Australia’s deepest ever commercial dive leads to brain injuries, mental scarring

Australia’s deepest ever commercial dive leads to brain injuries, mental scarring

n Flint PerthNow April 21, 2018

DIVERS who suffered unprecedented brain injuries on Australia’s deepest ever commercial dive are “in pretty bad shape, physically and psychiatrically”, their lawyer claims. “They are also feeling pretty let down by all of those parties who were supposed to have been looking after them on this dive,” Lian Hall, of Perth-based Kakulas Legal, said. Mr Hall is representing five of the divers whose brains were “fried” when they were pressurised at rapid speed during saturation dives off WA’s northern coast in June and July last year.

The elite divers, working for DOF Subsea Australia, reached depths of 272m while repairing a pipeline on the ocean floor for Inpex Australia’s Ichthys LNG project. “Their prognosis is also still being worked through. It is unclear which of their injuries will improve, and which will not,” Mr Hall said. However, no matter what their prognosis for recovery, we are hearing from a number of the medical team that these guys will never work as divers again.” Many of the 15 divers involved are experiencing bizarre neurological symptoms including blackouts, brain lapses and bad headaches.

MRI scans and other tests have confirmed brain damage in some of the men. Seven lodged complaints with the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA). But the Federal regulator said it had yet to speak to the divers.

“NOPSEMA has been advised by the complainants’ legal representative that they are presently unable to assist with the investigation,” a spokesman said. Mr Hall said his clients wanted a lawyer to be present in interviews to “provide reassurance and protection from unreasonable questions and comments”. He said NOPSEMA had set conditions which only allowed for “token” legal representation. “Three of my guys live inter-state,” Mr Hall added. “NOPSEMA would not pay for their flights to Perth.

Instead NOPSEMA summarily made arrangements and issued notices to each person giving them two weeks’ notice of an interview and set a time and place.” “This is an insulting way to treat people who are injured and who are battling and who have agreed to co-operate.” “In any event, at around that time all clients were certified by their doctors as not having capacity to go through a NOPSEMA interview.

Our position has always been that on condition that their doctors clear them to be interviewed, that our clients are happy to be interviewed but they want representation during that interview.” NOPSEMA on Friday said the companies involved had been co-operating. “Subject to the outcome of the investigation, NOPSEMA will consider whether enforcement action is appropriate, up to and including prosecution,” investigation manager Damien Cronin said. “Powers exercised have included the execution of an investigation warrant and the applications of coercive powers.” The issue is complicated by the fact NOPSEMA approved DOF Subsea’s Diving Project Plan, which included the fast compression schedule. Consequently, the Maritime Union of Australia and members of the tight-knit saturation diving community have questioned the appropriateness of NOPSEMA investigating itself, as well as the conduct of other parties.

The Sunday Times understands more than 20 organisations, including Inpex, ticked off on the project plan. “The investigation is being conducted by NOPSEMA’s independent Investigations Unit, which operates autonomously to NOPSEMA’s regulatory assessment and inspection divisions,” Mr Cronin responded. NOPSEMA wasn’t told about the problem dives until November 17, more than four months after they concluded. Apart from the rapid blow down schedule — four times faster than what other diving companies recommend for such depths — questions are also being asked about why the operation continued and divers were allowed to leave the bell after they complained of acute symptoms of high-pressure neurological syndrome (HPNS) following blow down.

DOF Subsea Australia, which has recently let a number of personnel go, this week declined answer questions. Instead it released a statement saying it was assisting the NOPSEMA “investigate all elements of a saturation diving campaign from the Skandi Singapore in June/July 2017 to gain a fuller understanding of matters being reported by some of the divers involved.” “When the matters are fully understood, we expect the results to be shared with the industry,” it stated. “Since becoming aware of the incident, DOF Subsea has been providing support to the divers involved.

“Recent organisational changes reflect current lower level of work in the Australasian oil and gas industry. DOF Subsea continues to work on, and seek, projects throughout Australasia.”

A spokeswoman for Inpex said it wouldn’t comment while the matter was still under investigation by NOPSEMA.