Schedule

Through original photography, we will explore some of the lesser-known wrecks and the stories behind their disappearances. Recent advancement in technologies have allowed teams to locate and dive shipwrecks that were once thought to be lost forever.

On April 17th, 1916, the Norwegian steamer Terje Viken sank at the mouth of the river Tejo due to the collision with a barrage of mines laid a few hours early by the German imperial submarine U73. With the wreck only identified in 2020 is time to know its history.

The biggest Naval tragedy during the WW2 taking more than 60 ships during one day is hardly known to general public. My presentation is telling the story of the fleeing Soviet Red Fleet and the evacuation of the occupying Soviet Forces from Tallinn, Estonia to Kronstad, Soviet Union. I’ll tell about the search, documentation and identification of the wrecks that literally lay next to each other’s being the final resting place for about 16 000 lives.

Common problem around the world in cave exploration is that all the easy karst have been found, but there is a lot to find for those who are willing to put little more effort into the game.

Veggfjellan is a 1,2km high mountain rising directly from ocean, its located in Northern Europe, Norway. Fisherman are telling stories about rivers appearing from high up in mountain face but access from land is almost impossible.

Sami will tell about chasing these stories, scouting new caves from ocean side and arranging expeditions to weather sensitive caves where you have only few hours to evacuate in case of flood.

In National Park “Serra d´Aire e Candeeiros” there are two main springs, Alviela and Almonda. Another important Cave System “Mindinho – Olho de Mira”. All have been study for last 4 decades.

Recently, exploring the Alviela spring, the biggest spring in Portugal and a valclusian exurgence, is one of Armando’s and Rui’s latest initiatives. They discovered the continuation of the cave’s extension, beyond the 1250m penetration and more than 215 meters deep.

Natalie Gibb and her exploration partner Vincent Rouquette-Cathala have explored and mapped over 90 kilometres of previously undiscovered caves in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Nothing prepared them for this. In 2014, they discovered the first of what appears to be a vast network of caves filled with microbial goo and toxic conditions. The exploration is ongoing.

A fascinating form of Wreck Dive is that of the ditched Aircraft, rather than a ship which is meant to be at sea to see an aircraft on the sea bed is almost unreal. Throughout the History of manned flight in war and peacetime Aircraft have ditched at sea and in lakes. This talk will look at the work of Lund University Sweden through the DPAA to locate, survey and excavate WWII Heavy Bombers with the aim of repatriating the MIA/KIA crews to their home and family along with the Archeology of other Aircraft sites  worldwide.

Sharks have been present in our cultures for thousands of years and yet we still know so little about them. Cristina has spent a lifetime diving with these misunderstood and yet necessary creatures. Paired with her imagery, she will share with us a different view on their nature, their society and their struggle for survival.

A sport once tagged as the domain of adrenaline junkies, cave divers have become an important asset to scientists exploring global climate change, archaeology, water issues, and unique biology. Jill Heinerth will share stories from expeditions to faraway caves around the world from Egypt to Antarctica and Bermuda to the Bahamas. She’ll offer a fast-paced multimedia show about tiny venomous creatures and ancient lofty stalagmites that tell the story of earth before man.

The deep sea is that region of ocean beyond the reach of sunlight. It harbors some of Earth’s most extraordinary animal and microbial communities. They also play a role in shaping our own habitats. Here, deep sea pioneers Ana Colaço, Edith Widder and Peter Guirguis will talk about how their work sheds light on the mysteries of the deep, dark ocean.

The Group of Navy Divers consists of 3 operational detachments. DMS1 performs underwater sabotage, advanced shore reconnaissance and explosive ordnance deactivation (EOD) missions, DMS2 performs Maritime Rescue and Search and Rescue (SAR) operations and DMS3 mine warfare operations.

Historically we have seen light CCR technical divers struggling with adequate bailout systems, be it OC or conventional CCR bailout. A EU R&D grant was approved in 2018 for development of a safe, compact electronic CCR bailout that would be well accepted by the diving community. The resulting prototype will be now presented.

José Pinto will be your buddy on this dive into the world of underwater robotics, explaining why robots are a good fit to explore the ocean and what technologies are being developed to overcome the challenges imposed by it.
Next, the Light Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (LAUV), developed at Porto University and commercialized by the OceanScan spin-off will be described, together with its real-world applications and results
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If you are aware of the term deep stops then you may be aware that they have been the subject of increasing controversy. In this talk Mark will explain what we mean by a deep stop, the ideas behind the concept and the controversies. He will also try to explain how deep stops are linked to gradient factors and most importantly what all of this means for us as divers in planning our dives.

Scuba diving is a passion for many recreational divers and the diving medicine community is presented with the challenge of performing fitness to dive evaluations in the context of a disease in which the natural story is currently unknow. I will resume the pathophysiology of COVID-19 related to diving fitness, current recommendations and guidelines for evaluation of divers after COVID-19.

“How did he do it? Why did he do it?” and “what type of person does this?”

This Talk will bring to the table these questions and you will get the answers, too.

Over the past 4 years, the BSHRP has discovered, documented and identified several new wrecks every year. Exciting stories were discovered and fascinating artefacts secured for museums and universities. In my talk, I would like to tell you more about these “contemporary witnesses in the twilight”.

Presentation on how the Portuguese maritime authority is organized in the national territory to respond to accidents and incidents at sea.

Presentation of the capabilities of the lifeboats and explain how it’s triggered the activation of the rescue teams after detection of an accident or incident at sea.

Have you ever heard of project diving? What does that mean? Join the talk to know better how you can help climate change, monitor the environment, apply space science and technology to underwater science. Learn more about projects around the world and what is needed for them – you will be surprised!