The devices divers use in regular operations should be included in commercial diving insurance so they can be repaired or replaced if they malfunction during use. Of the different setups available, the United States Navy often uses Fly-Away Mixed Gas System for diving and salvage operations, according to the Maritime Examiner. Any dive team will likely rely on using different kinds of equipment together, including helmets, suits, tanks and actuators.
On its official website, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) lists some of the related terms pertaining to mixed-gas diving, scuba and surface-supplied air diving techniques. A commercial diver could carry reserve breathing gas with them, and a separate air source could also be left at a dive location that isn't intended as the primary supply. Whatever method they use, divers could be more comfortable knowing they and their equipment are protected with a specific and broadly-reaching insurance policy.
Advances in technology may have an impact on the types of equipment professional divers prefer as systems become more sophisticated. The Maritime Executive reports that the Navy is actually developing a new type of diving apparatus that could eventually help military divers go 600 feet underwater and allow them increased response time. The source quotes Dr. John Camperman of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, who described exactly how this could affect dive operations for the better.
"The new system modifies the current helmet and rebreather. Prototype analysis and testing have shown that drastic reduction in helium consumption is possible," he said. "Testing of the new prototype system indicates that the full range of FMGS diving is supportable within Navy life support requirements, and that several life support characteristics are improved, including extended emergency come-home gas duration."
In any case, the systems divers rely on to survive when submerged can be insured so contractors can meet all of the possible damage costs.