Monthly Briefing January 2026

We have two topics for you in this month’s Briefing.

The first relates to the National Board’s certified diver medics. We received an enquiry from a DMT who asked if the International Marine Contractors Association continued to formally recognize our diver medics as the IMCA website does not suggest so. I contacted IMCA and received the following reply:

Hello Dick,

Please see the attached IMCA Information Note, IMCA international code of practice for offshore diving – Gulf of Mexico appendix. Section 3.4 is where you will find reference to the NBDHMT. IMCA considers this DMT qualification to be equivalent to the IMCA DMT qualification. The Information Note had disappeared off the system when we developed the new website. But it is available now as an appendix to IMCA D014.

Thanks for raising this. We may not have noticed had you not asked!

Thanks, and regards, Ali

Ali Macleod

Technical Adviser – Diving

International Marine Contractors Association

Ali.Macleod@imca-int.com Direct: +44 (0) 20 3882 7986 IMCA: +44 (0) 20 7824 5520 www.imca-int.com      

As an aside, The US Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Part 1910-Occupational Safety and Health Standards, Subpart T -Commercial Diving Operations states, among other things, that “To hold Diver Medic Technician (DMT) certification in the US, a person has to meet the prequalification requirements and complete training to be certified by the National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technicians (sic) (NBDHMT).” This standard does not appear to extend to IMCA certified diver medics.

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The second topic relates to the National Board’s Hyperbaric Facility Accreditation Program, which continues to gain momentum and enjoys a highly qualified surveyor cadre, averaging 28 years of hyperbaric experience. Survey applications are arriving with many others budgeted for first quarter ’06.

A well-received video conference call was convened in early December with MVP Health Care. To our knowledge, they are the lone commercial health insurer requiring facility accreditation for its beneficiaries who undergo HBO therapy. We were joined on the call by representatives of Rochester Regional Health System. Their position was that their hyperbaric operations, safety and compliance procedures would be most authoritatively assessed by the National Board’s accreditation program and have since applied for a facility survey.

Please consider sharing the announcement below (and linked here) with your program’s leadership and other hyperbaric facilities whose staff may not be National Board certified so not listed within our email distribution.

Best wishes for a safe and healthy 2026.

Dick Clarke, President

National Board of Diving & Hyperbaric Medical Technology

IMCA Code of Practice

National Board Accreditation