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Newt Suit

AssociatedAssociated with Offshore Oil Industry

Builder International Hard Suits

Date1995

Object NameHard Diving Suit

Mediumaluminium construction

ClassificationsNorth Sea Oil and Gas Industries

Dimensions190 x 120 x 75cm
Frame 115cm x 121cm x 215cm

LocationOn Display - Aberdeen Maritime Museum

Object numberABDMS045638.1

About MeNEWT SUIT
The Newt Suit operated at normal atmospheric pressure thereby allowing for long tern diving without having to use decompression chambers. This version dates from the mid 1990s and was used extensively in the North Sea. These "hard" suits are still used in other offshore oil areas around the globe.
The Newt Suit derived its name from the inventor of the special oil filled rotary joints, Phil Nuytten. In time the suit was called Nuit Suit and finally Newt Suit.
This unique design keeps the joint easily movable, even at great depth. The suit has 20 joints in 6 different sizes. The wrist joint is the smallest, the hip one the largest.
Two separate oxygen rebreather systems support life for 40 hours.
The umbilical features the surface communication system. A wireless communication system is available for backup. The suit is the best atmospheric diving suit so far and has several advantages:
· it can work in midwater thanks to propellers and thrusters that the divers operates with his feet
· there are no decompression problems
· the use of the suit is a lot cheaper than using saturation diving
· The whole rig fits in a container that can be easily transported all over the world
· You do not need a lot of space on deck
· The supporting crew is smaller than using saturation diving
However, like its predecessors, it has some drawbacks also.
For instance, it can not work in extremely turbid waters. Dive jobs are nearly always performed in turbid waters. A diver often needs his "fingertip feeling" to work.
Besides this the smallest current makes it hard to work in the suit. It has a large surface and will catch a lot of water.
Donated by Stolt Offshore, Aberdeen 2005
Specifications
Depth - 305 meters (1,000 feet)
Height - 112 cm (81.2 inches) adjustable
Weight - 378 KGs (832 lbs.)
Weight in water - 2 -4 KGs (4-8 lbs.) flying model
Hull - A356 Cast Aluminium
Thrusters - constant with variable pitch, two complete sets
Power - 2 x 2.25 hp at 400 Hz
Control - foot controls, left foot vertical control, right foot lateral control
Communication - digital voice/data, through water and hard wire
Life Support - 6-8 hours Reserve 48 hours, oxygen re-circulation with fan powered CO2, back-up oral nasal lung powered emergency CO2 scrubber, dual independent Oxygen system - port and starboard
Safety - tether cutter, emergency 37.5 kHz pinger, ballast jettison, xeon strobe, radio frequency beacon
Optional equipment - dual on suit video cameras, on suit colour imaging sonar, AMS suit monitor system, surface monitoring for CO2, HPO, O2 %, depth, temperature, cabin pressure.