Commercial Diving Safety & Assurance Services for the Offshore Energy Sector

At Energy Maritime Associates (EMA), we recognise that commercial diving remains a critical component of the offshore energy sector — and will continue to be so for many years. As offshore operations evolve, maintaining the highest standards of diving safety, compliance, and assurance is essential to protect personnel, assets, and project delivery.

Our Diving Safety & Services team provides competent, independent third-party assurance for surface supplied air/nitrox, and saturation-based diving operations, supporting Clients across the full lifecycle of offshore projects.

Supporting Safe, Compliant & Efficient Diving Operations

With safety-critical performance and operational success as our primary focus, EMA supports offshore duty holders, operators, and contractors with expert guidance aligned to UK HSE regulations, ACOP requirements, and international best practice.

We work closely with Clients to ensure diving operations are robust, auditable, and fully compliant, while also supporting continuous improvement through diving safety management systems development.

EMA Commercial Diving Services Operations

EMA offers a comprehensive range of commercial diving safety and assurance services, including:

 ✔️ Independent third-party assurance for surface supplied and saturation diving operations

 ✔️ Support and liaison with the UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE), including preparation of deliverables for:

      ☑️ Offshore Duty Holder Diving Management Reviews (ODDMR)

      ☑️ Annual Diving Meetings

 ✔️ Diving Safety Management System (DSMS) reviews, updates, re-writes, and bespoke system development

 ✔️ Guidance on diving industry legislation, regulatory compliance, and QHSE alignment

 ✔️ Audits, gap analysis and assessments across business management systems

 ✔️ Ad-hoc diving technical support, including:

     ☑️ Incident reporting, and investigation and expert witness statements 

     ☑️ SIMOPS reviews

     ☑️ Operational readiness reviews

     ☑️ HAZID, HIRA, and Lessons Learned forums

     ☑️ Internal and third party audit

✔️ Diving technical support for new work tendering and bid reviews

✔️ Capability and competency measurement of Offshore Client Diving Representatives

✔️ Provision of a globally recognised Diving Technical Authority for project meetings and technical reviews

✔️ Diving Assurance Tracking aligned with UK HSE ACOP expectations, covering:

     ☑️ Personnel and competency

     ☑️ Equipment compliance

     ☑️ Audit and assurance

     ☑️ DSV project approval

Industry-Leading Expertise

Our Director of Diving Safety & Services, Derek Beddows, personally ensures all deliverables meet the high standards our clients expect.

Derek was formerly BP’s Global Diving Technical Authority, responsible for all upstream diving operations worldwide. His role extended across BP’s downstream and shipping segments, and he represented BP on the IOGP Diving Operations Safety Committee and the North Sea Operators Diving Committee, serving as Vice Chair on both.

His industry contributions include:

• Developing BP’s global requirements for Hyperbaric Reception Facilities (HRFs) — now the industry standard
• Authoring three BP Global Diving Practices
• Creating and delivering bespoke, compliant Global Diving Safety Management Systems
• Leading system updates and refreshes to reflect continuous safety improvements and new industry guidance

Supporting Commercial Diving Operations in 2026 and Beyond

EMA would be delighted to engage with organisations seeking recognised expert support for commercial diving activities in 2026 and beyond — whether for assurance, internal audit, compliance, tendering, or safety and operational improvement. 


📩 Get in touch: 

derek.beddows@energymaritimeassociates.com