The technical diving revolution of the early 1990s, marked by the introduction of mixed gas usage, significantly broadened the possibilities for sport divers and enhanced safety. Technical diving pioneers like Capt. Billy Deans recognized that this new technology could double the range of underwater exploration, extending the limits from recreational no-stop dives at 130 ft to deeper, decompression dives using helium-based gas mixes and accelerated decompression with nitrox and oxygen.
In the 1990s, the deepest technical shipwreck dives reached an average depth of 389 ft with an average bottom time of 16.7 minutes. Most were conducted on open circuit scuba, with a few exceptions using early rebreather technology. Notable wrecks from this era include the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior and the RMS Lusitania near Ireland. These pioneering dives were often considered exceptional and required special methods.
Comparing these early dives to today’s standards, the average depth of the top ten deepest technical shipwreck dives has increased to 576 ft, with an average runtime of over five hours, thanks to advancements in closed-circuit rebreather technology. The deepest dive recorded was on the Milano in Lake Maggiore, Italy, at a staggering 774 ft in freshwater. The list of deepest dives now features a mix of open-circuit and rebreather dives, with the latter being more common for the deepest wrecks.
Massimo Domenico Bondone and his team have been credited with six of the top twenty deepest shipwreck dives, showcasing the progress and ambition of modern technical divers. As diving technology continues to evolve, there is speculation that self-contained atmospheric diving suits could further extend divers’ capabilities. The future of technical diving holds the promise of even greater depths and discoveries.
