Inspection of diving clubs on the Var coast: five new formal notices

" Oh man. We're not going to be bored here!" With two colleagues from the national police and a senior maritime affairs administrator, Cyril is preparing to check on a group of divers surfacing near Les Fourmigues, two islets located west of the Giens peninsula, in Hyères. "They're going to need a good interpreter for their report," anticipates the chief brigadier, who then thinks he's dealing with a Dutch diving club in violation. He tilts when he notices the absence of oxygen tanks on board their small boats, to ensure their safety in the event of a decompression accident. This equipment is mandatory for any professional structure. Not for individuals, like this group, which ultimately consisted of six independent vacationers.

It's driving Rémi Bouillon, inspector of the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea (DDTM), "crazy" : "It's reckless to practice this activity in these conditions. It's not as if they were going to play football. A heart attack while diving can be fatal." He too is part of the coup du poing operation, supervised this Tuesday by the maritime prefecture, in which three other semi-rigid boats, including one from the Port-Cros national park, took part. The objective? To strengthen the awareness of diving clubs about safety rules and the physical condition of their clients, a few months after an XXL training day .

Since February, 104 accidents have been recorded, including four fatalities (as many as in the whole of 2024). "This has to stop," says Peggy Froger, deputy head of the Var youth engagement and sports department. The main causes? " With the wind that has brought up the cold water and the heatwave, the weather has been particularly complicated in recent weeks," continues the specialist attached to the Ministry of Sports . "Physical fitness and alcohol consumption are just as decisive, especially on deep dives."

70 to 80 Var clubs checked per year

According to maritime affairs figures, which also include diving accidents involving military personnel, diving workers, and self-employed individuals, the 2024 death toll was as high as 14 (out of 215 Crossmed interventions). This is an alarming figure for the authorities, who have made it a priority. Each year, 75% of the 120 Var clubs are inspected in this way. Last summer, an establishment located in La Seyne was permanently closed for endangering the lives of others. Its manager, who saw all his equipment and boat seized, was sentenced to a fine and a suspended prison sentence. His fault? Having continued to welcome divers a few days after a prefectural closure order, following numerous safety issues. "He'll remember it ," said one of the police officers in charge of the day's operation.

And then there are clubs from other departments, sometimes less prepared for local conditions. During the last Easter holidays, a professional structure in Seine-et-Marne, whose members are more accustomed to swimming pool immersions, was placed in the DDTM's sights following " an alert from doctors at Sainte-Anne Hospital ," where the nearest hyperbaric chamber is located. "Because of a suit that was too large, in which air accumulated, a diver came up 40 meters without making any stops," says Peggy Froger . "That week, another member of the club fainted followed by a panic attack at a depth of 30 meters. We narrowly avoided disaster." All other planned outings by the club were canceled, and three instructors were banned from practicing for at least six months.

Before the mistral rises, it's time to return to the dock for the national police RIB, which checked four diving boats without finding any real safety breaches and called to order a kayaker sailing beyond the 300-meter band without water, without a life jacket and without means of communication to warn the Crossmed (via channel 16 of a VHF or by dialing 196 on a telephone). The three other vessels in the operation had more to do.

In total, eight diving club violations were noted for issues related to oxygen cylinders, emergency plans, or self-filling balloons with one-way valves (BAVU). Five formal notices were issued for compliance, including the return of a boat to port before the divers even entered the water.