Following completion of the requisite 200-panel hour by the International Maritime Contractors Association, two divers working in Nigerian waters have been promoted to Air Diving Supervisors (IMCA).
Mr Julius Ugwala, the Chief Inspector of Diving (CID), stated this in a statement signed by his media consultant, Mrs Ezinne Azuna, on Friday in Lagos.
According to Ugwuala, the 200-panel hour was the practical component that IMCA required of Trainee Air Diving Supervisors (TADS) before they were finalized as supervisors.
He said the achievement was accomplished under his watch last Thursday, five years after they began diving.
Mr Dacosta Moriafen, a Nigerian, and Mr Louis Stefanus De Jager, a South African, are the trained divers operating on board a Floating.
According to the Nigerian News Agency (NAN), the CID is a Federal Government appointee under the Ministry of Labour and Productivity.
To ensure compliance with the 2018 Diving at Work law, he works with the Diving Advisory Board to review and approve all diving activities across the country.
Nigeria had just nine diving supervisors, according to Ugwuala, which hampered Niger’s ability to dive.
Ugwala admitted that he has experienced the same issue, but that as the Chief Inspector of Diving, he would like to see Nigerian divers receive their panel hours.
He pointed out that the COVID-19 brought in foreigners, preventing the oil and gas industry from shutting down because two or four Nigerian divers couldn’t match the entire oil field.
Moriafen and Stefanus De Jager, two trainee divers, also asked supervisors to allow more time for trainees to accumulate panel hours in order to help the industry expand.