Commercial diver and ROV training facility The Underwater Centre has received a $1.3m contract from MRTS, a Russia-based construction contractor in the fuel and energy industry.
The Underwater Centre, which has facilities in Fort William and Tasmania, was awarded the contract to train 17 divers.
They spent a total of nine weeks at the centre's Beauty Point facility in Tasmania, where they undertook a number of courses, all of which were taught in Russian.
Alexander Kolikov, MRTS managing director, said oil and gas firms in Russia are facing a skills shortage due to the rapidly increasing amount of exploration work underway.
"By investing in the training of our divers in saturation diving, we are addressing this need for experts in maintenance and repair activities vital to maintaining Russia's subsea infrastructure," said Kolikov.
Allan Brown, The Underwater Centre Tasmania general manager, said: "We must give credit to MRTS who have decided to ensure their divers are trained in the level of skill and safety that we deliver here in Australia."
The men were trained on saturation procedures and techniques and will receive the ADAS Closed Bell certification.
Saturation divers live in a chamber for up to 28 days, which allows the divers to work at much greater depths and for longer periods.
The Underwater Centre has facilities in Fort William, Scotland, and Tasmania, Australia, offering courses in commercial diving air and saturation operations.
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