Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies requirements for rebreather diver training programmes which provide the competencies required to perform dives to 100 m with a rebreather requiring mandatory decompression stops using a breathing mixture containing helium. This document specifies evaluation criteria for these competencies.

This document specifies the requirements under which training is provided, in addition to the general requirements for recreational diving service provision in accordance with ISO 24803.

Purpose

Rebreathers (i.e. a breathing device that recirculates some or all of the diver’s exhaled breath and replenishes any consumed oxygen to maintain a breathable mixture) are becoming much more widely available and popular among scuba divers. The market of rebreather diving has been constantly growing over past years and is now considered to be large enough so that the need standards for training organizations on minimum training requirements is evident. Rebreathers allow scuba divers to dive longer and to greater depths. Such depths could range even beyond 30 and therefore require staged (i.e. decompression) diving. If rebreathers are improperly used, however, they can be hazardous and scuba divers have had fatal accidents due to misuse of these devices. Therefore it is important to specify training for diving using such devices.

This International Standard, will be prepared with the objective of establishing a set of specifications for safety practices and the provision of training services for diving with rebreathers beyond the limits of non-decompression diving. This standard will be based on the specifications of ISO/CD 24642 and will specify a training which goes beyond the limits of nondecompression diving. The competencies to be trained in accordance with this standard will enable a diver to dive to a maximum depth of 100 m.

As with growing diving depth, the technical and safety requirements and the complexity for such dives increase enormously, further knowledge and skills are required in order to enable the diver to go to such depths.

This International Standard is intended to specify:

— necessary levels of experience and competencies of scuba divers;

— safety practices and requirements for Rebreather diving training organization and training providers appropriate to the different diving levels.

The requirements specified will be minimal requirements; they will not preclude the provision of additional training or the evaluation of additional competencies by a service provider. These International Standard represent are intended to specify a tool for comparison of existing (or future) qualifications of Rebreather divers. They will not specify detailed course programmes, nor do they imply that course programmes and Rebreather diver qualifications issued by different nations or training organizations are required to correspond to these levels.

This International standard is targeted to diver training organisations and their training programmes. However the beneficiaries of these standard will be broad community of divers seeking training in the field of Rebreather diving.

Outline of the content of the standard:

1. Scope

2. Competencies

3. Prerequisites for training

4. Breathing gas

5. Training dive limits

6. Theoretical knowledge

7. Confined water training

8. Open water training

9. Instructor requirements

10. Practical training parametes

11. Evaluation