, somebody couldn't arrange for this woman to fly from Australia to Norway?!

If you've got a minute, definitely check out Wookey's first-person account of the dive, in which he simulated working on a sub in water temperatures approaching 33°F. According to Wookey, "Cold crept steadily through me and I had a passing thought, 'One of these days they'll invent heated suits!'" Claiming his fingers swelled to the size of sausages, I bet Wookey was delighted to get out of that cold lake water.

According to the Greek Air Force, Greek military divers successfully raised the wreckage of a German World War II Stuka bomber from the sea floor last Friday. Shot down in 1942, the Junkers-87 dive-bomber has been resting 492 feet below the surface, off the island of Rhodes. Initial reports do not indicate the existence of human remains.

Out of an estimated 6,000 aircraft produced between 1936 and 1944, only two survive intact in museums, although the wrecks of three more Stukas have been salvaged. This once-feared Nazi plane will be conserved and displayed at an air force museum near Athens.

Hot on the heels of the Army-divers-in-Iraq news, comes this fine piece of reporting concerning Navy divers in USA Today. We all know that the US Navy has plenty of divers in its ranks, almost all of whom are self-proclaimed "big, bad, hairy-chested deep-sea divers." Recently, however, rather than setting off underwater explosives or practicing slitting the throats of swimming terrorists, Navy divers have been engaging in much kinder, gentler work: tending to America's vast underwater environmental problems. In addition to sharpening many of their sub-marine skills, the dive teams claim it's also a good way for them to give back. To wit, Chief Warrant Officer Mark Thomas claims, "I have three little girls who are one day going to be diving in these waters, and I want it to be clean and safe for them, too." Apparently, those hairy chests have big hearts inside them.

Most of the eco-projects that Navy divers have engaged in lately are underwater clean-ups. For example, for the second summer in a row, Navy divers helped collect thousands of tons of old fishing nets covering the bottom of Puget Sound. Next spring, they'll begin to tear apart the 37-acre pile of old tires smothering Osborne Reef's coral, off Fort Lauderdale. (The cost of collecting the tires is estimated to be $20-$40 million!) Moreover, Federal officials have their fingers crossed that military divers will help clean the new national marine preserve in the Hawaiian Islands. Military divers aren't just underwater garbage men, though. In addition to learning about marine strandings, they choose projects that allow them to gain new expertise or to practice past lessons (think: dealing with "invisible" nets, or carefully removing dangerous, jumbo hooks). Apparently, we should expect the military's involvement in marine clean-ups long into the future. According to William Nuckols of Coastal America, a coalition of federal agencies that works on ocean issues, military aid will increasingly "open to natural-resource agencies a whole world of possibilities that they wouldn't otherwise have."

The only thing about the article that I consider foolish was this statement: "Just as helpful [as the work they're doing] is the cost of the divers' labor: nothing. Without the military's involvement, picking up these tires off the Florida coast would cost roughly $20 a tire, says Kenneth Banks of the Broward County Department of Environmental Protection in Florida." Really? It doesn't cost anything for Navy divers to show up? I think what Banks means is that the cost of the divers' labor to the state of Florida is nothing. After all, the US taxpayers pay the salaries for Navy divers and are, therefore, footing the bill for this work.

Considering the long-term costs associated with NOT participating in these clean-ups, I consider this money well-spent. What do you think? Should Navy divers engage in these kinds of activities, or are we wasting their time and skills -- as well as taxpayer money?

I'm pretty sure everyone knows the US Navy has divers in its ranks. But did you know the Army has divers, too? And that many of them are working in the desert? Army divers belong to the U.S. Army Dive Company, based out of Fort Eustis, Virginia. The Company has about 120 divers worldwide spread among five dive teams, two of which are deployed in Kuwait to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. In reality, both the 544th Engineer Team and the 74th Engineer Team have served in the Middle East since 2003, working in Kuwait, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf.

Though limited to shallow waters, the teams have performed a variety of operations in Iraq, including inspecting and destroying bridge sections, salvaging sunken equipment, doing maintenance on Iraqi oil platforms, searching for soldiers who have accidentally fallen into Iraqi waters -- even recovering Marine Cobra helicopter pilots from a lake. They also manage Kuwait's two military-authorized decompression chambers serving both Iraq and Kuwait. (Only one has been used, by an American contractor in Kuwait who got bent after a dive trip in Thailand.)

If you'd like to learn more about the day-to-day work the dive teams perform, check out this journal excerpt (PDF). Although it's dated 2003, the work is probably typical for military divers working in Iraq -- if that's possible.

[Via Dive Inspirations]