FDS Marine International, LLC
Fred Stambaugh, owner of FDS Marine International, comes from three generations of diving experience. The grandfather he was named for, Fred Devine, began his diving business in 1913 and built it into a world leader in diving and salvage. During a daring and adventurous career that spanned two world wars, he helped pioneer the industry, developing new diving methods, new underwater technology, and creating new diving equipment. This was the company where Fred Stambaugh first learned the art and skill of underwater salvage and construction. (Photo right is of Fred Stambaugh's grandfather and namesake, Fred Devine, circa 1914)
"By the time I was 13, they had me in the water," Stambaugh recalls. He worked in the company, rising to the the position of SR. VP of all operations by 1990, when the company was sold and he struck out on his own with a seasoned and experienced crew. Today Stambaugh has his own company, FDS Marine International, where he oversees a rotating crew of about a dozen divers. FDS Marine's specialty is crisis response work and reflects his years of experience, and life long commitment to excellence in the marine industry. FDS Marine is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, worldwide.
Stambaugh's work has taken his team from the waters off Guam, Hawaii and Mexico, to Louisiana, to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, the Trojan nuclear power plant, the San Francisco sewer system, and more sludge ponds than he'd like to remember. He has worked on projects as diverse as the stabilization of the Exxon Valdez; to underwater jetty and tunnel repair; to shipwreck salvage; and underwater structural repairs. The work routinely involves immersing himself and/or his crew in hazardous and unique situations -- armed with anything from a chain saw or an underwater welding torch, to an underwater video camera.
Stambaugh acknowledges that his profession can be difficult and sometimes downright dangerous. "A lot of guys drop out of the industry young," he says. "They're always asking me when I plan to give it up. I tell them. 'Never.' "