OPITO Product 5904
Dry CA-EBS Initial Deployment
Focused equipment-conversion training for offshore personnel who already hold recognised offshore emergency training and will be issued with a Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System during helicopter travel.
Product 5904 develops the knowledge, equipment familiarity and practical deployment skills required to use a Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System (CA-EBS) in the event of a helicopter emergency.
1 DAY
1
CA-EBS
4 Year
1 to 1.5 Guided learning hours
Mandatory units
DRY CA-EBS Initial
Validity
Validity
2 years
Product Type
OPITO Approved Course
Trainers
OPITO Certified and years of experience
Category
Oil and Gas / Basic Emergency Response
Build Confidence Before the Cabin Goes Underwater
01 — Understand the Breathing System
Recognise why CA-EBS is used during offshore helicopter travel, understand how compressed-air technology works and become familiar with the equipment's principal advantages and limitations.
02 — Know the Equipment Before the Emergency
Identify the cylinder, mouthpiece, demand valve, controls, indicators and associated lifejacket equipment before emergency deployment is required.
03 — Recognise the Hazards
Understand finite air supply, mouthpiece displacement, cold-water gasp response and the risks associated with compressed-air breathing.
04 — Demonstrate the Deployment
Inspect, don, buddy-check, rapidly deploy, seal, purge, breathe and recover the CA-EBS in a controlled dry environment.
Entry Certificate Requirements
An eligible in-date OPITO certificate is required.
VALID OFFSHORE EMERGENCY TRAINING REQUIRED.
This is an important distinction. Product 5904 does not replace the underlying offshore emergency-response training represented by those certificates. It adds focused CA-EBS initial-deployment competence to an existing offshore training pathway.
Learners must hold a valid certificate in one of the following recognised training routes before attending Product 5904:
BOSIET
OPITO Approved Certificate
Tropical BOSIET
OPITO Approved Certificate
FOET
OPITO Approved Certificate
Tropical FOET
OPITO Approved Certificate
HUET
OPITO Approved Certificate
Tropical HUET
OPITO Approved Certificate
IS 5904 Right For you?
Personnel who already have offshore emergency training but now require CA-EBS competence.
Product 5904 is intended for personnel who are issued with a Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System during offshore helicopter travel and may need to deploy that system during an emergency.
It is not a complete HUET, BOSIET or FOET programme. Instead, it provides focused CA-EBS training for personnel who already hold recognised offshore emergency-training certification but require competence with this specific breathing-system technology.
There are no prerequisites for Dry CA-EBS Training.
Before booking, confirm your requirement with your employer, operator or mobilisation team.
KNOW
CHECK
DEPLOY
BREATHE
One Mandatory Unit
What Does Product 5904 Develop?
Product 5904 ensures that the learner develops the knowledge and understanding required to recognise the particular properties and hazards of CA-EBS and the appropriate practical actions to take if emergency deployment becomes necessary.
01 — Understand the System
Know why CA-EBS is used, how it works and how it differs from other emergency breathing systems.
02 — Understand the Hazards
Recognise the specific risks associated with compressed-air breathing and the limitations of the equipment.
03 — Demonstrate Deployment
Inspect, don, buddy-check and deploy CA-EBS correctly in a dry training environment.
Why Dry Training Matters?
Learn the equipment before adding underwater complexity.
Product 5904 deliberately focuses on dry initial deployment. This creates an opportunity to establish the essential equipment actions without simultaneously introducing:
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water entry
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inversion
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loss of orientation
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underwater escape
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restraint release
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push-out-window operation.
The learner can therefore concentrate on understanding and operating the breathing system itself.
01
OIS-77
1 H 50 M
Dry Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System (CA-EBS) Initial Deployment Training
Understand the CA-EBS, prepare it correctly, and deploy it with control when emergency breathing air is needed.
Dry CA-EBS Initial Deployment training develops familiarity with the Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System, including its components, operating principles, finite air supply, pre-use checks, correct donning and interaction with aviation survival equipment. Learners also understand key hazards associated with compressed-air breathing, including mouthpiece displacement, loss of air and the need to avoid breath-holding during ascent.
Practical training is completed in a dry environment, where learners inspect and don the equipment, complete a buddy check, rapidly deploy the CA-EBS, establish the mouthpiece and nose seal, breathe normally, operate the purge function, recover a displaced mouthpiece and recognise when the air supply is approaching depletion. The focus is on controlled, correct emergency deployment rather than speed alone.
Why Dry CA-EBS?
OIS-77 develops both theoretical understanding and practical equipment competence across three outcomes:
The first outcome establishes the rationale for using a compressed-air emergency breathing system during helicopter emergency situations.
Learners develop an understanding of CA-EBS technology and, where applicable, the fundamental differences between compressed-air and rebreather emergency breathing systems.
Understand the equipment before depending on it.
The first outcome establishes the rationale for using a compressed-air emergency breathing system during helicopter emergency situations.
Learners develop an understanding of CA-EBS technology and, where applicable, the fundamental differences between compressed-air and rebreather emergency breathing systems.
The Product specifically identifies comparison of rebreather and compressed-air technology and use for UKCS operations only within the relevant criterion.
Understand the CA-EBS
Identify the main components, operating principles, advantages and limitations of the Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System.
Inspect the Equipment
Carry out the required pre-use checks and confirm the CA-EBS is ready for emergency deployment.
Don and Buddy Check
Correctly don the equipment and complete the required buddy check before helicopter travel.
Deploy and Breathe
Locate and rapidly deploy the CA-EBS, establish the correct mouth and nose seal, and breathe normally from the system.
Manage the System
Operate the purge function, recover a displaced mouthpiece and recognise the indications associated with reducing or near-empty air supply.
Understand the Limitations
Compressed air is finite.
CA-EBS also has important limitations.
The Product specifically identifies:
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finite air supply
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the requirement not to hold the breath during ascent. Pasted text
These are not minor equipment notes.
They shape the way the learner must understand and use the system.
THE AIR SUPPLY IS LIMITED.
CA-EBS provides emergency breathing capability, but the cylinder does not provide an unlimited supply of air.
Equipment use must therefore remain connected to the purpose for which it is intended: supporting emergency escape.
Training Philosophy
Establish control before complexity.
Product 5904 follows a focused equipment-competence approach. Learners first understand the CA-EBS, its components, operating principles and limitations before progressing into pre-use checks, correct donning, buddy checking and controlled emergency deployment in a dry environment.
The training is designed to remove uncertainty from the equipment before it is needed in an emergency. Learners repeatedly practise the sequence of locating, deploying, sealing, purging, breathing and recovering the mouthpiece so that CA-EBS operation becomes controlled, deliberate and familiar.
During an actual helicopter emergency, a learner may already be managing:
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Crew instructions
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Restraint
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Brace position
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Exit location
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Water entry
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Orientation
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The need to escape.
Move from equipment knowledge to demonstrated performance.
The course develops the learner's understanding of:
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Why CA-EBS is used during offshore helicopter travel
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How compressed-air systems differ from rebreather systems
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The advantages and limitations of CA-EBS
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CA-EBS components and controls
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How CA-EBS interacts with the aviation lifejacket and other survival equipment
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Pre-flight inspection and pre-donning checks
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Correct fitting
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Emergency deployment
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Mouthpiece control
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Purging
-
Recovery of a displaced mouthpiece
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Breathing from the unit
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Recognition of the finite air supply.
This is dry deployment training. The focus is on building equipment competence in a controlled environment before CA-EBS may be required during an actual helicopter emergency.
01
Pre-Flight Inspection
Carry out the required pre-flight inspection of the aviation lifejacket and CA-EBS.
03
Buddy Check
Complete the required buddy check.
05
Fit to the Face
Correctly position the mouthpiece and nose clip where fitted and establish the required seal.
07
Purge
Operate the purge function as required.
09
Recover a Displaced Mouthpiece
Locate and recover the mouthpiece following displacement.
02
Correct Donning
Don the lifejacket and CA-EBS correctly.
04
Emergency Deployment
Locate and rapidly deploy the breathing system.
06
Breathe Normally
Establish normal breathing through the system.
08
Re-Establish Breathing
Return to normal breathing after purging.
10
Recognise Air Depletion
Breathe down the unit sufficiently to identify when the compressed-air cylinder is approaching empty.
Medical Requirements
Learners must be capable of participating fully.
Although this is dry deployment training, practical activities may still contain physically demanding or potentially stressful elements.
Before practical exercises begin, the learner must satisfy one of the accepted medical-entry pathways.
These include:
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a valid current offshore medical certificate
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an employer-approved equivalent offshore medical
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a valid medical certificate of fitness to work at sea
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a valid current certificate of medical fitness for diving at work
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or medical screening using the appropriate form provided by the OPITO-approved centre.
The centre must retain a record of the learner's declaration of fitness. The learner and/or sponsoring company remains responsible for declaring any known current or pre-existing medical condition that could adversely affect safe participation. Where doubt exists, the learner should be directed to an appropriate medical professional familiar with the nature of the training.
Certificate Validity
The Dry CA-EBS Initial Deployment Training certificate is valid for: 4 years.
Product 5904 was introduced specifically with a four-year formal validity period from January 2026.
Revalidation
Move back into the appropriate offshore emergency-training pathway.
The Product lists no formal progression route. However, OPITO recommends that CA-EBS training is revalidated through the appropriate Further Offshore Emergency Training with CA-EBS when the learner's current BOSIET or FOET certificate expires.
At the appropriate revalidation point, confirm whether your next requirement is an OPITO FOET with CA-EBS pathway.
Why Train with Suraksha Marine?
Build confidence in the equipment before it is needed in an emergency.
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CA-EBS Equipment Familiarisation: Develop a clear understanding of the system, its main components, operating principles and finite air supply before emergency deployment.
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Pre-Use Check Discipline: Practice the required inspection of the aviation lifejacket and CA-EBS so the equipment is correctly prepared before use.
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Correct Donning & Buddy Check: Build confidence in fitting the equipment correctly, positioning the CA-EBS for access and completing the required buddy check.
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Controlled Emergency Deployment: Practise locating, rapidly deploying, sealing and breathing from the CA-EBS using the correct emergency-use sequence.
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Mouthpiece Recovery & Air Management: Develop familiarity with purge operation, displaced-mouthpiece recovery and recognition of reducing air supply.
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Dry Practical Training: Complete the deployment sequence in a controlled dry environment focused on correct technique, equipment handling and demonstrated competence.
Build familiarity with CA-EBS, practise the correct deployment sequence, and develop confidence in using the system under controlled emergency conditions.
Develop practical familiarity with the Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System before it is needed in a helicopter emergency. Learn the system. Understand the hazards. Inspect the equipment. Demonstrate rapid dry deployment.
KNOW THE EQUIPMENT. FIND THE EQUIPMENT. DEPLOY THE EQUIPMENT. BREATHE FROM THE EQUIPMENT.
Real Equipment.
Controlled Simulation.
Demonstrated Competence.
Corporate workforce mobilisation?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
