Venture One diving accident facts for kids

The Venture One diving accident happened on May 10, 1977. A diver sadly drowned while working deep underwater. This happened about three miles east of the North Cormorant oil field in the North Sea. The diver was working at a depth of about 500 feet (152 meters).

What Happened Before

On May 10, 1977, the crew on the drill rig Venture One was getting ready. They needed to lower a special piece of equipment called a blowout preventer (BOP). This equipment was going to the seabed, which was 510 feet (155 meters) below.

The diving supervisor, Richard Pettit, was asked to check something important. He needed to make sure the Permanent Guide Base was clear. This was to ensure the BOP could be installed without any problems.

Around 4:00 AM, Supervisor Pettit sent down the diving bell. Inside were two divers, Dave Hammond, 29, and Craig Hoffman, 22. Craig Hoffman was known as a "very good diver." He was from Delaware in America. Dave Hammond was from Scotland and had nine years of diving experience.

The bell stopped at 492 feet (150 meters). For the next 90 minutes, the divers looked out of the bell's windows. They were told there wouldn't be any wires on the guide base. But Hoffman and Hammond saw three guideposts with wire ropes sticking out. These wires had to be cut before the BOP could be lowered.

At 6:12 AM, the divers opened a valve to let pressure into the bell. Hoffman then left the bell wearing a hot-water suit. Hammond was wearing a dry suit. Hoffman swam to the guide base, which was 15 to 20 feet away. He saw the wires needed to be cut. He got a hacksaw from the bell and started cutting one of the wires.

Supervisor Pettit listened to Hoffman's breathing through his headset. He noticed Hoffman was breathing faster. Several times, he told Hoffman to "stop and take a rest," which Hoffman did. About an hour later, Hoffman had cleared two guideposts. Pettit decided to bring him back to the bell. He wanted Hammond to finish cutting the third wire. Pettit later explained that he thought the job was taking too long. He wanted Craig to rest because a diver's job inside the bell is more relaxed.

The Accident

The trunking is a short cylindrical passageway that allows the diver to enter and exit the bell.

Back in the bell, Hammond and Hoffman switched places. Hammond put on the same gear Hoffman had used. Hammond later said that everything felt "absolutely normal" during this switch. Twenty minutes later, Hammond left the bell feeling "terrific." He quickly swam to the guide base and began working on the last wire. Inside the bell, Hoffman talked to Pettit through a headset. He gave updates on the bell's oxygen and asked Pettit to have Hammond check some of his work. Pettit later said Hoffman's messages were "perfectly clear."

A few minutes later, while Hammond was working, Pettit suddenly heard a "strange high-pitched electrical noise." He immediately called the bell to check on Hoffman. But he got no answer. Hammond was almost done cutting the third wire when Pettit told him to return to the bell. Hammond said he had "one strand of wire left to cut." But Pettit ordered him back right away.

Hammond dropped his tools and swam back to the bell. About six feet from the bell, he found Hoffman. Hoffman was floating in a "dead-man's position" inside the trunking. His arms and legs were hanging down in the water. Hammond tried to push his unconscious partner inside. When he couldn't, he pulled Hoffman away from the opening. Then he crawled through the trunking into the bell. Sitting on a seat, he pulled Hoffman's body partly into the bell. He positioned Hoffman's arms over his knees and began trying to help him breathe.

Minutes later, communication between the surface and the bell stopped working. Pettit later said that after Hammond got into the bell and worked on Hoffman, the communication got worse. At one point, it completely disappeared. Pettit had to leave to get help from shore. He called his company office and told the General Manager, Stanley Kellogg, what was happening. He explained he had lost contact with the bell and couldn't risk bringing it up with the doors open. Kellogg gave advice and then called the Department of Energy. He also contacted Offshore Medical Support and started calling rescue boats.

On the Venture One, Pettit managed to get communication back with the bell. Hammond kept trying to help Hoffman. But after "20 or 25 minutes," Hoffman showed no signs of life. His eye pupils did not react to light. Pettit told Hammond to pull Hoffman's body fully inside the bell. But Hammond couldn't do it. He explained that Hoffman weighed almost as much as he did. Plus, the hot-water suit was very heavy. Hoffman was also completely limp, offering no help. Hammond had very little space to work in.

Pettit asked if Hoffman was dead, and Hammond said yes. By then, Hoffman had not been breathing for 60 minutes. With the risk of losing bell communication again, Pettit asked Hammond to "drop back down into the trunking." He told him to tie Craig's body to the outside of the bell. Then, they would bring the bell to the surface.

When the bell reached the surface, another diver went into the water. He freed Hoffman's body and swam it to a recovery basket. Then the bell was brought onto the ship. It was connected to the chamber system. Inside the system, diver James McLellan met Dave Hammond. McLellan said Hammond seemed "very cold, very tired and very stressed." McLellan had been on the drill floor, talking to Pettit when the accident happened. Pettit decided to put McLellan into the special chamber with Hammond. This was to help Hammond recover safely after they brought the bell up.

What Was Found Out

During the investigation of the accident, authorities couldn't figure out why Hoffman ended up in the trunking. They found no broken diving equipment. No part of the system seemed to have stopped working. Tests were done on the carbon dioxide scrubber and the sodasorb, and no problems were found. Dave Hammond said he didn't notice anything wrong with the air quality. When the air was tested, it was found to be clean.

The bell's electrical system was also checked for problems. Pettit thought the high-pitched noise he heard might have been caused by Hoffman's communication switch getting wet. He thought salt water could get into the speakers and cause electrical issues. However, a technician found no electrical problems. Hammond also said he did not feel any electric shock in the bell.

A medical examination was done on Hoffman. It showed no signs of heart disease or problems with other organs. There was also no sign of electrical shock to his body. He had a one-inch cut on his forehead. Doctors thought this happened after he died. A look at his lungs showed he had died by drowning.

Dr. Hendry, the doctor who did the examination, was asked how this could have happened. He said, "This happened because he fell head first, without his mask, and probably unconscious, into the trunking of the diving bell." He added that since there was no sign of illness, injury, or danger from the environment, he thought Hoffman lost consciousness from fainting. This could happen, for example, if he stood up quickly from a squatting position. This can cause blood pressure to drop. This effect would be even stronger if he was also breathing too fast or holding his nose to clear his ears. Dr. Hendry stressed that his idea was just a guess. He had "no way of knowing if this happened."