NEWPORT BEACH, California (30 Apr 2004) -- The Coast Guard wants stricter rules on the diving industry to prevent another incident where a scuba boat skipper forgot a diver and left him at sea. The Coast Guard, accusing scuba instructors of negligence in the weekend stranding at sea, urged the industry to better account for divers. It wants the Professional Association of Diving Instructors and similar groups to use numbered wristbands and written checklists rather than verbal roll calls. The investigation into the April 25 stranding of Dan Carlock was continuing. "We anticipate that we will file a complaint for negligence against the captain. There is absolutely no question about that," said Lt. Cmdr. John Fassero, a senior Coast Guard investigator. The Santa Monica diver spent nearly five hours drifting in the ocean. He was rescued seven miles off Newport Harbor by Boy Scouts aboard a century-old tall ship. There are currently no standard methods for accounting for divers, said Pat Fousek, risk management director for the Rancho Santa Margarita-based Professional Association of Diving Instructors. | | Captain Ray Arntz of the Sundiver will be charged with negligence after leaving a diver at sea. The group is reviewing Sunday's incident, at the Coast Guard's request, and its own dive-master training manuals, she said. There's been no decision on whether policies need to be changed, she said. "We value the safety of every diver and our own reputation, so rest assured we will leave no stone unturned," Fousek said. Capt. Ray Arntz is responsible for leaving Carlock despite a dive master's verbal roll call of all 20 passengers before leaving the first dive location, Fassero said. "The buck stops with the captain," he said. |
