Relax - Diving device comes with risks

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Diving device comes with risks

By Bryna Sim, The New Paper | Fri, Nov 6 2009

S'porean diver who drowned used rebreather which is not common here.

Keywords

diving

accident

singaporean

MORE than a week has passed since the diving incident which claimed the life of eye specialist Marcus Lim, 37.

His wife, Madam Christy Toh, 34, is still coming to terms with his death.

When The New Paper spoke to her on Wednesday, the solicitor for an offshore law firm sounded frazzled and distressed.

“I’m really busy with work and I’m due to give birth any time,” she said.

Circumstances surrounding Dr Lim’s death are still a mystery, although there is speculation that the complications he faced underwater were linked to his use of a rebreather, a device that recirculates air.

Although a diver herself, Madam Toh said she was not familiar with rebreathers and how they worked.

Others in Singapore diving circles said only a small number of divers here use rebreathers.

“I believe there are only about 10 to 15 people in Singapore who are trained to use rebreathers,” said diving instructor Leon Boey, 30.

Another diving instructor Gideon Liew, 43, agreed.

He conducts training sessions with Global Underwater Explorers, and only three of them in the organisation are trained to use rebreathers.

“Even when we hold rebreather classes, there are fewer than five people in each class,” he said.

Rebreathers are scuba devices which allow a diver to breathe his own air over and over again.

They are useful for a variety of purposes, including military and industrial ones.

In recreational diving, they are sometimes used for underwater photography, when divers need to get close to marine creatures without scaring them away.

Mr Boey said rebreathers are “complicated” and there are “more risks involved” when they are used.

When asked to elaborate on the risks involved, MrLiew said: “The rebreather is a very technical device, so it has the potential to give you more problems than benefits.”

A rebreather set also costs a lot more than a typical open-circuit scuba set.

“With rebreathers, you need to spend more money on equipment and more time learning its technicalities,” said Mr Eric Chong, 37, who runs a dive school.

Good for extreme diving

For these reasons and more, Mr Chong does not use a rebreather at all.

Mr Liew does use one, though he stressed that it is only when “there is an absolute need to”.

According to him, the rebreather is a good “tool” to use in “deep, extreme environments”.

He uses it only at a depth of 100m or more, and if there is a need to stay underwater for hours.

“In a simple environment, there’s no point using a rebreather. A single tank of gas would be sufficient and give you enough time for a good dive,” he said.

The diving community has been shaken by Dr Lim’s death, especially rebreather divers.

“We’ve all been very affected by the incident,” said diver Dave Yiu, who uses the rebreather.

He declined to comment further.