Multi-DISCIPLNED TEAM

DEEP Expeditions

World-first projects and expeditions, all over the globe

DEEP mission Patch for Vanguard expedition
OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY

DEEP Expeditions would be impossible without the DEEP in-house, multi-disciplined Expeditions Team.

Subsea operations and expeditions are by their very nature diverse, different and demanding. In the past twelve months alone, our submersibles and crew have been deployed in support of major environmental studies and blue-chip media productions.

The DEEP Expeditions Team comprises world-class free-divers; technical, cave and recovery divers; submersible pilots and experienced offshore operators.

Developing Sentinel brought with it a new set of demands for diver training, so the programme encompasses elements of free-diving, closed- and open-circuit, and saturation diving. DEEP Expedition Divers benefit from a breadth of experience rarely found.

Operational Expertise

DEEP’s Expeditions team comprises renowned experts in multiple fields of diving and offshore operations.

STEPHEN TOFT
Director, Expeditions & Safety

Stevie’s career spans police, submarine rescue and commercial diving activities through which he is known for his pragmatic and rigorous approach to safety.

Dr MARK GLOVER
Expeditions Medical Lead

Mark was the Medical Director of the Hyperbaric Medicine Unit, Royal Hospital Haslar and St. Richard’s Hospital, Chichester. He is widely respected for his expertise in hyperbaric medicine.

PHIL SHORT
research Diving, Training lead

Phil has logged over 6,000 hours dive time, with over half of those on Closed Circuit Rebreathers. Phil is widely considered to be one of the worlds most respected rebreather and cave diving educators.

Headshot of Liz Court
LIZ COURT
Operations & Systems Test Diver

Liz was a captain in the British Army before she became a SCUBA diving instructor where her love of the water finally drew her to commercial diving. There, she gained experience in civil engineering, film services, shipping and offshore wind farms.

Headshot of Adam Lownds
ADAM LOWNDS
Operations & Systems Test Diver

Adam is a highly-experienced operational commercial diver with a wide experience, and field of expertise across the discipline. The last 10 years has seen him training as a diving superintendent, supervision & diving management with experience spanning offshore oil & gas, renewables, civil engineering, UXO, film & media.

Headshot of Johnny Dolan
JONATHAN DOLAN
Operations & Systems Test Diver

Jonathon is a qualified saturation diver and has worked in almost every industry; windfarms, pipelines, oil and gas support, media, recreational and training. He also helped develop large scale elastic mooring systems, including automating the manufacturing process from the ground up.

Headshot of Nick Mitchell
NICK MITCHELL
Operations & Systems Test Diver

Nick’s experience comes from a extensive tenure within commercial diving, primarily undertaken as a saturation diver within the North Sea oil and gas industry. Nick has accumulated experience in diving management, diving supervision and implementing diving safety standards across the defence diving domain.

Headshot of Matt Dixon
MATT DIXON
LIFE SUPPORT SUPERVISOR

Matt has worked in commercial saturation diving as a Life Support Supervisor in many different locations worldwide, supporting subsea construction and hyperbaric welding. His interests include marine archaeology and hyperbaric medicine.

Headshot of Laura Mace
LAURA MACE
LIFE SUPPORT TECHNICIAN

Laura has a wealth of experience in hyperbaric medicine. In more recent years, she has worked for a hyperbaric tunnelling team, which involves the same principles as diving but for miners working in compressed air environments underground.

Headshot of Barry McGowan
BARRY McGOWAN
SUB OPS LEAD

Barry has decades of experience working with ROVs and manned submersibles. He has been a team member on multiple research missions.

Asset Management & Technical Team

Responsible for managing all assets; planned maintenance and certification requirements to continually assure the safe-to-operate status of all assets.

Headshot of Steve Abbott
STEVE ABBOTT
ASSET AND TECHNICAL MANAGER

Having spent the last 19 years in the subsea/diving industry in roles of Senior Dive Technician, Asset/Equipment Manager, Site Manager and Operations Manager, Steve brings a well rounded pragmatic approach to delivering safe projects.

Headshot of Andy Bone
ANDY BONE
SENIOR EQUIPMENT TECHNICIaN

Andy has spent the last 12 years working offshore as a Senior Electrical Diving Technician, most recently the last 3 and a half years in Brunei on the DSV Kreuz Challenger.

Headshot of Ash Bryce
ASH BRYCE
EQUIPMENT TECHNICIAN

Ashley started his career in diving back in 2003 running one of the biggest dive sites in the UK. During his career he has gained a wealth of knowledge in the maintenance, testing and repair of dive equipment. Since starting at DEEP he has continued to build on this knowledge and help maintain, support and repair equipment used in live operations.

Headshot of Nat Taylor
NAT TAYLOR
EQUIPMENT TECHNICIaN

As part of the Asset team Nat supports Expeditions by maintaining and repairing the equipment used to complete operations.

“DEEP’s abilities combining the Sentinels, subs and other advances in subsea technologies will enable us all to explore and protect the ocean in profoundly new ways.”

Headshot of Oliver Steeds
Oliver Steeds, OBE
Chief Executive, Nekton
Powered by DEEP

Nekton Mission to the Maldives

In a project made possible by the Maldivian Government, Nekton and private sponsorship, DEEP was delighted to support Nekton’s Maldives Mission with one of our two submersibles.​ The mission led to key scientific findings and a number of world-firsts, including:​

Science Deployments: The first systematic surveying and sampling of the Maldives from surface to a depth of 1,000m​.

First-time Scientific Samples: Over 350 samples to date including corals, sponges, sea stars, tube worms, and numerous species that are highly likely new to science.​

Fish Species discovered: Over 300 major species of fish alone have been identified to date, including the discovery of an entirely new fish – the Spikey Oreo.

Rare/New Behaviours: Scientists have discovered new behaviours, including cooperative hunting by octopus and grouper.

With thanks to:

  • a. Deep-owned Triton 3300/3 submersible diving in the Maldives, supporting Nekton and Omega
  • b. Headshot of Mr. Oliver Steeds OBE.

© Nekton. nektonmission.org