The week a simple river job turned into a salvage nightmare

Last month in Mobile, Alabama, we had a contract to inspect some bridge pilings on a slow moving river. The first day went fine, but on day two, my umbilical got tangled in a submerged tree trunk that wasn't on any of the charts. I spent 45 minutes in zero vis, just feeling my way along the line with my knife, trying not to panic. My topside crew was great, talking me through it calmly, but it ate up half the day and we had to call in a second diver with a saw to clear the hazard. It was a good reminder to never trust a 'simple' job. Has anyone else had a routine inspection get complicated by unexpected debris like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

bennett.mason16d ago

Oh man, that sounds way too familiar. I was on a simple pier inspection in a bay last year and my hand got pinned by a shopping cart that had washed off the shore. Zero vis, just felt this cold metal around my wrist. Took twenty minutes of wiggling and cutting my glove to get free. It's never just a simple job.

wadem8916d ago

My own low point was getting a boot stuck in a car tire underwater. I spent half an hour looking like a fool trying to kick free. Makes a shopping cart seem almost professional.

ward.jamie12d ago

Yeah, shopping carts are the worst for that. Always keep a cheap serrated knife in your gear belt, the kind you don't mind wrecking. Saved me from a bike frame once.