About
A Team Dedicated to Providing Superior Marine Construction
At Underwater Resources, Inc., we can help you accomplish your UW inspection, repair, and construction projects efficiently. We take pride in our extensive experience and cost-effective approach to safety regulation. Our team plays everything we do by the book and refuses to cut corners for our clients.
Tom Belcher President
Born and raised in California (1948), Tom graduated from San Jose State University in 1971 with a BA in political science before earning an AS in marine technology from Santa Barbara Community College in 1973.
Tom began working in the marine construction industry
During the summer between trade school to conduct an erosion control pilot program protecting Rocky Creek Bridge along the rugged Big Sur coastline. Moving to New Orleans after completing studies he worked in the Gulf of Mexico offshore oilfield as a tender, pipefitter, technician, and diver. After being reassigned to Aberdeen, Scotland in 1974 he continued his experience with offshore construction, fabrication, shallow and deep - water operations. Tom has fabricated, operated, and maintained deep air or gas and saturation diving systems throughout his career. He worked as a diver on large derrick barges, semi-submersibles, and workboats in the North Sea during year-round conditions for the installation of (4) fixed-leg oil production platforms with pipeline tie-ins up to 420-feet water depths in the BP Forties Field.
He eventually became a project and dive supervisor
Or superintendent responsible for 60 diving and life-support personnel while conducting shallow air and saturation diving operations for BNOC on the Thistle Alpha production platform for two years. Later, moving back to Santa Barbara, he worked as an air or gas diver and supervisor in the SB Channel offshore oilfield, conducted sanitary outfall pipe repairs on Northern California pulp mills and seawater intake repairs at SCE power plants in SoCal. He was a saturation dive supervisor for the Exxon USA deepwater offshore Platform Hondo SALM Buoy installation.
After short term assignments offshore Bombay, India and Ivory Coast as a gas diver and saturation dive supervisor he founded Underwater Resources, Inc. (URI) in 1982 as a marine and diving consulting firm. Purchasing an ROV system in 1984 and obtaining California and Nevada engineering contractor’s licenses, Belcher maintains his passion and commitment to provide innovative solutions for marine and underwater construction.
For the past 35 years,
Tom has been responsible for business development with a broad-based list of engineers, public works agencies, and contractor clientele. They routinely utilize diving and marine services for a wide range of inspection, repair, rehabilitation, and new construction projects.
Chris Levesque Operations Manager
Chris was born in Portland, Maine and graduated from Northeastern University with a BS in civil engineering and a minor degree in business administration. He also worked as a boat operator and a commercial diver on the coast of Maine.
During his time at Northeastern,
Chris worked for HDR Inc. in Boston, MA, and Drum Loyka Associates in Annapolis, MD as an Engineer’s Assistant.
Chris joined Underwater Resources (URI) in 2012 initially as Project Manager before assuming the Operations Manager role. He oversees and manages daily shop and field service operations, safety and regulatory compliance and is responsible for ensuring work is performed to the client's satisfaction.
Grant Cooper Marine Superintendent
Born and raised in Northern California, Mr. Cooper graduated from the Coastal School of Deep Sea Diving in 1974. He also finished his course in the California Department of Forestry Fire Academy before moving to the Middle East and working as a construction diver for three years.
In 1977, he moved to the United Kingdom
And continued working as a construction or inspection diver. He obtained additional training and welding or inspection certifications (UT or MPI) while working in the UK through Lloyds and CSWIP at Fort Bovisand in Devon UK.
Mr. Cooper holds a patent in fire-fighting equipment, is an experienced mechanic, heavy equipment and trucking operator, welder and fabricator and has authored and published technical papers on inspection. He has performed multiple class inspections of vessels, pipelines, and offshore platforms according to approved DNV, ABS, and Lloyds procedures.
He first worked with Underwater Resources
In 1984 as a diver. Since 1998, he has worked as a marine superintendent, specializing in general marine or diving construction, including UW valve replacement on dams, piling and dock repairs, and installing HDPE marine pipelines. He has assisted with the design, repair and installation of over 22 HDPE submarine pipelines, including several 63-inch diameter pipelines.
Carlos Ramirez Shop Foreman
Carlos is an integral part to the success of our daily operations. He is bilingual, an experienced mechanic and his role is to maintain and ensure the reliability of our equipment required in the field. His foreman role was preceded by both a cousin and brother and many of his family members, most of whom are craftsmen in one of the trades, continue to provide support on projects that require concrete, building and other land-based specialty components.
As shop foreman he maintains and repairs our work trucks, stationary and mobile power equipment, conducts OSHA safety compliance and testing of all dive equipment, Carlos also works closely with our project operation teams for assembly and loadout of field equipment and performs necessary upgrades, modifications and help with special tooling requirements as needed. He maintains equipment logs and performs all regulatory testing of our life-support diving equipment, performs repairs, provides operator training for crew personnel, and maintains our yard so it is both clean and safe.