15 / 08 / 05 - Independence increases potential for National Hyperbaric Centre

The National Hyperbaric Centre has returned to independence, it’s capabilities and enormous range of pressure testing facilities are rapidly expanding to provide a complete range of services for the subsea industry. With the vision to become the Centre of Excellence for Subsea Safety at the forefront of the new management strategy, the NHC is complementing it’s current range of pressure testing and hyperbaric medical facilities with equipment supply, equipment servicing, consulting and a full range of diver training courses. “We will continue to develop the pressure testing, trials and emergency diver hyperbaric treatment facilities” said new Managing Director David Smith, “but we also have a major new initiative with regards to improving safety performance on subsea worksites”. By increasing training facilities to include such courses as Offshore Rep Safety and Diving Legislation, while utilising the expertise and industry knowledge from a variety of Consultants, the NHC can provide a wealth of knowledge for offshore safety in a variety of projects. An additional focus of the business is to increase and diversify the subsea trials and testing facilities at the UKAS approved Forresterhill site. “We currently have a wide range of pressure testing facilities and recent tests have included cable systems, electrical penetrators and subsea modules. However we still have plenty of capacity and welcome the opportunity to expand further” said Mr. Smith. Future plans for the NHC include the installation of an even larger pressure vessel than the current 100 Bar / 1000m test chamber, with a 400Bar/4000m chamber in the design stage.