WHITSUNDAY ISLAND, Australia — The owner and operator of OzSail's Pacific Star II dive boat, which left two divers at sea for 19 hours, has been ordered to pay nearly $30,000 in fines. CDNN previously reported that OzSail owner AP Vessel Management pleaded guilty of failing to ensure the safety of scuba divers, Allyson Dalton and Richard Neely. The company was fined $25,000 and ordered to pay about $5,000 in costs. Dalton and Neely booked a scuba diving trip on OzSail's Pacific Star II dive boat, which anchored at Paradise Lagoon near Bait Reef on May 23, 2008. OzSail's crew failed to see the divers when they surfaced and failed to alert authorities of a missing diver emergency until two hours after the couple were due back on the boat. The missing divers spent the night drifting in the ocean until they were finally rescued about 8:45 am on May 24. Seven helicopters, three planes and six boats assisted in the search and rescue operation, which cost several hundred thousand dollars. In the aftermath of the near-fatal scuba diving accident, Ozsail's owner released a statement blaming Dalton and Neely for failing to follow the dive plan and suggesting the couple had staged their disappearance. Both divers angrily denied any wrongdoing and said they were considering suing OzSail for negligence. | 
