Research Diver Fatality in Alaska

[Mermaid Avenue]

Was there a risk assessment required by UCSC for this operation? Most universities require a comprehensive risk assessment for any kind of remote field work. I know of at least one graduate student from the same university who engaged in dive field work WITHOUT a risk assessment and conducted her dive operation near the entrance to a harbor without a dive flag! A comprehensive risk assessment is a template with succinct instructions on what the diver SHALL and SHALL NOT do, such as in the case of equipment failure like a leaky drysuit, and includes contingency planning, such as what to do when a diver is sidelined. I also agree with the comment that the PI should never be the lead diver and in this case, Diver 1 could have delegated his task to the other divers and served as the topside tender, which the team should have had onboard anyway. Also, Diver 1 refused gloves, which I believe impaired his decision making after the first dive in seawater that was 7 degrees Celsius. The apparent lack of a risk assessment (an ra wasn't mentioned in the report, correct me if I'm wrong), coupled with the pressure of completing the mission AND possible impairment in his decision making skills due to diving without gloves in very cold water led to this tragedy. If my assumption is correct that a risk assessment for this project was nonexistent, then I find fault with the University and the lab he worked for for not providing him with said risk assessment and a corresponding contingency plan.
On another note, if I had been offered an oversized drysuit with no rock boots and an intake valve insanely positioned on the leg, my answer would have been "NO WAY".. regardless of what sea otter researchers and green berets think. And I certainly wouldn't loan out a suit like that.