Francis Hermans·Oct 22A few Seconds From Becoming PulpDuring my offshore years, I had developed a habit during my time off: I would spend a few days working in Belgium for my former colleague…
Francis Hermans·Sep 25When a Pocket of Gas Turned a Routine Dive into an ExplosionIn the 1980s, a massive storm tore through Algerian waters, scattering wrecks across the port of Oran and sinking another ship off the bay…A response icon1A response icon1
Francis Hermans·Sep 11Never Trust a Stone Deaf Dive Supervisor!In October 1984, a whole gang of cheerful divers, technicians, and caisson masters flew out of Paris to Dubai, where we were to board the…A response icon2A response icon2
Francis Hermans·Aug 31The Day TARASCO Nearly BlewA diver’s-eye view of the morning when a DP failure turned a routine job into a brush with catastrophe.
Francis Hermans·Aug 14The Story of a Hyperbaric weldThe Dive That Nearly Ended My CareerA response icon1A response icon1
Francis Hermans·Aug 7The little story of a saturation diveGulf of Mexico — 1981A response icon2A response icon2
Francis Hermans·Jul 10Back in Offshore — The Story of Another Close CallIn 1980, most major inshore underwater projects were wrapping up, and demand for qualified offshore divers was rising again. So I decided…A response icon1A response icon1
Francis Hermans·Jul 3Sheet Pile Cutting in ParisDuring the second half of the 1970s, Paris decided to build a new ring road. Several bridges were planned to cross the Seine, and each one…
Francis Hermans·Jun 26The living deadA lesson learned years later, when a harmless joke returned in the most unexpected way.
Francis Hermans·Jun 19The Day I Had to Run a Chamber for the First TimeWhen a diver went silent and everything depended on what we did next.
