Underwater welding is a difficult but potentially cost-saving task that is becoming increasingly important in the repair and maintenance of existing marine structures. The metallurgical principles which have been established for low-carbon steel surface welds can be developed and extended to the environment of water and hydrostatic pressure. With this approach, the properties of weld metal can be improved in Type A and Type B shielded-metal arc (SMA) welds. This article reviews the technologies and discusses the influence of weld metal composition and structure on weld integrity.