Originally Posted by
BookwormPete
The Granuaille is equipped with dynamic positioning, that is why she is on station. However the conditions on the seabed are atrocious. The tide barrels through the gap between Blackrock and Parrot rock where the wreckage is located. The senior officer of the navy dive team likened it to 'diving on a flagpole in a gale'. The divers have great difficulty staying in place. Saturation divers would equally quickly become exhausted under those conditions. If they lift the fuselage off the seabed it would immediately swing sideways in the strong current and anything that fell out would be swept away. That is why the plan was to tilt the fuselage sideways using airbags but without actually lifting it clear of the seabed, in order to search underneath it. However due to the conditions mentioned, they are now considering that a straight lift may be their only option.
Rescue 116 wreckage may be lifted in search for crew
I hear what you are saying about the tides. But tides come and go, and there will be a period every day when there is no tidal current. With a sat diver you can be sure the diver is ready to work at this exact time, even if he has to break off when the tide is running at max. So there is very little risk of him missing a dive because the current is slack but the waves high. No disrespect to the Naval divers, but they are totally hamstrung by using air diving techniques at this water depth.