Editorial policy
How we decide what Port says, and what it will never say.
Explanation Marine Deep's explanation, not a requirement.
Primary sources first
Every regulatory statement on Port is tied to one primary source: the legislation itself, a regulator's code or guidance, or the industry body that publishes a document. We do not source requirements from blogs, training providers or other secondary summaries.
Four kinds of statement, always labelled
- Law: Acts, regulations, statutory instruments, CFR parts.
- ACOP / code: codes the law itself gives special status, such as HSE Approved Codes of Practice, and statutory approvals made under regulations.
- Guidance: regulator and industry guidance, codes and standards with no legal force of their own.
- Explanation: our own plain-English explanation. It is never a requirement.
Never invented
A statement can only be published if a fragment of the source that supports it is present in the source text we monitor. This is checked automatically on every build. We write statements in our own words and link to the source; we do not reproduce copyrighted documents.
Safety-critical content
Statements about depth, breathing gas, decompression, emergency arrangements, medical fitness, team size and equipment integrity are published only after review by a person with diving competence. Until then the page says that points are held back and links to the source. Port never publishes decompression tables or schedules and never generates decompression guidance.
Keeping it current
Sources are monitored on a schedule (see how sources are monitored). When a source changes, statements that depend on it are held back until they have been re-checked, and the page shows that a review is due.
Corrections
If you think something on Port is wrong or out of date, email info@marinedeep.com with the page address. We correct errors and record the change.
Who publishes Port
Port is published by Marine Deep Ltd, which also makes D.O.P.A., dive operations paperwork software. Port's content does not depend on D.O.P.A., and D.O.P.A. is only mentioned where paperwork is the subject.