A team of divers working in the River Thames have completed over 2,000 dives without incident on the Tideway project.

The majority of the dives have been completed at Tideway’s Blackfriars Bridge Foreshore site in Central London, as the divers completed the underwater preparatory work for the float-out of a 3,700-tonne concrete culvert.

The divers led the operation to remove approximately 400 tonnes of river wall toe from the base of the existing river wall and prepare the river bed for the culvert to be floated from the site’s cofferdam, a dry working area built into the river, into its final position below Blackfriars Bridge.

Alex Wood, Dive Superintendent, said “Surpassing 2,000 dives with no incidents is an incredible achievement, especially as we’re working in such challenging conditions. This group of divers set really high standards for themselves and they have not let them drop at any point.”

Working in the tidal Thames with zero visibility requires enhanced levels of teamwork and communication to ensure the jobs are completed efficiently and safely. Each individual dive requires a team of five, with this number increasing to seven when two of the team are entering the water. The rest of the team are responsible to checking the diving equipment, providing rescue cover and ensuring the working divers remain safe in the water.