Royal Navy Clearance Divers – Protecting an Ammunition Wreck off Rathlin Island During the TroublesIn this podcast, I recount one of the most hazardous operations I undertook as a Royal Navy Clearance Diver during the conflict in Northern Ireland.Our team was deployed to Rathlin Island, off the coast of Northern Ireland, where a sunken ship containing ammunition had become a serious security concern. There were concerns that the IRA might attempt to recover the munitions from the wreck.After carrying out a full underwater survey, our task was to deny access to the wreck by lowering massive lengths of heavy chain into the holds and draping them across the ship. The objective was to make any attempt to enter or salvage the wreck extremely difficult.The work took many days in poor visibility, strong tidal currents and difficult diving conditions. Living on Rathlin Island throughout the operation added another dimension to the deployment, as this was during a period of heightened tension and security concerns.During the operation we experienced a very serious diving incident that nearly cost one of our divers his life. A batch of recycled soda lime, used in rebreathers to remove carbon dioxide, had been supplied in an effort to reduce costs. During a dive, the scrubber failed, allowing carbon dioxide levels to rise, and the diver lost consciousness underwater. Fortunately, he reached the surface, where we immediately cut open his diving suit to begin emergency treatment and administer as much oxygen as possible. Thankfully, he made a full recovery, although he had no memory of the incident.Some time later we returned to Rathlin Island for a very different operation. An old Royal Navy wreck, HMS Drake, lying in Church Bay, had been leaking engine oil for many years. Working alongside the oil pollution response team, our task was to use explosives to rupture the remaining oil tanks while specialist pollution-control vessels recovered the escaping oil before it could reach the shoreline.Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan. Once the tanks were blown, far more oil escaped than the recovery vessels could contain. The oil spread across Church Bay and eventually reached the beach, resulting in a major clean-up operation that took around a year to complete.