BRISBANE, Australia (28 Feb 2008) — A NOW-defunct Brisbane scuba diving company and its former owner have been hit with a $15,000 fine and a good behaviour bond following the death of a diver in 2005. Former company director of Pro Dive Bulimba, Mark Stanley Thomas, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Industrial Magistrate's Court to having failed as executive officer to ensure the company complied with the Workplace Health and Safety Act. A 45-year-old Brisbane man died on March 28, 2005 after a dive with the company near Flinders Reef off Moreton Island. Police said initial investigations at the time revealed he died of respiratory heart failure. Billionaires in Business Pty Ltd, trading as the now-closed Pro Dive Bulimba, pleaded guilty to having "failed to ensure a safe system of work for diving during a student training course conducted under the PADI diver certification system". A Workplace Health and Safety spokesman said the dive company admitted to failing to develop a regular inspection program to test and certify the accuracy of depth gauges used in dive training and failing to inspect depth gauges for accuracy. It also admitted to failing to accurately record depths shown on dive computers and the oxygen content of gas used by a diver, on a dive safety log and gas cylinder, and failing to conduct adequate gas analysis to verify the oxygen content of gases used for diving by the diver. The spokesman said the court was told there was no evidence these failures caused any injury but the risk of death or injury to divers and dive instructors from the failures was extremely high. Mr Thomas was ordered to enter into a good behaviour bond for 12 months with a recognisance of $8000. The dive company was also ordered to pay investigation costs of $5000, legal costs of $6000 and $130.80 in court costs. No conviction was recorded against either party. | | Mr Thomas stopped running the deep-diving course and sold the business in November 2005. The current owner later closed the Bulimba shop and was not involved with the 2005 incident. There have been seven prosecutions for dive or snorkeling-related incidents since January last year. "The Queensland Government has been particularly proactive in the prevention of serious diving and snorkeling incidents," said Workplace Health and Safety Queensland acting executive director Simon Blackwood. "This prosecution is a strong reminder to the dive industry that they must pay attention to the basics and ensure equipment and systems are regularly tested and dive safety logs are recorded accurately." SOURCE - Courier MailSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
