Commercial Diving & Underwater Repairs in South Africa

When the job is below the waterline, you need divers who do more than clean. We handle underwater cutting, repairs, recovery and contract diving across South African ports and offshore, with the same team and the same standards every time.

What is commercial diving?

Commercial diving is professional underwater work carried out by certified divers, covering far more than cleaning. It includes underwater cutting, in-water repairs, blanking for valve work, inspections, and search and recovery, performed in port and offshore. Octodive provides commercial diving across South African waters, handling the full range of below-waterline tasks that keep vessels and marine operations running.

More than a cleaning crew

A clean hull is the easy part

Plenty of operators can scrub a hull. The work that separates a real commercial diving outfit is everything else: cutting away a fouled rope or damaged steel, blanking a valve so it can be changed in the water, recovering something that has gone over the side, putting a trained dive team on a project for weeks at a time.

That is the work Octodive is built for. Our divers are certified for commercial operations and the jobs that come with them, and the work is run to strict safety standards every time. Over 30 years of marine civil experience sits behind it, so the team understands the vessel and the operation, not just the dive.

How an Octodive diving job works

Scope and Plan

We confirm the task, the conditions, and the safety requirements before anyone gets in the water, and plan the dive around the vessel or operation’s schedule.

Certified Divers on the Job

The work is carried out by divers certified for commercial operations, run to strict safety standards, in port or offshore as the job needs.

Do the Work in the Water

Cutting, repair, recovery or routine maintenance is completed with the vessel afloat wherever possible, avoiding unnecessary downtime.

Document and Hand Over

The work is recorded and handed over with a clear account of what was done, for your files and any class or port requirement.

Our commercial diving services

Broco Underwater Cutting

Precise cutting and removal of metal and structures in the water.

Blanking for Valve Change and Repair

Blank off openings so valves can be changed or repaired without dry-docking.

Search and Recovery

Locate and recover lost or submerged equipment, cargo and materials.

Contract Divers

Certified divers for project work, long-term contracts and specialist operations.

Underwater Inspections

Documented condition assessment below the waterline.

In-Water Hull Cleaning

The routine maintenance side of the operation.

Commercial diving questions, answered

What does a commercial diving company do?

A commercial diving company carries out professional underwater work using certified divers. That covers underwater cutting, in-water repairs, blanking, inspections, and search and recovery, in port and offshore. It is the full range of below-waterline tasks beyond cleaning, run to strict safety standards.

What is the difference between commercial diving and recreational diving?

Recreational diving is for leisure. Commercial diving is professional work carried out underwater to a task and a standard, by divers certified for it. The focus is on completing a job safely, such as a repair, a cut or a recovery, not on the dive itself.

Can underwater repairs be done without dry-docking?

Many can. Tasks like cutting, blanking and valve work are routinely carried out in the water with the vessel afloat, which avoids the cost and downtime of dry-docking. Whether a specific repair can be done in-water depends on the job, and we confirm that when we scope it.

Do you work offshore as well as in port?

Yes. We work alongside in port, at anchorage, and offshore, scoping each job to the conditions it sits in. The planning and the safety standards stay the same wherever the work is.

We carry out commercial diving and underwater repairs for vessels and marine operations across South African waters, from in-port repairs and recovery to contracted project work. Each job is scoped to its conditions, run to strict safety standards, and turned around with as little disruption as possible. Backed by over 30 years of marine civil experience and run on site by CEO Rob Bower and GM Andre Schoeman.