Canada Oil and Gas Diving Regulations (SOR/88-600)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Canada Oil and Gas Diving Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

acceptable standard

acceptable standard means an applicable standard that is acceptable to the Minister; (norme acceptable)

accident

accident means a fortuitous event that results in the death of or injury to any person involved in a diving operation; (accident)

Act

Act means the Oil and Gas Production and Conservation Act; (Loi)

ADS

ADS means an atmospheric diving system capable of withstanding external pressures greater than atmospheric pressure and in which the internal pressure remains at atmospheric pressure and includes a one-person submarine and the one-atmosphere compartment of a diving submersible; (système ADS)

ADS dive

ADS dive means a dive in which an ADS is used; (plongée avec système ADS)

ADS diving operation

ADS diving operation means a diving operation in which an ADS dive is made; (opérations de plongée avec système ADS)

ADS supervisor

ADS supervisor means a supervisor of a diving operation involving a pilot; ((directeur de plongée avec système ADS))

ambient pressure

ambient pressure means the pressure at any given depth; (pression ambiante)

appropriate breathing mixture

appropriate breathing mixture means, in relation to a diving operation, a breathing mixture that is suitable, in terms of composition, temperature and pressure, for the diving plant and equipment used in the diving operation, for the work to be undertaken and for the conditions under which and the depth at which the diving operation is to be conducted; (mélange respiratoire approprié)

attendant

attendant means a person who has been trained in diving procedures and who is acting under the direction of a supervisor; (adjoint)

bell bounce diving technique

bell bounce diving technique means a diving procedure whereby a diving bell or diving submersible is used to transport divers who are under atmospheric pressure or pressures greater than atmospheric pressure to a work site and subsequently to transport the divers under pressures greater than atmospheric pressure from an underwater work site, but does not include saturation diving techniques; (technique de la plongée d’incursion)

bottom time

bottom time means the period commencing when a person begins pressurization or descent for a dive and terminating when the person commences decompression or ascent; (durée du séjour au fond)

breathing mixture

breathing mixture means a mixture of gases used for human respiration and includes pure oxygen and any therapeutic mixture; (mélange respiratoire)

category I dive

category I dive means a dive to a depth of less than 50 m using surface-oriented diving techniques and a breathing mixture of air, but no other breathing mixture except in cases of decompression, treatment or emergency, and includes a dive in which a diving bell or diving submersible is used for an observation dive, but does not include a lock-out dive; (plongée de catégorie I)

category I diving operation

category I diving operation means a diving operation in which a category I dive is made; (opérations de plongée de catégorie I)

category II dive

category II dive means a dive in which a diving bell or diving submersible is used for a lock-out dive to a depth of less than 50 m using a breathing mixture of air, or to a depth of 50 m or more using a breathing mixture of mixed gas other than air, but does not include a saturation dive; (plongée de catégorie II)

category II diving operation

category II diving operation means a diving operation in which a category II dive is made; (opérations de plongée de catégorie II)

category III dive

category III dive means a saturation dive and any dive other than an ADS dive, a category I dive or a category II dive; (plongée de catégorie III)

category III diving operation

category III diving operation means a diving operation in which a category III dive is made; (opérations de plongée de catégorie III)

compression chamber

compression chamber means a pressure vessel that is suitable for human occupancy at internal pressures greater than atmospheric pressure; (caisson de compression ou compartiment de compression)

contingency plan

contingency plan means a contingency plan referred to in paragraph 4(4)(i); (plan d’urgence)

craft

craft means any vessel, vehicle, hovercraft, semi-submersible, submarine or diving-submersible and includes a self-propelled, tethered, towed or bottom-contact apparatus, but does not include an installation; (véhicule)

decompression

decompression means the gradual reduction of the pressures of the inert components of a breathing mixture in the body; (décompression)

decompression sickness

decompression sickness means a condition caused by the reduction or other changes of pressure on or in the body; (maladie de la décompression)

decompression sickness type I

decompression sickness type I means a decompression sickness that is characterized by one or both of the following symptoms, namely,

• (a) pain that is located at or near the joints of the limbs but is not felt in other parts of the body, and

• (b) cutaneous manifestations including a rash and cutaneous pruritis (intense itching); (maladie de la décompression de type I)

decompression sickness type II

decompression sickness type II means a decompression sickness that is characterized by one or more of the following symptoms, namely,

• (a) neurological manifestations related to the central nervous system,

• (b) interference with the respiratory or cardiovascular system,

• (c) otologic disorders, and

• (d) any symptoms not referred to in the definition “decompression sickness type I”; (maladie de la décompression de type II)

decompression table

decompression table means a table or set of tables that

• (a) shows a schedule of rates for safe descent and ascent and the appropriate breathing mixture to be used by a diver during a dive, and

• (b) has been approved in accordance with section 5; (table de décompression)

dive site

dive site means the place on a craft or installation from which a diving operation is conducted and from which a diver or pilot involved in the diving operation enters the water; (lieu de plongée)

dive time

dive time means the period commencing when a person begins pressurization or descent for a dive and terminating when the person completes decompression or ascent; (durée de la plongée)

diver

diver means a person who meets the requirements of section 53, 55 or 57, who is involved in a diving operation that is part of a diving program and who may be subject to pressures greater than atmospheric pressure; (plongeur)

diving bell

diving bell means a compression chamber that is intended to be submerged and that is designed to transport a person at atmospheric pressure or divers at pressures greater than atmospheric pressure from the surface to an underwater work site and back and includes the compression chamber of a diving submersible; (tourelle de plongée)

diving contractor

diving contractor means a person who employs a diver for a diving operation or who holds a contract to supply diving services for a diving operation, but does not include a self-employed diver; (entrepreneur en plongée)

diving crew

diving crew means the persons who are designated by a diving contractor to be involved in a diving operation conducted by the diving contractor and who are under the supervision of a supervisor; (équipe de plongée)

diving doctor

diving doctor means a medical doctor who is licensed and registered to practise in a province, who has completed a diving medical course acceptable to the Minister and who has been accepted in writing by the Minister to certify divers for the purposes of paragraph 53(b), but who has not been accepted by the Minister to provide medical assistance under pressures greater than atmospheric pressure; (médecin de plongée)

diving operation

diving operation means any work or activity that is associated with a dive and that takes place during the total dive time and includes

• (a) any work or activity involving a diver or pilot,

• (b) the activities of a person assisting a diver or pilot involved in the dive, and

• (c) any use of an ADS in the dive; (opérations de plongée)

diving plant and equipment

diving plant and equipment means the plant and equipment that are used in, or in connection with, a diving operation and includes the plant and equipment that are essential to a diver or pilot; (matériel de plongée)

diving program

diving program means any work or activity related to the exploration or drilling for or the production, conservation, processing or transportation of oil or gas that involves a diving operation; (programme de plongée ou programme)

diving safety specialist

diving safety specialist means a person who meets the criteria set out in subsection 26(1); (spécialiste de la sécurité en plongée)

diving station

diving station means the place from which a diving operation is controlled; (poste de commande de plongée)

diving submersible

diving submersible means a self-propelled submarine that has at least

• (a) one one-atmosphere compartment from which the diving submersible is piloted and from which a dive can be supervised, and

• (b) one compression chamber from which a dive can be conducted; (sous-marin crache-plongeurs)

diving supervisor

diving supervisor means a supervisor of a diving operation involving a diver; (directeur de plongée)

dressed-in

dressed-in means fully equipped to dive and ready to enter the water, with the diver’s personal diving equipment tested and at hand, whether or not helmet, face plate or face mask is in place; (équipé)

emergency

emergency means an exceptional situation resulting from an accident or incident; (urgence)

environmental conditions

environmental conditions means conditions that may affect a diving operation and includes

• (a) weather and sea conditions,

• (b) speed of currents and tides,

• (c) shipping activities,

• (d) air and water temperatures,

• (e) icing conditions, and

• (f) debris on the sea surface or sea bed; (conditions ambiantes)

hyperbaric first-aid technician

hyperbaric first-aid technician means a person who has successfully completed an advanced hyperbaric first-aid course acceptable to the Minister; (secouriste hyperbare)

incident

incident means a fortuitous event that compromises or is likely to compromise the safety of, or endangers or is likely to endanger the health, well-being or life of, a person involved in a diving operation; (incident)

installation

installation means any fixed offshore structure used in connection with the exploration or drilling for or the production, conservation, processing or transportation of oil or gas; (installation)

lifeline

lifeline means a safety line attached to a diver that is suitable for recovering and lifting the diver and the diver’s personal diving equipment from the water; (ligne de vie)

life-support system

life-support system means a system comprising the breathing mixture supply systems, decompression and recompression equipment, environmental control systems and equipment and supplies that may be required to provide safe accommodation for a person in the water, in a compression chamber, in a diving bell, in a diving submersible or in an ADS under all pressures and conditions that a person may be exposed to during a diving operation; (système de survie)

life-support technician

life-support technician means a person who has successfully completed a life-support technician’s course acceptable to the Minister and who has satisfied the Minister that the person has attained a level of competence in all aspects of all types of diving techniques, including emergency procedures, hyperbaric first-aid and operation of life-support systems; (technicien des systèmes de survie)

lock-out dive

lock-out dive means a dive from a diving bell or a diving submersible; (plongée à partir d’un sas)

maximum working load

maximum working load means the total weight of a load likely to be handled under normal operating conditions in a diving operation, weighed out of water and includes the weight of the umbilical; (charge de service maximale)

maximum working pressure

maximum working pressure means the maximum pressure to which a compression chamber can safely be exposed under normal operating conditions in a diving operation, and, where a compression chamber is interconnected with one or more other compression chambers, means, in respect of each of those interconnected chambers, the maximum pressure to which the interconnected chamber with the lowest maximum working pressure can safely be exposed under normal operating conditions; (pression de service maximale)

medical lock

medical lock means a lock through which objects may be passed into or out of a compression chamber while a person inside the compression chamber remains under pressure; (sas à médicaments)

Minister

Minister means,

• (a) in relation to any area in respect of which the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development has administrative responsibility for the natural resources therein, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and

• (b) in relation to any area in respect of which the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources has administrative responsibility for the natural resources therein, the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources; (ministre)

operator

operator means a person who has been authorized, pursuant to paragraph 3.2(1)(b) of the Act, to carry on a work or activity referred to in section 3.1 of the Act that is a diving program or that includes a diving program; (exploitant)

personal diving equipment

personal diving equipment means the diving equipment carried by a diver on the diver’s person during a dive and includes a diving suit, breathing apparatus, bale-out gas bottle and communications equipment; (équipement personnel de plongée)

pilot

pilot means a person who controls the movement of an ADS from within the ADS and who performs from within the ADS any other tasks necessary for the operation of the ADS; (pilote)

pressure vessel

pressure vessel means a closed container capable of withstanding internal or external pressures, or both, greater than one atmosphere; (appareil sous pression)

procedures manual

procedures manual means the procedures manual referred to in paragraph 4(4)(a); (manuel des méthodes)

recognized body

recognized body means an organization, a classification society, a certifying agency, a group of persons or an individual that is acceptable to the Minister as having the expertise and experience to set standards for, or to inspect and certify, diving plant and equipment or parts thereof; (autorité reconnue)

saturation dive

saturation dive means a dive in which saturation diving techniques are used; (plongée à saturation)

saturation diving technique

saturation diving technique means a diving procedure that essentially equilibrates the total pressure of inert gases in the body of a diver with the ambient pressure and allows extended periods of bottom time without additional decompression time required; (technique de la plongée à saturation)

SCUBA

SCUBA means a self-contained open-circuit underwater breathing apparatus; (appareil de plongée autonome)

skip

skip means a stage, cage, basket or wet bell in which a diver may be lowered to or raised from an underwater work site; (skip)

specialized diving doctor

specialized diving doctor means a diving doctor who has completed an advanced diving medical course acceptable to the Minister and who has been accepted in writing by the Minister to provide medical assistance under pressures greater than atmospheric pressure; (médecin de plongée spécialisé)

stand-by diver

stand-by diver means a diver who is dressed-in and trained to operate at the same depths and in the same circumstances as the diver for whom the stand-by diver is standing by, who is at the same dive site as the other diver and who is available without delay to assist that other diver; (plongeur de secours)

supervisor

supervisor means a person appointed in writing by a diving contractor, pursuant to subsection 9(3), as a diving supervisor or an ADS supervisor to supervise a diving operation; (directeur)

surface compression chamber

surface compression chamber means a compression chamber that is not intended to be submerged; (caisson de compression de surface)

surface-oriented diving technique

surface-oriented diving technique means a diving procedure in which the use of a diving bell or diving submersible is not required; (technique de la plongée avec soutien en surface)

total dive time

total dive time means the period commencing when a person begins to prepare for a dive and terminating when the person leaves the water, is not subject to pressures greater than atmospheric pressure and, in accordance with the relevant schedule in the appropriate decompression table, has normal inert gas pressure in the person’s body; (durée totale de la plongée)

umbilical

umbilical means a composite hose or cable or number of separate hoses or cables capable of supplying a breathing mixture, power, heat, communications and other services, as required for a diving operation. (ombilical)