Diving support equipment

Diving support equipment is the equipment used to facilitate a diving operation. It is either not taken into the water during the dive, such as the gas panel and compressor, or is not integral to the actual diving, being there to make the dive easier or safer, such as a surface decompression chamber. Some equipment, like a diving stage, is not easily categorised as diving or support equipment, and may be considered as either.

Breathing gas equipment[]

Booster pump – Machine to increase pressure of a fluid
Breathing gas – Gas used for human respiration
Carbon dioxide scrubber – Device which absorbs carbon dioxide from circulated gas
Cascade filling system – Filling pressurised gas from a series of storage cylinders
Diver's pump – Manually powered surface air supply for divers
Diving air compressor – Machine used to compress breathing air for use by underwater divers
Diving air filter – Device to purify compressed breathing air
Gas blending – Producing special gas mixtures to specification
Gas blending for scuba diving – Mixing and filling cylinders with breathing gases for use when scuba diving
Gas panel – Breathing gas distribution panel for surface-supplied diving
Gas reclaim system – System to recover used breathing gas and prepare it for re-use
Gas storage bank – Group of similar size high pressure cylinders mounted together and connected to a common manifold
Gas storage quad – Group of similar size high pressure cylinders
Gas storage tube – Large volume, high pressure gas storage cylinder
Heliox – A breathing gas mixed from helium and oxygen
Helium analyzer – Instrument to measure the concentration of helium in a gas mixture
High pressure breathing air compressor – Machine to provide atmospheric air at high pressure for breathing
Low pressure breathing air compressor – Machine to provide atmospheric air at low pressure for breathing
Membrane method of gas concentration
Nitrox – Breathing gas, mixture of nitrogen and oxygen
Oxygen analyser – Instrument to measure partial pressure of oxygen in a gas mixture
Oxygen compatibility – Use of equipment and materials that are suitable for service with a high partial pressure of oxygen
Pressure swing adsorption – Method of gases separation using selective adsorption under pressure
Trimix – Breathing gas consisting of oxygen, helium and nitrogen

Platforms[]

Dive boat – Boat used for the support of scuba diving operations
- Combat Rubber Raiding Craft – Rubberised fabric tactical inflatable boat used by the US Navy
- Liveaboard – Way of using a boat
- Subskimmer – Submersible diver propulsion vehicle with inflatable buoyancy for surface use
Diving support vessel – Ship used as a floating base for professional diving projects
- HMS Challenger (K07) – Royal Navy saturation diving support vessel
Canoe and kayak diving – Recreational diving from a canoe or kayak

Habitats[]

Underwater habitat – Human habitable underwater enclosure filled with breathable gas
- Aquarius Reef Base – Underwater habitat off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
- Continental Shelf Station Two – Undersea research habitat in the Red Sea
- Helgoland Habitat – Ambient pressure underwater habitat
- Jules' Undersea Lodge – Underwater hotel in Key Largo, Florida
- Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station – NASA underwater habitat
- SEALAB – Experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States Navy
- Tektite habitat – Undersea laboratory and experimental habitat

Decompression equipment[]

Built-in breathing system – System for supply of breathing gas on demand within a confined space
Diving chamber – Hyperbaric pressure vessel for human occupation used in diving operations
Hyperbaric lifeboat – Lifeboat for transporting people under pressure
Hyperbaric stretcher – Portable pressure vessel to transport a person under pressure.
Saturation system – A surface hyperbaric complex including a living chamber, transfer chamber, closed diving bell and the infrastructure to operate them

Deployment systems[]

Atmospheric diving suit – Articulated pressure resistant anthropomorphic housing for an underwater diver
Bell cursor – Device to guide and control a diving bell near and above the surface
Clump weight – A heavy weight suspended on cable used to guide a diving bell
Diver lift – Movable platform for lifting a diver from the water to deck level
Diving bell – Chamber for transporting divers vertically through the water
Diving ladder – Ladder to facilitate egress from the water by divers
Boarding stirrup – A suspended foot support allowing divers to use a leg to help lift themselves from the water into the boat – A suspended foot support allowing divers to use a leg to help lift themselves from the water into the boat.
Launch and recovery system (LARS) – Equipment used to deploy and recover a diving bell, stage, or ROV
Moon pool – Opening in the base of a hull, platform, or chamber giving access to the water below
Shark-proof cage – A metal structure to protect divers and snorkellers from potentially dangerous sharks
Shotline – Substantial weighted near-vertical line with buoy

Remotely controlled underwater vehicles[]

Remotely operated underwater vehicle – A tethered underwater mobile device operated by a remote crew
8A4-class ROUV – Chinese work class remotely operated underwater vehicle
ABISMO – Japanese remotely operated underwater vehicle for deep sea exploration
Atlantis ROV Team – High-school underwater robotics team from Whidbey Island, Washington, United States
CURV – Early remotely operated underwater vehicle
Épaulard – French remotely operated underwater vehicle of the Ifremer
Global Explorer ROV – Deep water science and survey remotely operated vehicle
Goldfish-class ROUV – Light class of Chinese remotely operated underwater vehicle
Kaikō ROV – Japanese remotely operated underwater vehicle for deep sea exploration
Long-Term Mine Reconnaissance System – American torpedo tube-launched underwater search and survey unmanned undersea vehicle
Mini Rover ROV – Small, low cost observation class remotely operated underwater vehicle
OpenROV – Open-source remotely operated underwater vehicle
ROV KIEL 6000 – Remotely operated vehicle built by Schilling Robotics, Davis, California for scientific tasks
ROV PHOCA – Remotely operated underwater vehicle of the COMANCHE type
Scorpio ROV – Work class remotely operated underwater vehicle
Sea Dragon-class ROV – Chinese deep diving work class remotely operated underwater vehicle
Seabed tractor – Special purpose class of remotely operated underwater vehicle
Seafox drone – Remotely operated anti-mine marine drone
Seahorse ROUV – Chinese scientific and maintenance remotely operated underwater vehicle
SeaPerch – Remotely operated underwater vehicle educational program
SJT-class ROUV – Series of Chinese remotely operated underwater vehicles
T1200 Trenching Unit – Remotely operated seabed trenching unit
VideoRay UROVs – Series of inspection class remotely operated underwater vehicles

Dive planning and recording equipment[]

Decompression tables – Tabulated data to determine a decompression schedule for a given dive profile
Dive planning – The process of planning an underwater diving operation
Diver's logbook
Diving operations record – Documentation recording a professional dive
Recreational Dive Planner – PADI no-decompression dive table also available as a circular slide rule and electronic calculator
Subsurface (software)

Safety equipment[]

Diver down flag – Flag signal indicating divers are in the water nearby
Diving shot – Substantial weighted near-vertical line with buoy
Jackstay – Substantial underwater guide line
Reserve gas supply – Surface breathing gas supply for diving use if main supply is compromised

Other[]

Hot water system (diving) – Water heating and supply system for hot-water diving suits – Equipment to heat water and supply it to a surface-supplied diver through the umbilical system.
Downline – Rope from the surface to an underwater workplace