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Caution Diver Below:
Regulations and recommended practices are in place to ensure the safety of divers. Department of Transport (DoT) recommends divers and skippers be extra cautious and adopt these practices to further enhance safety and preserve lives on the water including the display of a dive flag. The following information is provided to help divers and skippers share the water safely.
Diving flag:
A boat with divers working from it must carry the appropriate day or night signals. The daytime signal for divers is an International Code Flag “A”. The flag must be at least 750 millimetres long and 600 millimetres wide. Divers operating without a vessel, for example from a jetty, must also display the International Code Flag “A” of the same minimum size. You can choose to show this flag from a buoy, in which case the minimum size must be 300 millimetres in length and 200 millimetres in width. The flag must be clearly visible to all vessels operating in the vicinity.
As a dive flag is only a visual indication to other vessels and will not automatically prevent them from venturing into a dive area, it is recommended divers always listen out for other craft before surfacing, and surface as near to their vessel as possible. While it is not law, it is highly recommended that snorkellers display a dive flag particularly when snorkelling offshore or in areas of high boating traffic.
Diving lights:
By night the diver’s vessel, as well as appropriate lights such as an anchor light, must show three all-round lights in a vertical line: the top and bottom lights red and the middle light white. People engaged in night diving without a vessel must display a yellow-orange flashing light that can be seen from a minimum distance of 200 metres.
Vessels to keep clear:
All vessels must keep at least 50 metres clear of boats, buoys or areas showing diving signals. Where it is not possible to keep 50 metres clear or when in the vicinity of a diving signal, all vessels must proceed at safe speed and with due caution until well clear and keep a good look-out for persons in the water. If you have no valid reason to be within 50 metres of a dive flag then don’t be. Wanting to dive, fish or drop pots within 50 metres is not necessarily a valid reason. Please use common sense and courtesy.
All vessels must navigate so as to avoid injury to the diver or interference with the vessel or floating object. DoT recommends where possible skippers maintain a distance of more than 100 metres from a vessel or buoy displaying a dive flag.
Diving near commercial fisheries:
It should be noted that if an International Code Flag “A” is within 50 metres of a commercial fishery then the fishing operator has the right to do business as long as it is safe to do so. Divers should also avoid encroaching on fishing gear including pots and lines.
Unattended boats:
The practice of divers leaving vessels unattended can be very dangerous. The Department of Transport strongly recommends that a responsible person stays on board at all times to raise the alarm if the diver is overdue or to attend to the vessel should it start to drift. In the case of an unattended boat, ensure your anchor is set to hold for the duration of the dive.
In an emergency:
A 24-hour, seven-day week service operated from the Water Police Coordination Centre in North Fremantle monitors marine radio channels 27MHz channel 88, VHF channels 16. Fiona Stanley Hospital at Murdoch Drive, Murdoch, coordinates the treatment of all cases of civilian diving accidents. Call (08) 6152 2222 and immediately state that the call is about a diving related accident.
Before diving you and your buddy should:
Check the weather as conditions on the surface can deteriorate rapidly during the dive.
Inform a friend of your dive site and your estimated time of return.
Establish entry and exit points and techniques.
Choose a course to follow, taking currents and other factors into consideration.
Consult dive tables, agree on a maximum time and depth limit.
Establish and review communication procedures and revise hand signals.
Agree on an air pressure for returning to the surface, usually 50 bar.
Decide what to do if separated.
Discuss what to do in an emergency.
Credit: Department of Transport. For more safety information visit their website: www.transport.wa.gov.au
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