CAIRNS, Australia (7 Feb 2009) — According to Spoilsport owner Mike Ball, the two "yankee" tourists who disappeared while scuba diving off Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef failed to follow the dive plan. Ball accused the two Americans of deliberately ignoring dive safety procedures when they separated from other divers in the group. "On the way down, one of the divers let go of the rope and didn't follow the directions to the reef, but let himself drift along with the current in deeper water than planned," Ball said. Ball said divers are trained to plan their dive and dive the plan "but that's not what happened." A massive rescue effort, which involved three boats, a fixed wing aircraft and at least four helicopters cost more than $50,000. The divers paid a personal injury insurance fee of only $16 as part of the $4,500 Spoilsport liveaboard package, which was resold by Lancaster Scuba Center in America. Ball said the $16 fee was nothing compared to all of the trouble the divers caused by deliberately ignoring the dive plan. Ball's sidekick, local dive tourism promoter Col McKenzie of the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, harshly criticized the divers saying they "should be held accountable for their own actions and stupidity." In 1998, McKenzie attempted to cover up negligence when Americans Thomas and Eileen Longergan died after they were abandoned by a local dive boat operator. McKenzie allegedly urged local media to publish malicious rumors that the couple had faked their own deaths. Controversial dive operator The Spoilsport liveaboard dive boat is owned and operated by controversial Australian businessman Mike Ball of Mike Ball Dive Expeditions. Ball was forced to stop two-tier pricing that discriminated against Americans and Japanese with 20% to 40% higher fees after CDNN exposed the scam in 2001. In 2003, the company was in the news again after a fatal accident that killed American Tina Watson on her honeymoon while she was scuba diving off the Spoilsport with her husband, Gabe. Initial reports indicated Watson's death stemmed from Ball's failure to adhere to dive industry guidelines that restrict novice divers to specified depth limits. Subsequently, Watson's husband, Gabe, came under suspicion after inconsistencies in the information he gave to police about the accident. Australian authorities now believe Gabe killed his wife and are trying to extradite him to Australia for trial on murder charges. | 
