How many commercial diving schools (not scuba)?

[HunleyFinder]

Can anyone tell me how many commercial diving schools there are in the United States? How many in the world? I am not talking about SCUBA courses. There are thousands of those. Nor, am I asking about military diver training facilities.

I am asking about schools offering courses leading to the certification necessary to work as a surfaced supplied air diver, whether it be in the oilfields, on a collapsed bridge, for NASA, for an atomic energy plant, a hydro-electric dam or whatever.

Because I am an owner of the International Diving Institute in Charleston, South Carolina, this question comes up all of the time. I would really like to know and be able to give a correct answer. Any help would be appreciated.

I have been told that there are six schools in the United States and another six around the world.

To further differentiate what we are from store type courses, perhaps you should know, our basic course is four months (640 hours) long. We are licensed by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and are a member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI); American Welding Society (AWS); and International Diving Schools Association (IDSA). We are affiliated with WASI/NASE Worldwide; Sea Research Society; and Trident Technical College.

Thanks,
Lee

 

[justleesa]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Moved from I&G to Basic Scuba Questions

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[Brewone0to]

So, you come here to ScubaBoard to ask questions related to diving but not scuba?
You might try The Deco Stop for this one, as most will think of you as a troll here.

Troll = One who would start-up a new thread for the sole purpose of
their own entertainment watching as others argue over various triffles.

 

[TSandM]

THIS site lists five, but doesn't include the one in Houston or the one in Seattle. So it appears there are at least seven in the US.

 

[Dad_Crush]

Hunleyfinder -- I had the pleasure of meeting Ralph Wilbanks and Harry Pecoreili from NUMA at the Ghost Ships Festival in Milwaukee. They were very entertaining, and discussion finding and raising the sub was awesome. The slideshow of how it was brought up was really cool too.

Sorry for the off topic post, but saw your name and location and had to say something.

Matt

 

[SCUBAJENNIFER]

THIS site lists five, but doesn't include the one in Houston or the one in Seattle. So it appears there are at least seven in the US.

Santa Barbara City College also has a program that is not listed

 

[HunleyFinder]

Two of the five schools listed on that site are for advanced courses in SCUBA and do not appear to teach diving to the level necessary for certification as a commercial diver.

So, we are still at five schools.
INTERNATIONAL DIVING INSTITUTE at Charleston, South Carolina
COMMERCIAL DIVING ACADEMY at Jacksonville, Florida
DIVERS ACADEMY INTERNATIONAL at Erial, New Jersey
and the schools you mentioned in Houston and the one in Seattle.

Are there any more?

What about in Canada and elsewhere?

Thanks,
Lee
Dr. E. Lee Spence
HunleyFinder

 

[HunleyFinder]

No problem Matt. I have known Ralph since high school and think well of him in many ways. However, as you may know, their first dive on the Hunley were in 1995. That was shortly after I published a book telling of my discovery, complete with a map marked with an "X" showing the Hunley's correct location. Incidentally, prior to Ralph and Picorelli diving on it, I autographed a copy of my book for Ralph. He ordered a number of copies for the "Wet Shop."

I actually found the wreck in 1970, but couldn't get the government to come look at it. However, the National Park Service reviewed my data and got it placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Ralph deserves a lot of credit. Without Ralph's digging it up (something I was not willing to do without a permit and I never could get one) and without Clive Cussler's (with his repution as a best selling novelist) claiming the discovery for himself (even though Clive never dived on it at all), the Hunley might still be down there. So both Ralph and Clive deserve credit for the specific roles they played (as do quite a few others, including Dr. Mark Newell, NUMA, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Daughters of the Confederacy, SCIAA, etc.).

In 1995, at the official request of the Hunley Commission, I donated my rights (as discoverer) to the wreck to the State.

For more on the Hunley and/or my discovery of that wreck look it up on Wikipedia. You should find it interesting.

Best wishes,
Lee
Dr. E. Lee Spence
HunleyFinder

 

[HunleyFinder]

I posted because I thought someone could answer my question. I had done a search for the term "commercial diving schools" on google, but there are so many hits (hundreds of thousands) that simply led to schools offering SCUBA that it was an impossible way to find the answer.

Besides, commercial divers frequently use SCUBA and we teach it in addition to surface supplied air diving. I know that I started out with SCUBA and got into surface supplied diving because of my shipwreck work. It was sort of a natural progression. I suspect lots of people on the site do both types or at least have an interest.

I wasn't familiar with the Deco Stop, but on checking it out I see it relates to "technical scuba diving." Again, it is another interesting aspect of diving and I am sure there is a lot of overlap. I will post a similar message there and see if they can help.

Anyway, my question is serious and I have already gotten some useful information and am looking for more.

Starting this month, I will be using SCUBA as my primary dive equipment on a shipwreck salvage project in the Caribbean.

Best wish and my sincere apologies for not focussing on SCUBA, which is not only a useful tool but the basis for a great sport. I have been a SCUBA diver for almost 50 years and will be teaching my soon to be wife (Lauren) to SCUBA dive.

Lee
Dr. E. Lee Spence
HunleyFinder

 

[HunleyFinder]

Thanks SCUBAJENNIFER

for telling about the commercial diving course offered at SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE in Santa Barbara, CA. I looked it up and it sounds good.

That means there are at least six commercial diving schools in the U.S.
The others are:
INTERNATIONAL DIVING INSTITUTE at Charleston, South Carolina
COMMERCIAL DIVING ACADEMY at Jacksonville, Florida
DIVERS ACADEMY INTERNATIONAL at Erial, New Jersey
and the schools TSandM mentioned in Houston and the one in Seattle.

I am still looking for info on commercial schools in Canada and elsewhere.

Thanks again,
Lee