Adventurer 2 liveaboard accident (no injuries)

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edpdiver

Contributor
Messages
273
Reaction score
136
Location
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
# of dives
500 - 999
I just heard from my travel agent about an accident with the Archipelago Adventurer 2 liveaboard in Indonesia. The information is posted in detail below. The short version of the story is that the ship ran aground, everyone was evacuated, and is safe. More details are given below.

First, here is a statement from Ultimate Dive Travel, who books a lot of clients on this boat (inlcuding me; I found it to be a fantastic operation).

"Ultimate Dive Travel was the first scuba travel specialist to find this wonderful boat, and have remained their largest customer in North America. So we wanted to bring this news to everyone before any rumors start to fly around, as we have already heard some rumors. We also will have one of our team members going there in mid December and if the boat is not running yet, we will be able to go and see it in dry dock in Sorong. The main thing is, Not 1 person, guest, nor crew was injured, and everyone is safe! This boat has a fantastic crew, and they did everything the way it should have been handled.

The other great news is, they have a good boat chartered during the time it will take to repair the Archipelago, and so no charters will be missed, plus Archipelago crew will be running all the operations of the chartered boat, dive masters, chefs, and all the rest of the regular crew everyone that has been on this boat have come to love will still be there with their smiling faces. Once completed the boat will be in great shape, with new engine, gensets, compressors and a new membrane system for Nitrox. Archipelago was also one of the first boats to offer Free Nitrox, showing their concerns about your safety. Safety is, and always will be the top priority."

and here is the statement from the Archipelago Adventurer 2

"Greetings from Archipelago,

It is with a heavy sense of disappointment that I must tell you of an incident which occurred with the Archipelago Adventurer II in Raja Ampat on the 26th October 2010.

At 8pm in poor conditions close to Kri Island, the Adventurer II vessel sat at anchor after a night dive, due to a combination of factors to do with weather and current, the vessel dragged the anchor and struck the reef stern first, sustaining damage to the driveshaft and propeller. The vessel was upright, but due to the propeller damage it proved impossible to dislodge her despite our efforts. As this became clear, the guests from our charter disembarked and have been graciously assisted by the team at Papua Diving, to whom we are very grateful. All guests and crew departed the vessel without incident, along with their belongings everyone remains safe and the group are continuing their dive adventure in Raja Ampat.

Currently we are assessing the damage to the Archipelago Adventurer II, as a result of the damage to the driveshaft, water did enter the engine room, however the vessel has been towed back to port and will enter dry dock to repair any issues caused by the impact. Due to extensive insurance, the machinery will be replaced as necessary and Archipelago will cruise the waters of Indonesia again as soon as possible. At this time however, we don’t know the extent of the damage to the machinery or the vessel itself until we enter dry dock for a comprehensive inspection and assessment of the damage.

As a result of the uncertainty, and due to our desire to continue providing our divers with a quality experience in Indonesia for the same itineraries, timeframes and durations already agreed with our groups and individuals, we have chartered another vessel for the duration of the repair until we can cruise once more with the Archipelago. The dive crew, chef and service team from the Adventurer II will board the new vessel and will provide our trademark service, diving and food. We will utilize our custom built aluminum tenders too. We do realize this is not ideal, however after such an incident, we are working as quickly as possible to provide the best possible solution for our divers."

This is an fyi for anyone who is interested.

-Erwin
 
Wow! Glad to hear that everyone is safe and sound but sad to hear about the boat!
I too was on this boat and LOVED the crew and experience! We are heading to Raja Ampjat on a different boat in a few weeks and I was hoping to see the AA2 out there somewhere in our travels so I could say hello to the guys! Do you happen to know what the name of the boat is that they have chartered so I can keep my eye out for them?
 
We were informed the substitute boat is the Sea Safari III.
 
Thank you Saydiver! We will look for it while we are there! If you are going on that boat with that crew, you are in for a treat! ( especially Made!!!!!)
 
"Sanur
Bali

16 December 2010

Greetings to all Divers, Agents and my many good friends in the dive industry, I feel compelled to make a personal statement to clarify certain situations that have occurred during the final weeks of the Archipelago Company operations, my former employer. I am aware that there is a lot of rumour regarding the situation, so I would like to clarify the points as best I can, whilst informing everyone of developments that have occurred.

As most will know, the Archipelago Adventurer II vessel was damaged during the storm in October 2010. In order to meet commitments to guests and valued agents, at considerable expense Archipelago chartered, relocated and fitted out another vessel, the Sea Safari III, to operate cruises while the necessary repairs for the Archipelago vessel were assessed and completed. Our service, chef and dive crew were stationed on board, the captain and officers were from Sea Safari and, although the facility was not the Archipelago Adventurer, divers enjoyed the diving, food and service of our team on board, and were happy to accept partial refunds for the lower quality facility. To those understanding and patient divers, I am very grateful.

Unfortunately, on 5 December 2010, Sea Safari III was also involved in an accident and was grounded in Raja Ampat. All guests and crew disembarked safely, but the Sea Safari vessel was lost and has since been destroyed in a fire.

This second incident proved to be too much and Archipelago has been forced to cease operations. Regardless of previous successes, it is clear that no company can survive successive disasters such as this. In a matter of days, the company went from having significant cash reserves and good cashflow to being on the verge of bankruptcy. The cost to charter the replacement vessel and relocate it, to purchase new compressors, to pay for guests replacement diving and accommodations, in addition to other significant recovery payments made in response to the Archipelago accident, wiped out the company's ability to respond effectively when the Sea Safari incident happened. At this time there is no money for Archipelago to charter a new vessel and continue operations. The shareholders and Board of Directors in Jakarta have no other choice but to cease operations.

Last week, I went to Jakarta to assist divers affected by the Sea Safari incident and to meet the shareholders of PT BIP Nusatirta so that I could push the company to send refunds to all affected divers as soon as possible. Unfortunately, during the meeting, I was informed that the Archipelago Company was bankrupt and that there was no choice but to cease operations. I was released from my position as General Manager of Archipelago. Our whole crew has also been released, which after the events of the recent weeks, is quite frankly devastating. Regardless of my personal situation, I cannot accept my crew being victims of circumstances so far beyond their control, so I am working to establish opportunities for them to work together in future on a number of other vessels, I am sure you will see them all again in your diving expeditions in Indonesia.

There are many divers who are affected by the closure of the Archipelago Company, many have significant sums of money in deposits or full cruise payments. It has been confirmed by shareholders that these monies will be reimbursed and I am confident that in time everyone will receive their money. This is because the Archipelago Adventurer II damage assessment and repair bill is already a significant amount, rather than rebuilding the Archipelago vessel and restarting the operation from scratch, the funds generated from the insurance claim have been designated to pay back all divers' trip payments, domestic flights and other expenses. Although I don't work for Archipelago any more, I will still continue assisting divers with their refund claims as much as I can, as I feel that I have a moral obligation to do so. However, it must be clearly emphasized, I am not, nor have I ever been an owner of the Archipelago Adventurer II, the Archipelago Company. I no longer have any control regarding when money is directed back to individuals, so I ask people to bear with me with regards to their demands. I will do everything possible to make sure everyone is refunded as soon as the insurance claim gets paid.

During the past weeks, perhaps you will all understand that all members of the team at Archipelago have been stretched to the limit. You will certainly have noticed disruption to our team's normal high quality service, with emails delayed and questions remaining unanswered. I would like to apologise for this from myself and on behalf of our team here in Bali. Nothing has been intentionally ignored and all guests and agents, groups and individuals alike have been held in the same high regard and treated with the same level of importance. We just haven't had answers for many of the questions asked, particularly regarding payments, refunds and finances. I personally wish I could give everyone their money back tomorrow, but unfortunately, I can't do that. There is a process to go through and the formal communication will have to be through Archipelago's parent company. There is an email address in Jakarta, where divers can communicate directly with representatives of the parent company, anyone requiring further information is asked to contact those representatives through settlement@archipelago-fleet.com

At this time, I give thanks that all divers and crew remained safe in both incidents. I am confident that this is due to educated and intelligent decisions that were made by true professionals amongst our team aboard the vessels on both occasions, this is a tremendous positive that should not be ignored, even in such difficult times.
For the record, I wish to state I have been immensely proud to work with Archipelago's honourable and dedicated crew, the members of our office team here in Bali and I am deeply saddened by the events which have led to the demise of our team. I wish each and every one of them success for the future and I hope that, in time, I will work with you all again, in more positive circumstances.

Warmest regards to you all, thanks again for your understanding, patience and kindness at what has been a very frustrating, complicated and incredibly difficult time for all involved in Archipelago.

Keep safe

Andy Shorten"

Regards,

DocVikingo
 
New statement from there web site.



Statement Regarding The Closure of Archipelago Resorts & Fleet



After recent incidents with the Archipelago Adventurer II and subsequently Sea Safari III vessel, shareholders of Archipelago (PT BIP Nusatirta) have no choice but to close the business.

This statement is to inform guests, agents and associates of Archipelago that the company will cease cruise operations from 20 December 2010.

Regrettably, this unfortunate but unavoidable decision will affect many individuals and groups of guests who have cruises planned with Archipelago, however the Shareholders and Board of Directors of PT BIP Nusatirta, the parent company of Archipelago, will maintain the following financial responsibilities;


• Guests who have paid in full, or deposited towards future cruises, will be paid back in full by the company.

• Payments for domestic flights and hotels booked by Archipelago on behalf of guests, will also be refunded in full by the company.

• Archipelago will uphold promises to guests concerning partial refunds for those who joined the Sea Safari III replacement vessel after the incident with the Archipelago Adventurer II.


For any guest wishing clarification or information regarding the refund process or the timeframe that payments are to be made, please contact the email address settlement@archipelago-fleet.com from where the legal representatives of PT BIP Nusatirta will assist with the claim and process the refund.

Your patience and understanding is appreciated at this time of difficulty.
 
What a sad couple of events but what a refreshingly straight ahead way of dealing with the outcome. We dove with the AA2 last December and have nothing but superlatives to offer about the crew and the staff. Guess I'm not surprised that integrity remains a watchword for this outfit, genuinely sorry things went this way for them. // ww
 
Guess I'm not surprised that integrity remains a watchword for this outfit, genuinely sorry things went this way for them.

The GM of AAII, Andy Shorten, is the most straight-up dive industry chap I've ever dealt with.

This is very sad, indeed.

Regards,

DocVikingo
 

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