Our Safety.

Safety is the top priority concern in our daily operation.

Island Diving Center Roatan, is proud for its safety record in the past 8 years.

We want to guarantee the most memorable diving experiences and we have a few rules and recommendations to aim for the highest safety standards during your scuba diving vacations on Roatan.

 DIVING RECOMMENDATIONS

To all our Scuba Divers and Diving Staff

  • We recommend a medical check up every year to make sure you are fit for diving;

  • If you are traveling to a foreign Country, your Health Insurance normally does not cover Hospital or Hyperbaric Treatments abroad.

    Having a Dive Accident Insurance will cover your medical bills in case of a dive accident.

    In Roatan, one single Hyperbaric chamber treatment session costs approximately US$ 4,000.

    We recommend that you get Travel and Dive Accident Insurance from DAN - visit Divers Alert Network website.

  • Being tired may interfere with your good judgment and lead you to an accident.

  • Dehydration is a contributing risk factor for Decompression Sickness (DCS).

    Good hydration significantly reduces the amount of circulating bubbles.

    Every diver/staff should drink 1/2 a gallon (2L) of water per day, ideally 1 glass of water every 15-20 minutes, to avoid dehydration, and to reduce the risk to have decompression sickness or skin bends.

    “1/2 a gallon of water per day, keep the DCS away”

  • No alcohol drinking before diving. Your first alcoholic drink will be your last dive!

  • Using the acronym B-W-R-A-F

    Begin

    • BCD

    With

    • Weights

    Review

    • Releases

    And

    • Air

    Friend

    • Final check

  • You should dive with Nitrox32 in all your dives from 60-100 feet deep (18-30 meters deep), to avoid the Nitrogen accumulation over multiple dives and multiple days of diving.

    Nitrox will also make you feel less tired after a day of diving.

  • We recommend that you use a conservative dive profile, going to the deepest part first, and the shallower part later, avoiding saw tooth profiles;

  • Swim at your own pace without overexert yourself;

    This is also the best way to enjoy and to find little creatures on the coral reef!

  • Use a Dive Computer in all your dives, and follow its rules without exceeding the No Decompression Limits (NDLs).

  • It’s required that all divers carry a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB), for safety reasons, in case you got lost from your dive group and need to ascend to the surface by yourself.

    If you do not have your own SMB, please ask a rental one at our reception.

  • We recommend an ascent rate of 30ft/minute (9 meters/minute) from the bottom to the safety stop;

    We recommend that you do a 3 minute safety stop at 15ft / 5 meters deep;

    We recommend that after the safety stop you do a very slow ascent to the surface, no faster than 20 ft/min (6 meters/min);

  • We recommend a minimum surface interval of 45-60 minutes, in between the 2 morning dives, and a 90 minutes Surface Interval between the 2nd and the 3rd dives of the day.

“No drinking before diving. Your first drink will be your last dive!”

 IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT

  • In case of an accident in Roatan you can dial 911.

  • We have emergency plans for our Dive Shop, Resort, and Dive Boats;

  • All our staff gets a training update in Emergency First Response and Emergency Oxygen Provider every year;

    The reception personal, compressor room personal, boat captains, divemasters, and instructors, are all trained in Emergency First Response, CPR, First Aid, AED, and Emergency Oxygen Provider.

  • We have a DAN Oxygen Kit and First Aid Kit in our Dive Shop and one on each of our 4 boats;

  • In case of a diving accident, there is a Hyperbaric Chamber on Roatan, located in Sandy Bay, at 15 minutes distance from our shop by car, or at 5-20 minutes distance by boat (depending on the dive site we are diving).

    This medical facility operates 24-7.

  • In Roatan, in case of an accident, there are several medical facilities:

    • Roatan Clinic International Care Unit at West Bay Mall, phone: 9472 9790

    • AKR Clinic at Sandy Bay, Dr. Raphael, phone: 9945 5810

    • Woods Medical Center at Coxen Hole, phone: 2445 1080

    • CEMESA Private Hospital in French Harbour Mall, phone: 9446 0097

“We wish you Safe Travels and Safe Dives!”