Abstract: Apparatus for providing a substantially liquid free working environment on a submerged surface, such as the hull of a ship. The apparatus includes a liquid tight enclosure, a sealing edge located on the liquid tight enclosure for forming a liquid proof seal between the enclosure and a submerged surface, a device for altering the shape of the apparatus so that the sealing edge can form a seal with submerged surfaces of different shape, and a device for enabling manipulation of objects within the enclosure by a person located outside of the enclosure, which, in a preferred embodiment, includes a pair of gloves that extend into the enclosure. Such an apparatus can be used by securely placing it against a submerged surface, such as the hull of a ship, altering the shape of the apparatus until its sealing edge conforms with the submerged surface so as to make a liquid tight seal with it, and then filling the enclosure full of gas, such as air, until substantially all of the water has been removed from it.