[Drmike]

£12million....yummy

------ARCHIVE

International diving equipment technology company DIVEX today (12th July 2007) announced a major contract award with a value in excess of £12million. Divex, whose global headquarters are based in Westhill, Aberdeen, will supply the UK’s Royal Navy with a significant quantity of Stealth CDLSE (Clearance Divers Life Support Equipment) diving sets, as well as providing training, maintenance and support of the specialist diving equipment. The contract was awarded to Divex by the MOD’s Defence Equipment & Support organisation following public tender and stiff national and international competition.

The Divex Stealth CDLSE is the most advanced underwater life support system in the world today and will enable Royal Navy Clearance Divers to conduct their full range of tasks worldwide including the provision of a specialist underwater response in the fight against terrorism.

A state-of-the-art compact and highly sophisticated electronically controlled rebreather, the CDLSE is capable of being used in multi-mission diving profiles. It has been developed utilising modern materials and new technologies. Its extremely low WoB (Work of Breathing) surpasses international standards, and crucially to mine clearance diving operations, surpasses all NATO non-magnetic and low acoustic standards.

There will be a significant new investment in both facilities - the company will be establishing a new Southern Base Facility near to Portsmouth - and personnel to ensure that the agreed availability performance aspect of the contract is met. Divex will manage a pre-determined quantity of the diving sets and spares at a high level of operational readiness, and will also manage the spares, repairs, servicing, and technical support until 2019.

In view of the complex nature of this supply and support contract Divex put together a project team consisting of their highly specialised people including experienced engineers, technicians and former defence and commercial diving personnel to ensure that every aspect of the RN’s strict requirements was addressed.

Divex’s Stealth rebreathers are in-service with Navies worldwide having evolved in response to increasing customer operational requirements. Divex’s Test and Development Team has spent many years developing this technology and development costs are estimated to have exceeded the £2million mark. The company has been supplying Rebreathers to the defence and commercial diving markets for over 20 years.

Commander Chris Ameye, the MOD Superintendent of Diving and CDLSE Fleet Customer, said “the award of this contract represents a significant step towards the restoration of a safe and viable deep diving capability. The arrival of CDLSE later this year will be a major boost to the clearance diving specialisation and will provide the Royal Navy with a first class diving capability. I very much look forward to CDLSE’s introduction into service.”

The CDLSE provides the diver with increased levels of safety incorporating a secondary contingency breathing system for emergency use. It has an extended duration of up to six hours use and is capable of operating using different gases depending on the type of operation. Uniquely, for deep diving operations it can be linked to a surface safety support team so the diving supervisor can monitor the diver and his life support system - critically for mine clearance diving operations in the 21st Century, the equipment including the breathing apparatus must be completely non-magnetic to avoid alerting the mine to the diver’s presence.

Divex joint Managing Director, Derek Clarke commented, ”this is without doubt one of the most significant defence orders we have been awarded to date, not only in terms of value but in the prestige of winning the order against determined and worthy competition with a client that is regarded as one of the pre-eminent navies. It’s also a major CFA (Contracting for Availability) contract to be undertaken, and the selection by the Royal Navy endorses the Divex Stealth CDLSE’s status as the leading product in the market today.”

During the 1990s a strategic decision was taken by the business to focus considerable company resource on the defence market. Since then defence diving has rapidly developed into a significant aspect of the business with approximately 30% of the company’s turnover attributed to international defence markets. Divex currently employs more than 400 people worldwide.



Released: 02-Aug-2007
Divex Ltd

[RichClark]

without dragging this more off topic...

Here's a PDF on the Stealth Rebreather. It's a little old so I don't know if this is version of the Stealth RB involved in the Royal Navy contract.

Cheers

Rich

[Mdemon]

Should be some second-hand Mk15x's knocking about soon then.

According to the navy diver at the Dive Show, they weren't allowed to dive them deeper than 42m anyway...

[apitkin]

The RN's new CDBA is (now was) a variant of the Mk16 and was originally intended to have an 80msw capability. Unfortunately this did not work out and because of the problems experienced the depth allowed was limited to 42 msw.

They are unlikely to come on the market, and if they did I wouldn't buy one.

Andy

[Drmike]

Quote: (Originally Posted by apitkin)

The RN's new CDBA is (now was) a variant of the Mk16 and was originally intended to have an 80msw capability. Unfortunately this did not work out and because of the problems experienced the depth allowed was limited to 42 msw.

They are unlikely to come on the market, and if they did I wouldn't buy one.

Andy

what were the problems? why are they unlikely to come on the market, why wouldnt you want a MK16?

they (MK16) have a rating of 90m I believe.

navies worldwide have (increasingly) conservative depth limits they allow free swimming divers to go to, in singapore its only 50m or so even with the (120m rated) Stealths they use

[caveseeker7]

Had a long, sad conversation regarding the RN's CCBAs.
They will have to be destroyed, all 60 in the inventory, and since they will have no more use for the Inconel flask inventory those will be scrapped, too.
Oh well, why shouldn't the British get less fleeced than the rest of us.

The CCBA does differ from the MK16 and the 15.5s I have seen.
They have, for some odd reason, the small, thin metal connectors (and matching narrow diameter hoses) reminiscend of the MK15.

Told them if WOB was the reason to switch to the Stealth, buying a power drill, Cooper hoses and a Boris DSV would be less expensive.

[koputai]

The CDBA was a huge, overweight, over committee'd ****-up based on a Mk16. They added that much weight, bulk, and complexity to it that it became almost undivable. Everyone forced to use it hated it.

Cheers,
Jason.

[teksimple]

Quote: (Originally Posted by caveseeker7)

Had a long, sad conversation regarding the RN's CCBAs.
They will have to be destroyed, all 60 in the inventory, and since they will have no more use for the Inconel flask inventory those will be scrapped, too.

So the RN does not have the equivalent of the U.S.' DRMO (Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office)? That is how many of the Mk 15's currently in use arrived in civilian hands. Unnecessary destruction of government property (read: purchased by U.S. taxpayers) without arranging for reutilization would certainly risk a fraud, waste, and abuse suit in U.S. court. Since the reutilization of Mk 15's to civilian hands sets a precedent, the U.S. Navy better not try and destroy all those Mk 16's when they upgrade to a more modern rebreather!

[teksimple]

Quote: (Originally Posted by teksimple)

Since the reutilization of Mk 15's to civilian hands sets a precedent, the U.S. Navy better not try and destroy all those Mk 16's when they upgrade to a more modern rebreather!

CRAP. Just spoke to Colin Wilcox and he said that because the Mk 16 (along with Western navy equivalents) is a defense restricted item, one will never, ever see an auction; unlike the Mk 15, which was not a restricted item. The U.S. EOD fleet of Mk 16's are now being upgraded with a new contract for digital electronics, etc.

So my 15.5 is and apparently will be rocking horse sh!t for an indefinitely long time. So much for cheap parts in the near future.

Perhaps I should sell the posthumous rights to my Mk 15.5? As long as I do not go diving with the winning bidder, maybe that is a way I can buy a new HD video housing...

[caveseeker7]

Well, the DRMO hasn't always been along now, has it? I do remember piles of Willys MB being cut in half sitting in a yard in a yard in Frankfurt being scrapped for parts.

The MK15s that were sold were also incomplete (no displays, at least no secondaries) and no flasks either - undivable condition!). The MK16 Mod1 (aka 15.5) has been markerted to civillians via Steam Machines, remember ... ... so maybe there is some hope yet. Throw out the nastily expensive piezo electronic gas addition valve renders them undivable, and we would just need a good and inexpensive solenoid to fix that.

Colkan, like SMI, has been building from spare parts ... all we need is spares.

The RN chaps did mention life support system as the reason for scrapping, which does make some sense, looking at the fatality numbers of such systems in civilian hands in general. But I did do the math for the sale of valve-neutered rigs, complete center sections and Inconels. I think I caught them by suprise.

Also consider that the unit does not have the CE certification, won't get it, and thus can probaly (they are used) not be sold within the EC. Doesn't necessarily mean that they couldn't be sold at all. Just not to the open market. But there have been companies and other able to buy them, same as with LAR V from Däger. Restricted, yes, but by no means exclusiv.