Heliumthief
Contributor
it seems to be a fairly common misconception that because offshore divers work with pipelines and steel structures, they need to be ‘diver-welders’. Pipelines offshore, when installed, are normally laid from a pipelay barge, onboard which the sections of pipe are welded together (it’s fairly normal nowadays to use automated welding machines to do this job, although manual welders are still occasionally used in some areas of the world).
Most work divers conduct around pipelines involve ‘plugging them in’ to subsea wellheads, manifolds, or Platform risers and that work is exclusively bolting together pre-installed flanges- so there would be more call for experience in bolt tensioning than welding..
I’ve been coded for wet stick welding in the past, but this was normally for inshore work such as pile repairs or anode installation and I know of a few guys who specialise in ship’s husbandry etc. but there is so few Hyperbaric welding jobs nowadays (again mostly performed by automated PRS machines) that I could count on my fingers the number of welders who are still actually doing the job.
Don’t go into Diving with the wrong ideas about what it is. If there’s a local diving company, go along and talk to guys who actually do it, talk to Diving schools (but be aware most of them will be making money by getting you to attend...). If you’ve nearly finished an apprenticeship then finish it. Diving is a fickle industry and having a skill to fall back on if you can’t find work is important...
Most work divers conduct around pipelines involve ‘plugging them in’ to subsea wellheads, manifolds, or Platform risers and that work is exclusively bolting together pre-installed flanges- so there would be more call for experience in bolt tensioning than welding..
I’ve been coded for wet stick welding in the past, but this was normally for inshore work such as pile repairs or anode installation and I know of a few guys who specialise in ship’s husbandry etc. but there is so few Hyperbaric welding jobs nowadays (again mostly performed by automated PRS machines) that I could count on my fingers the number of welders who are still actually doing the job.
Don’t go into Diving with the wrong ideas about what it is. If there’s a local diving company, go along and talk to guys who actually do it, talk to Diving schools (but be aware most of them will be making money by getting you to attend...). If you’ve nearly finished an apprenticeship then finish it. Diving is a fickle industry and having a skill to fall back on if you can’t find work is important...
