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. The ill-fated 5-day liveaboard dive trip was organized by Tim Lawrence, owner of DJL Diving (Davy Jones Locker) of Koh Tao, Thailand, which chartered the Chen Samud from Black Tip Divers, also based in Koh Tao. According to unconfirmed reports, the captain of the dive boat pleaded with Lawrence to turn back due to high waves, gale-force winds and water pouring into the boat that overwhelmed the capacity of the pumps, but he refused to abort the trip. Instead, Lawrence 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. The Chen Samud single-engine, wooden-hull and clearly top-heavy liveaboard dive boat sank in rough seas some 30 miles off the coast of Thailand. | | DJL Diving (Davy Jones Locker) owner Tim Lawrence (above photo) allegedly failed to acquiesce to the judgement of the captain and nearly killed everyone aboard the vessel, which sank in the middle of the night some 30 miles offshore. "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." |
