Diver Explains: Typhoon Billy DB29 Disaster

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If my boss told me he was removing the only life raft I could use so he can save some time/money I would be looking for a new boss.

I was a SAT diver and spent a lot of time on the DB29. I was one of the divers in SAT during typhoon Abby in the Taiwan straights. Our decompression profile may have been the quickest SAT deco from that depth even to this date. We were always aware that we had started decompression late but were very acutely aware that things were getting worse when looking out of the chamber portholes we saw most of the diving crew outside the chamber wearing wet suits and carrying their fins. This was while the barge was adrift. Stepping out on deck in the middle of the typhoon and looking at the wreckage of equipment around the system was pretty surreal and focusing at the same time. Also knew 3 out of the 4 divers that went down on the DB29. Very sad feeling hearing about the accident in (delayed by a day or so) real time, knowing that the guys were probably gone. I appreciate their story being told albeit with quite a few factual inaccuracies (not relevant to the accident). There were also a lot of individual and combined heroic efforts during and after the sinking in the midst of the storm. RIP John, Bryan, Steve and Terry................................

I am coldly furious that ANY saturation dive operation ANYWHERE is allowed to put to sea without an escape vessel. National regs, hell. That should be an international standard.

I still remember when Mythbusters said that getting sucked down by a sinking ship was a myth, yet it's happened over and over throughout history.

I must say..going from eerie background music fitting for a story like this, to transition into background music fitting of a little kids birthday party when you are still in the middle of telling the story is rather strange and confusing.

I was SCUBA trained and certified way back when the free ascent was part of our open water certification. My dive master was a Navy diver who had us breath from the cracked valve on the tank, tore our mask and regulator off in the dark, and had us jump in the pool carrying our gear and we were not allowed to surface until it was assembled and were were breathing from it. It was grueling training, but it instilled confidence in all of us. Your explanation of air expanding during an underwater ascent is spot on and easy to understand for the layman. During my free ascent from 35 feet I was astounded how air continued to pour from my open mouth seemingly coming from nowhere.  I love the channel. Keep it up.

I'm an old dive charter captain and an instructor of scuba, so I have heard many these stories, sometimes from someone involved. Still, you have a fantastic way of telling the stories with all the details in a respectful way. I have found myself leaning into the screen. Great productions. Thank you

I spent years as an underwater welder and salvor and was the best job I ever had. That said, Saturation diving is an entirely different animal with a whole other set of risk, rewards and repercussions.

I can't understand how reckless these companies are with these divers lives. They do work that nets companies billions of dollars and yet safety necessities are ignored.

I have never heard of this case before. This is all my worst nightmares rolled into one. Absolutely terrifying. They were right about that being their best shot— rescue wouldn’t be around for days. Corporations will cut any corner they possibly can at the cost of untold numbers of lives. It never should have happened. I’m surprised this channel hasn’t blown up yet tbh. There’s a lot of channels that have this kind of content but this is hands down one of the best.

My aunt used to date a guy who was working for McDermott as an exec .type job . He used to laugh about the fact tha the company was known amongst divers as "you send'em,we bend them". Seems there was a good reason for that to stick it seems.

It’s fun to get in on a great channel early on before it blows up. Your delivery is fantastic. Thank you

I’ve done quite a lot of open circuit sport diving all round the tropics so have a layman’s understanding of what was going on with these guys. The clear way you tell this technically complex story is a pleasure to listen to but my deepest condolences for these poor divers is just not enough

Was the barge operator ever held responsible for removing the hyperbaric escape system?

I'm a life support technician, basically running the saturation chamber and I can't imagine this scenario. I don't get why they didn't have an HRC. I guess things have just really changed over the times. Our captain tells us to leave the second any bad weather pops up lol, I couldn't imagine staying during a typhoon.

My dad was a submariner and his biggest fear was this scenario, submariners are a special bread of men and I think only surpassed by these fearless commercial saturation divers working at great depths in the darkness. RIP men.

Fascinating and sad story. Wow, opening that hatch stuck to a sinking ship and hoping for life... Great channel. Keep up the good work.

Just found your channel. Definitely subbed. Hope you keep at it bud because every video I've just binged has been really well done

High quality content, really like your videos. Good story telling, photos and explanations!