Underwater Welding Challenges And Prospects
September 12, 2024Many consider welding a highly specialized and hazardous profession, but things get even more complicated once metals are joined below the water. According to various research, underwater welding is one of the riskiest occupations, but with great risk comes great rewards.
Underwater welders can earn some of the highest salaries in the industry, but many wonder if it is worth the risk. That's why we will discuss underwater welding challenges and prospects closely, explaining some of the common risks, salary, and life expectancy of underwater welders.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=JOV9MNcd02s
What Is Underwater Welding?
Underwater welding involves welding in water and elevated pressures and is used for a range of offshore and marine applications. Welders join fully or partially submerged marine structures, such as ships, dams, oil rigs, pipelines, bridges, and more.
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There are two primary types of underwater welding:
- Wet welding
- Dry welding
Wet welding is the first thing that comes to mind, as it occurs directly in the water. The bubbles of gas around an electric arc shield the weld and protect the welder by reducing the conductivity of the water. However, these bubbles can reduce the visibility and cause defects such as cracking.
That's why most critical applications are performed in a hyperbaric chamber, in a process known as dry welding. In dry welding, the hyperbaric chamber seals the welded structure. Welders fill the chamber with a mixture of oxygen and helium to expel water and pressurize it to the right level. Changing the conditions yields much better welding results and a friendlier welding environment, but it is more expensive than wet welding.
What Does it Take to Become an Underwater Welder?
Welding and diving are considered highly specialized occupations when considered separately, and combining them can be even more complicated. Like any profession, becoming a proficient underwater welder requires the following:
- Unique skills
- Proper training
Underwater Welding Skills
Becoming an underwater welder requires a unique set of skills. You will need to get proficient at:
- Welding: Welding skills are paramount in joining metal. You must understand all major welding processes, metal joining procedures, properties, and weld preparations.
- Diving: Diving skills are as crucial as welding. You must overcome the hazards of working in water and the harsh conditions that open seas, oceans, rivers, and lakes carry.
- Underwater cutting: In addition to welding, underwater welders repair and inspect parts. So, to excel in this career, you will also need underwater cutting skills.
- Underwater inspection and testing: Inspecting and testing your welds is crucial in checking for defects and ensuring they will last.
- Underwater photography and video: Underwater welding often requires documenting the given conditions. Engineers can later process it and find solutions.
Underwater Welder Training
Due to various hazards and high skill requirements, underwater welding requires rigorous training and primary education. When it comes to education and training, you will need the following to become an underwater welder:
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- High-school diploma or GED: You will need a base level of education to start the process.
- Welding certificate: The next step is acquiring basic welding certification that proves you are familiar with primary welding processes.
- Experience in welding: Working in the welding industry for several years will significantly increase your chances of getting into underwater welding, but in most cases, it is not mandatory.
- Commercial diver certification: A commercial diving certification is mandatory in underwater welding. The courses teach everything you need to know about equipment preparation, maintenance, safety procedures, and hyperbaric chamber operations.
- Attend underwater welding school: Underwater welding courses often combine both welding and diving certificates that you'll need to pass. While expensive, the school teaches you everything you need to know about wet and dry welding conditions and procedures.
- Physical exams: To start welding underwater, you must pass regular physical exams. These prove you are fit to withstand the harsh conditions of welding underwater.
Underwater Welding Salary
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Commercial Divers can earn a mean annual salary of $75,570 or a mean hourly wage of $36.33. The median annual salary for commercial divers was $61,300, while the lowest 10 percentile earned $39,430, and the highest 90 percentile earned $136,990.
However, as with a typical welding salary, the overall income is highly dependent on experience, location, company, or industry. As a result, it is not uncommon to see underwater welders earn $150,000 or even higher. While new underwater welders earn approximately $25,000 to $40,000, seasoned welders can earn more than $200,000 a year.
These high numbers often attract potential welders looking for a lucrative career. However, once everyone starts talking about the risks and requirements of underwater welding, many wonder if underwater welding is worth it.
Underwater Welder Risks And Hazards
Underwater welding requires nerves of steel, focus, and infinite concentration. On top of that, underwater welders face various risks and hazards as a part of their everyday job.
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Understanding the potential hazards you can face is as important as knowing how to join metals properly. Additionally, awareness is half the preparation, and the most common underwater welding risks include:
- The beads, or decompression sickness
- Hypothermia
- Drowning
- Electrocution
- Environmental hazards
- Delta P
Let's discuss the foundation more and how dangerous each hazard is.
Decompression Sickness in Underwater Welding
Decompression sickness, the beads, or generalized barotrauma, is an injury that occurs once the pressure rapidly decreases around you. These injuries are common with commercial divers and high-altitude or unpressurized air travelers.
The beads in underwater welding occur once you weld at great depths. Welders use extra oxygen and nitrogen during the dive. The body uses the oxygen, while the nitrogen remains dissolved in the blood.
As you swim back from great depths, the water pressure around you decreases. If you swim back too fast, the pressure rapidly drops. The nitrogen inside your blood doesn't have enough time to clear. Instead, it forms bubbles in your tissues or blood, and these bubbles cause decompression sickness.
Harmful bubbles form in your blood, can damage blood vessels, and block normal blood flow. These changes can cause symptoms such as joint pain, headache, dizziness, extreme fatigue, or numbness. While this sickness is not life-threatening, it can cause severe symptoms, and avoiding it requires proper care.
Hypothermia in Underwater Welding
The deeper you dive, the lower layers of water receive less heat, and the overall temperature drops. Additionally, the temperatures in the northern parts of the globe and inland are much lower compared to equatorial regions.
Adults maintain a core temperature of about 97.6 to 99.6°F. When the body is exposed to lower temperatures for prolonged periods, defense mechanisms kick in.
Hypothermia in underwater welders sets once the core temperature drops below 95°F. The body starts to shiver, and dizziness, nausea, and feelings of hunger can occur. Once the temperature drops below 82°F, muscles become rigid, reflexes and respiratory ability are lower, and there is a risk of serious cardiac complications.
Drowning in Underwater Welding
Although all underwater welders must complete rigorous diving and swimming training, drowning is one of the leading causes of death in most commercial diving applications. It can even happen to professional underwater welders who have a full oxygen tank or wear all the required safety equipment.
One published study monitored the 947 diving accidents between 1992 and 2003. The results showed that 70 victims drowned due to diving-related injuries, equipment malfunctioning, air supply issues, and cardiac arrests. Drowning prevention requires regular equipment inspection, proper hydration, and rest before any underwater welding job.
Electrocution in Underwater Welding
Water and electricity from the electric arc processes, such as Stick welding or Flux-cored arc welding, usually don't mix well. Although freshwater itself is not a great conductor, the risks are greater once the water contains ions of salts and metals.
As a result, underwater welding uses highly specialized equipment, including extra protection, a rubberized dry suit, and specialized waterproof equipment. Protective equipment and safety measures make commercial diving safe from electric shock.
Source: https://dycoventures.com/blogs/articles/how-much-does-a-underwater-welder-make-an-hour
Even though many consider electric shock as a significant hazard in underwater welding, Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) research confirms that divers are safe. The study shows only one electrocution death among commercial divers and underwater welders.
Environmental Hazards in Underwater Welding
According to various research, environmental hazards are much more life-threatening than typical risks. Some common factors that reduce the life expectancy of underwater welders and all commercial divers are:
- Turbulent water conditions
- Underwater obstructions
- Explosions
- Water currents
- Lack of visibility
- Surges in a wave movement
In one scientific study, researchers highlighted that 36% of underwater welding deaths occurred because of difficult water conditions. These typically are turbulent movements, a strong current, or a lack of visibility that can easily hurt the diver.
Source: https://blog.exair.com/tag/turbulence/
Explosions are scarce in underwater welding, but they can occur due to gas pockets of hydrogen and oxygen. Igniting the gas pocket with the heat of an arc can cause severe injuries. Explosions can also happen once the spark ignites the fuel stored in marine vessels and offshore oil rigs.
Differential Pressure in Underwater Welding
Differential pressure, or Delta P, is accountable for 7% of all reported underwater welding accidents. This phenomenon occurs once water moves from a high-pressure to a lower-pressure area. Accidents happen when welders open a valve, cut into space, or engage a pump.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfK6RnrsXPo
Delta P can injure underwater welds due to the suction force caused by the height difference between the two bodies. The higher the height or pressure difference, the more dangerous the suction force is, as the power is more substantial.
The biggest issue with differential pressure is the fact it occurs really fast, and you cannot visually detect it. Cutting the pipe or opening the valve can suck your arm and leg, and the force is so substantial it is almost impossible to get it out.
Preventing Delta P accidents in the workplace requires a fluid mechanic calculation to determine the safe zone. Underwater welders get all the instructions needed to perform welding safely.
Underwater Welding Death Rate
We can agree that welding ship hulls or oil rig platforms in Alaska or the Gulf of Mexico is not the safest career path. The risks of underwater welding raise questions about how risky it is and what the expected death rate is.
Source: https://environmentamerica.org/texas/articles/impacts-of-oil-drilling-in-the-gulf-of-mexico/
Various studies have collected the numbers of underwater welder deaths and their causes, but unfortunately, only a few are up to date. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has no precise data for underwater welders. However, it shows that every year, for every 100,000 workers in the US, about 3.7 die on their job.
Although there were no precise reports, the Bureau identified five jobs with potential risks. Underwater welding was listed as the top dangerous profession, with nearly a 15% fatality rate. It is followed by aeronautics with 5%, logging with 0.13%, fishing with 0.12%, and airplane piloting with a 0.07% fatality rate.
In reality, if we look at the past OSHA reports , there are an average of 6-13 diving-related deaths every year. As with the Bureau of Labor, there are no recent statistics that monitor the underwater welder's annual death rate. Some state that approximately 11 underwater welders die every year, which, looking at the overall number of workers in the US, is low. Even so, if we look at the number of employed underwater welders, the ratio is pretty high.
Underwater Welding Life Expectancy
The Divers Association study observed 382 documented underwater welding casualties, of which 251 had the age of the deceased divers. Among the 251 deceased divers, the average age was between 33 and 42.
If we consider that most underwater welders start their career at the age of 20, the deceased welders have most likely been working for 13-22 years. This number can give us some general idea about the life expectancy of underwater welders, but you shouldn't take it for granted.
The reason is that most underwater welders die in accidents, regardless of their experience or the side effects caused by underwater welding hazards. In reality, many agree that underwater welding doesn't shorten your life expectancy or the length of your diving career. If you stay in shape, you'll pass your dive physical and spend a long career before you are no longer able to dive.
Leading Causes of Death Among Underwater Welders
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data , the leading causes of death among underwater welders are drowning and decompression sickness. Although the studies are not up to date, experience shows these two causes as the primary cause of death among most commercial divers, including underwater welders.
Another study observed diving-related accidents in the Gulf of Mexico from 1968 to 1975 and in the British sector of the North Sea from 1971 to 1978. In total, there were 1600 reported diver deaths, and the researchers grouped the causes of death in the table:
| Cause: | What happened: |
| Disabling Injury | Injury prevented the diver from moving or swimming, and by the time the rescue team reached the diver, they were already out of the air |
| Unpredicted Event | The diver panicked in the unpredicted event, leading to breaking the line |
| Triggering Event | A series of triggering events caused cords to twist and break, and the diver lost the connection |
| Diver Factors | Commonly, a lack of diver's experience or behavioral dysfunction caused it to act improperly in the given situation |
| Environmental Factors | Lack of visibility, strong current or tide, supervisor errors, or equipment failure |
Understanding the causes of death among underwater welders is crucial for further prevention. Accidents occur differently, and experience, preparation, and knowledge can help reduce the death rate and fatality rate among underwater welders.
Is Underwater Welding Worth The Risk?
While everything we said so far seems grim, welding underwater has its good sides. One of the most notable advantages certainly is the high salary, which can even surpass $200,000 according to individual sources. Of course, you shouldn't expect this high compensation at the start of your career, but if you are looking for big bucks, underwater welding can be a promising career for you.
In addition, not every underwater welding job is the same or hazardous. For example, welding ship hulls or oil rigs in the cold waters of Alaska is different from occasional inspections and repairs on docked vessels or structures in the Gulf of Mexico or smaller rivers and dams. Although the salary is often related to the difficulty of the job, you can choose between the risk and salary.
Working remotely as an underwater welder also opens an opportunity to travel and visit exotic locations. Even though not all oil rigs are located in tropical destinations, you can score a pretty attractive job.
Finally, underwater welding is considered a high-demand job. The potential risks often overcome the advantages, so there are always job opportunities. The underwater welder training can be rigorous, but it doesn't require a high education or degree, meaning you can start the career right after high school.
With all the risks and advantages, underwater welding is considered a high-risk, high-reward career. If you are ready to take the risk, this highly skilled job can fulfill you. But if you are not prepared to work in harsh conditions and master welding, you might have to look further.
🧐Underwater Welding Challenges And Prospects FAQ
1. What key skills are essential for becoming an underwater welder?
To become an underwater welder, you need a unique skill set, including:
- Welding: Master all major welding processes and metal joining techniques.
- Diving: Develop strong diving skills to handle underwater hazards and harsh environments.
- Underwater cutting: Learn to cut and repair parts underwater.
- Inspection and testing: Ensure weld quality through underwater inspection and testing.
- Photography and video: Document underwater conditions for engineers to analyze and resolve issues.
2. How much do underwater welders earn?
Underwater welders can earn a mean annual salary of $75,570, with entry-level welders making around $25,000 to $40,000, and experienced welders potentially earning over $200,000 annually. Salaries vary based on experience, location, and industry, with some welders earning as much as $150,000 or more. However, the risks and requirements of the job often lead to questions about whether the high pay is worth it.
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