This article is from CDNN.info, regarding the recent sinking of a boat in bad weather off Koh Tao. I am not trying to shame to school, rather I want to point out that bad decisions and poor judgment are big factors in these accidents. And also - when considering your diving - the dive center should be able to immediately and clearly answer these questions....
What are the protocols in case of bad weather?
What is the forecast before departure?
Who is ultimately responsible for the decision in case of bad weather?
KOH TAO, Thailand (18 Sep 2008) — Another dive boat sank in Thailand some 30 miles offshore.
Witnesses told CDNN all tourist divers and crew were forced to abandon the Chen Samud dive boat in the middle of the night when the vessel sank in rough seas.
The dive boat sank quickly and everything on board including technical diving equipment and personal belongings were lost as the passengers and crew jumped into a smaller RIB chase boat.
According to unconfirmed reports, the captain of the dive boat pleaded to turn back due to high waves, gale-force winds and water pouring into the boat that overwhelmed the capacity of the pumps, but the dive leader refused to abort the trip.
Instead, the dive leader allegedly demanded the captain stay the course towards the HTMS Pangan Wreck, a dive site considered beyond the range of the Chen Samud and similar single engine wooden boats.
Profit vs safety
Recently, there has been a spate of dive boat accidents in Thailand that have resulted in tourist deaths and injuries.
Dive safety experts have criticized lax certification standards that govern the operation of commercial passenger boats in Thailand.
Stupidity and greed have also been cited as factors that contributed to decisions bent more on safeguarding dive shop profits than customer lives.
"What is troubling about this case is that if initial reports are correct, the captain's judgement to turn back was overruled by someone who had no legal authority to make decisions about the safe operation of the vessel, and apparently was more concerned about protecting dive shop profits than the lives of the customers," said CDNN editor Lamar Bennington.
"Regardless of what actually happened on the Chen Samud before the boat sank, it is certainly fair to say that foreign dive store owners in Thailand typically lack the expertise, experience, local knowledge and judgement to safely operate dive boats in the difficult conditions often encountered off Thailand," Bennington added.
"Therefore, it is imperative that dive store owners understand and fully accept that onboard a chartered liveaboard dive boat, they have absolutely no authority to make decisions about the operation of the vessel. Any and all decisions affecting the safety of passengers and crew is the sole responsibility of the captain — no ifs, ands or buts about it."
Similan Diving - Experienced and Safe
No comments:
Post a Comment