Working Underwater: The Story of the Commercial Diving Industry

U.S. Underwater Services, LLC has a solid
history of more than two decades as a commercial
diving contractor in the inland, Gulf
of Mexico and international markets. USUS
provides a wide range of commercial diving,
inspection, repair and maintenance services to
industries such as oil and gas, shipping, public
works, defense and marine infrastructure.
USUS was founded in Burleson, Texas, in
1995 by a young entrepreneur and sport
diving enthusiast who saw an opportunity
to utilize diving to assist local municipalities
in maintaining their water systems.
Soon after, commercially trained and certified
divers were added to the team, providing
legitimization and a path to becoming a true
commercial diving contractor. By 1997 the
company had expanded into the offshore
Gulf of Mexico market, and over the next
several years, USUS expanded its client base
and rig support/diving services to nearly every
major offshore driller in the Gulf of Mexico.
Key individuals in the company’s early
years included the Canadian duo of Jason
Smith and Scott Miller, as well as Scott
Farris, Bryan Nicholls, David Wolfe, Compton
Cooper, Rich Campbell and Craig Loftin.
In 2006, private equity firm, Benford Capital,
purchased controlling interest of the company.
The following year, Australian-based Neptune
Marine Services purchased USUS and integrated
the company into its international portfolio
of oilfield and energy service companies.
After the devastating Hurricanes Katrina,
Rita and Ike in 2005-2007, USUS was
involved in a variety of post-hurricane work,
including platform inspections, site surveys,
debris removal and subsea structural repairs.
The additional offshore work generated by
these storms enabled USUS to expand its
service offerings and accelerated the company’s
growth for the next several years.
In 2010, USUS recorded several significant
milestones, some of which included: the
rebranding of USUS to Neptune Underwater
Services; the relocation of the operations
base to a newly remodeled 50,000-squarefoot
facility in Mansfield, Texas; the
completion of its largest multi-platform
inspection campaign; and the deepest mixed
gas diving projects in the company’s history.
U.S. UNDERWATER SERVICES, LLC
In 2012 the management team of USUS,
with the help of Benford Capital and
Coppermine Capital, purchased the assets of
NUS in a management buyout. The new privately
held entity, U.S. Underwater Services,
LLC was formed; reestablishing the USUS
brand within the commercial diving industry.
USUS prides itself on being an employer of
veterans and a supporter of veteran’s causes.
In 2014 the company was recognized as a
Patriotic Employer by the Office of the
Secretary of Defense for its support of the
National Guard and Reserves.
U.S. Underwater Services joined ADCI in
1996, only a year after its founding. The
company’s current President/COO, Bryan
Nicholls, has served on the ADCI Board
of Directors since 2009, was second vice
president from 2014-2017, and was elected
president of the ADCI in 2017.
SHARING THE HERITAGE
105