Since 2009, Fathom Resources has served as the incumbent diving contractor for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, supporting research, development, test, and evaluation operations at the Narragansett Bay Shallow Water Test Facility (NBSWTF). Our team provides on-call diving support for underwater vehicle testing, sonar system development, weapons research, and oceanographic equipment evaluation across Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound, and Cape Cod operating areas.
With 20+ years of combined experience at NBSWTF (including subcontractor work dating to 2003), Fathom operates as a technical extension of NUWC’s engineering and research teams. Our proximity to the facility, three miles from our Middletown, Rhode Island headquarters, enables rapid mobilization for scheduled operations and emergency support requirements.
Diving Services in Support of Naval Research Operations
Fathom Resources delivers commercial and scientific diving services supporting NUWC Division Newport’s mission to advance underwater weapons systems, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), sonar platforms, and marine sensor technologies. Our dive teams operate in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound under federal oversight, executing projects ranging from target recovery at 140-foot depths to multi-kilometer cable installations.
Services performed for NBTF include:
- Search and recovery of test equipment, mine shapes, torpedo units, and rebar cube targets
- Underwater photography and video documentation (still and motion)
- Cable installation, inspection, and maintenance for sensor arrays and data transmission systems
- Ship’s husbandry operations
- Installation, inspection, and repair of mooring and anchoring systems
- Equipment positioning and retrieval using lift bags and acoustic location systems
- Emergency recovery operations for hydrophone arrays and data recorders
All diving operations are conducted in accordance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.430 (Commercial Diving Operations), USCG dive tables, and government-specified safety protocols.
Technical Capabilities and Diving Methods
Fathom Resources maintains in-house surface-supplied air and SCUBA diving capabilities, and complete support equipment. Our dive teams deploy both diving methods based on project depth, environmental conditions, and operational requirements.
Surface-Supplied Air Operations
Surface-supplied air diving provides extended bottom time, hardwired diver communications, and integrated video documentation for complex installation and inspection work. Our surface-supplied operations include:
- Kirby Morgan helmets and band masks with SuperFlow regulators
- Two-diver air control manifolds with pneumofathometer depth monitoring
- 300-foot and 600-foot diver umbilicals (communications, air supply, video, lighting)
- Backup air systems (2,400 cubic-foot high-pressure bottles)
- Hot-water temperature control systems for cold-water operations
Surface-supplied air operations have been utilized for cable burial projects, hydrophone array maintenance (NABSTER 3.2km trunk cable with 13 sensor nodes at 40 to 130-foot depths), and equipment mooring installations requiring precise positioning and extended work periods.
SCUBA Diving Operations
SCUBA operations support search and recovery tasks, visual inspections, and target location work in Narragansett Bay and Block Island Sound. Our SCUBA capabilities include:
- Full-face mask systems with integrated communications and video feed
- 1,000 to 10,000-pound lift bags for equipment recovery
- cable tracker, metal detector, ultrasonic thickness gauge, bathycorrometer
- Handheld underwater video and still photography
SCUBA methods have been employed for UUV test vehicle recovery, lightweight torpedo retrieval, and range marker buoy maintenance across eight NBTF navigation markers.
Operational Readiness and Mobilization Capability
Fathom Resources’ Middletown, Rhode Island facility houses complete diving equipment inventory in a climate-controlled 2,000 square-foot space located three miles from NBSWTF. All equipment is maintained to OSHA 1910.430 standards, with modification, repair, and calibration logs documented per federal requirements.
Our local equipment staging and in-house dive staff enable response times measured in hours, not days, for unscheduled or emergency support requests. We do not rely on subcontracted divers or external equipment sources for NBTF operations. This capability has supported NUWC’s on-call project requirements with notification windows as brief as one hour for dive cancellations and 24-hour mobilization for scheduled operations.
Familiarity with Narragansett Bay Operating Conditions
Twenty years of diving operations in Narragansett Bay, Block Island Sound, and Rhode Island coastal waters provide operational knowledge of tidal patterns, current regimes, bottom conditions, and environmental windows affecting NBTF test schedules.
Our experience base includes both East and West Passages of Narragansett Bay, Sakonnet River, and offshore ranges in Block Island Sound. This familiarity extends to:
- Tidal slack windows and current velocities affecting dive operations
- Bottom substrate conditions (sand, silt, marine clays, bedrock, till)
- Seasonal water temperature ranges (32°F to 70°F)
- Visibility limitations requiring tactile search methods and hardwired communications
- Weather patterns and sea state impacts on surface vessel operations
This institutional knowledge has been developed through execution of over 100 projects in these waters, including state-funded environmental surveys, utility cable investigations, bridge structural assessments, and aquaculture studies, in addition to continuous NBTF support since 2009.
Representative NBTF Project Experience
Fathom Resources has executed hundreds of dive operations for NUWC Division Newport across 15+ years as the incumbent NBTF diving contractor. Projects performed include both scheduled maintenance and complex technical diving operations requiring specialized equipment and cold-water capabilities.
AQS Target Recoveries
SCUBA operations utilizing 1,000-pound lift bags for search and retrieval of mine shapes and rebar cube structures used in underwater vehicle navigation testing. Target recoveries performed at 80 to 90-foot depths in Rhode Island Sound.
NABSTER Cable Maintenance
Surface-supplied air operations for maintenance of underwater sensor node array consisting of 3.2km trunk cable and 4.8km hydrophone sensor array. Work included inspection and repair of 13 bottom-mounted hydrophone nodes at depths ranging from 40 to 130 feet.
Blue Wolf Test Vehicle Recovery
SCUBA operations for location and recovery of torpedo test unit using pinger location systems and 1,000-pound lift bag deployment. Recovery conducted in zero-visibility conditions requiring acoustic positioning and tactile search methods.
Three-Kilometer Inner Harbor Cable Project
Surface-supplied air operations for cable deployment assistance, trenching, and positioning. Project included jetting equipment for cable burial to specified depths and video documentation of installation.
Emergency Acoustic Sensor Node Recovery
Surface-supplied air operations for hydrophone recovery associated with ASN testing. Emergency recovery executed in NBTF inner range with maximum water depth of 130 feet.
Safety and Regulatory Compliance
All Fathom Resources diving operations adhere to OSHA 29 CFR 1910.430 (Commercial Diving Operations) standards. Our safety management system includes:
- Equipment maintenance and testing logs documenting all modification, repair, calibration, and service work
- Pre-dive safety briefings and job safety analyses
- DAN emergency oxygen, AED, and offshore first aid equipment
- Dive accident management protocols and emergency action plans
- Adult First Aid, CPR and Oxygen Provider certifications maintained by all dive personnel
Fathom’s diving supervisors bring decades of commercial and scientific diving experience to NUWC operations. In addition to commercial diving certifications, our staff holds certifications from, USCG (50-ton vessel operations), Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, and specialized training in decompression chamber operations, underwater cutting and welding, and HAZMAT diving theory.
Documentation and Reporting Standards
Underwater operations for government research facilities require complete documentation for regulatory review and project closeout. Fathom Resources provides:
- Dive logs documenting personnel, depths, bottom times, and tasks performed
- Underwater video and still photography with geo-referenced positioning
- Equipment condition reports and structural observations
- Safety documentation including pre-dive briefings and emergency preparedness verification
- Post-dive summaries with technical findings and operational notes
All documentation is maintained in accordance with OSHA record-keeping requirements and government contract specifications.
Work With the Incumbent NUWC Diving Contractor
As the incumbent diving contractor for Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Fathom Resources delivers commercial and scientific diving support for underwater research operations. Our in-house capabilities, local equipment staging, and operational familiarity with NBSWTF test ranges position us to support ongoing research, development, and evaluation missions
To discuss diving support requirements for government marine research facilities, contact Fathom Resources at (401) 619-0278 or office@fathomresources.com.