The idea that would eventually carry Shawn Goertzen’s career to extraordinary depths surfaced in a 1990s high school classroom.
A teacher inspired by environmental scientist David Suzuki became Goertzen’s mentor, drawing him into a world that went beneath the surface. He decided to go in headfirst, with a proper helmet and breathing apparatus, and hasn’t looked back since.
“Part of the course (I was taking) included the cleanup and rehabilitation of a local creek and its vegetation,” says Goertzen, chief operating officer and part owner of Submerged Underwater Services Inc. “Towards the end of the course, we travelled down to the Cayman Islands to dive three times a day to learn about the ocean and its ecosystems. While in Cayman, I trained under a Canadian dive instructor who taught cave diving, rebreather diving and was a past offshore commercial diver. I initially became a scuba instructor, where I made very little money and pivoted to a career as a commercial diver and the tax man has been thanking me ever since.”
Born and raised in Kelowna, Goertzen’s family is originally from Manitoba, and it was the Prairies and its tributaries, that eventually called him back. Manitoba is where he met his wife and where their daughter was born.
“Manitoba has a very large amount of infrastructure in the lakes and rivers, making a local commercial diving company a necessity,” he says.
And that’s how Submerged Underwater Services Inc. came to be in 2023.
“We’ve since had various projects, such as working in the Arctic Circle inspecting an old ESSO 8,000 tonne Caisson Retained Island, which was used for oil exploration in the Beaufort Sea in the ’80s, to installing pipelines and intake structures for new water treatment plants for First Nations communities, remote operated vehicle and sonar inspections, bathometric surveys, underwater welding and exothermic cutting of coffer dams and many more,” he says. “Submerged itself hasn’t had any international projects as of yet, but we will continue to look abroad to utilize our past international experience.”
Goertzen’s latest project involves collaboration with Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI), the Winnipeg Police Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It has drawn significant attention on social media and local news.
In October, Goertzen and his six-diver crew, which includes his business partner Dakota Gunderson, spent hours plunging into the murky waters of the Red River just upstream from the Selkirk Lift Bridge. With cranes, sonar, boats, police personnel (and numerous onlookers on shore), what they recovered from water that resembled “chocolate milk.”
“Astonishing.”
“Six hours of work and then the crane pulls out the first vehicle,” says Goertzen.
It was a 2001 truck with Manitoba plates covered in gunk and zebra mussels. Whatever was inside was left up to the authorities to figure out. According to Goertzen, four more vehicles were recovered, all of which are under investigation by MPI and police. How they ended up in the river could have many explanations – insurance fraud, theft or simply an accident.
“It’s anyone’s guess,” he says. “We retrieve them and let the professionals take over after that.”
A few weeks later, Goertzen got a call from MPI and returned to the waters past Breezy Point, north of Selkirk. There, his crew pulled two more vehicles from the river – one right in the same spot as before.
The adrenaline rush and success that comes from these finds makes Goertzen that much more determined to continue with the passion he found in that B.C. classroom. Even with the risks involved.
“It’s still one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet,” he says. “I’ve had five incidents of decompression sickness. I have been electrocuted by lightning twice while being in the water. I had to provide first aid to a friend who had a 40,000 psi water jet cut open his abdomen, and I can say there are many more serious incidents which have happened to myself and friends. The biggest issue is we’re all human and are prone to mistakes, all while working in an industry where there is no room for mistakes.”
As for the future of Submerged Underwater Services, Goertzen says the company has many exciting plans. One project he is particularly proud of is the Red River Revival Project, a Métis-operated not-for-profit dedicated to restoring the health and vitality of the Red River, the Assiniboine River and their tributaries.
“After we recovered the vehicles in and around Selkirk, RJ Kusmack, founder of the project, reached out to see if we would be interested in giving support through equipment and experience. We are proud to support the Red River Revival project in restoring everything from the riverbeds to the shores, setting an example of community leadership and environmental stewardship.”
Goertzen says the future looks bright, even through murky, chocolate milk-like waters.
