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Dive Info

Hyperbaric Chamber - Sattahip - Thailand

Mermaids dive center like to offer a broader base of knowledge about diving for our professionals. It makes sense not just to know about what you are qualified in but have a nice broad knowledge of surrounding areas of interest.

Sattahip, Thailand, just 45 minutes south of Pattaya hosts the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) base and is home of the local hyperbaric chamber (often referred to as a recompression chamber). Although this is a place that we really do not wish to see in actual working state it is a good thing to have a general knowledge of the operations.

Bruce Koneffe a very experienced local diver works very closely with Mermaids Career Development Center in a range of courses and conducts the tours. Bruce has extensive experience in deep wreck and cavern diving and cave diving.

Bruce took the Mermaids divers by minibus to Sattaheap Naval Base. A lecture was given on operations by LCdr. Kamonsak Tangchai, RTN (Royal Thai Navy) DMO (Diving Medical Officer). The lecture was about DCI (Decompression Illness) and what actually happens when being treated.

After the lecture Bruce took everybody down to the chamber and gave them a tour and explained all the components of the chamber and what they where used for. Everybody then got changed into there scrubs (100% cotton clothes) and where able to take a dive in the chamber. The dive went to the depth of 10 meters (30 ft) and the 'divers' breathed 02 through the BIBBs. The dive in the chamber was treated just like it would have been done if there where real DCI patients so they got a good ideal what it was like. Since this is a multi place chamber only one dive was necessary as all could fit very comfortably inside.

The chamber that they toured is a DRASS Multiplace double lock chamber. There are actually two compartments. One compartment is for the patients and tender and the other compartment allows a doctor to enter the chamber while a treatment is underway. This is a good thing in case if a person convulses or such. The chamber can hold 6 people. There is place for two patients to lay down. There are TV. monitors to observe the patients as well as a radio for them to listen to.