CAYMAN ISLANDS (18 Dec 2008) — Another tourist died today while scuba diving in the Cayman Islands. Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) identified the scuba diving accident victim as David Guy Stuart, 57, a cruise ship passenger from Oklahoma. Police said Stuart and his friend went to Divers Down this morning to arrange a scuba diving excursion to West Bay. At about 10:55am, an employee of Divers Down called 911 to report that Stuart was unconscious at West Bay Dock. Paramedics rushed to the scene of the accident and took Stuart to hospital where he was pronounced dead. The fatal scuba diving accident is under investigation by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department. The scuba diving fatality was the ninth diver death in the Caymans in 2008. Dive operators ignoring safety regulations According to liquor store owner Steve Broadbelt, a strident local developer who also owns the Ocean Frontiers dive shop and heads CITA's Watersports Committee, dive operators in the Cayman Islands typically ignore government regulations aimed at enhancing diver safety. One of the government safety regulations they ignore requires dive boat operators to keep at least one crew onboard, a safety precaution that is common at many popular dive destinations around the world. The regulation under the Port Authority Law states: "At least one person shall remain on board and act as lookout on any dive–boat or other vessel whilst divers therefrom are down." Broadbelt said local dive operators refuse to comply with the regulation because they object to the government telling them how to run their businesses and because such regulations have the potential to make dive businesses unprofitable. | 
