List of legislation regulating underwater diving explained

This list identifies the legislation governing underwater diving activities listed by region. Some legislation affects only professional diving, other may affect only recreational diving, or all diving activities. The list includes primary and delegated legislation, and international standards for the conduct of diving adopted by national states, but does not include legislation or standards relating to manufacture or testing of diving equipment.

Australia

Queensland

Canada

Quebec

Italy

Sicily

Spain

The government of Spain issued a royal decree taking effect on 1 July 2020 (Real Decreto 550/2020 de 2 de junio: Condiciones de Seguridad de las actividades de buceo), regulating recreational diving activities^{[1] [2] [3]} Restrictions include:

• a diver must have the appropriate and necessary training for the type of diving intended,
• diving service providers and clubs have an obligation to ensure that equipment to be used for diving operations complies with the current regulations and the manufacturer's recommendations,
• the minimum age for diving is 18 years, but for recreational diving 8 years, subject to depth limits by age for divers younger than 18 years,
• some items of equipment are compulsory, such as:
  • diving equipment including mask, snorkel, fins, buoyancy compensation device, regulator with two second stages, and submersible pressure gauge,
  • safety equipment including a dive computer or timer and dive tables, a cutting device, a surface marker buoy, and a sound signal for the surface,
• fitness to dive according to the RSTC questionnaire.
• with the exception of the support vessel, all vessels must remain at least 50 metres from the diving area,
• recreational diving is limited to 40 meters depth on air and nitrox, with direct access to the surface, with a buddy,
  • scheduled decompression diving is not permitted,
  • penetration diving in caves and wrecks beyond natural light and beyond a penetration of 30 metres is not permitted,
  • recreational divers must have accident and civil liability insurance covering diving activities.

United States

Exemptions

• Scientific diving^[4]
• Search and rescue and emergency public safety operations in public safety diving (some states, only when there is a reasonable expectation of rescuing a survivor or when the probable consequences of delay exceed the probable consequences of diving)^[5]
• Covert operations by military divers.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Diving in the Canaries . scubasur.net . 6 September 2024 .
2. Web site: New Diving Standard 2020 . openwater.es . 2 July 2020 . 6 September 2024.
3. Web site: Real Decreto 550/2020, de 2 de junio, por el que se determinan las condiciones de seguridad de las actividades de buceo. . es . www.boe.es . 7 September 2024 .
4. Web site: Scientific Diving History and the American Academy of Underwater Sciences . Nathan T. . Schwarck . 4 June 2020.
5. Web site: Public Safety Diving and OSHA, Are We Exempt? Final Answer . Phillips . Mark . November 2015 . PS Diver Magazine . 112 . Mark Phillips . 7 June 2016 .