Conception

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What I have never understood-and maybe someone here as an explanation:

This wasn't the 1st live aboard dive boat with a similar charging station and a similar amount of batteries being charged at once. So, why this one?? Why this particular fire on tis boat at that time when its not hard to assume that pretty much the exact same conditions of a bunch of batteries being charged overnight in one area has happened probably thousands of other times on other boats and even on most, or all, of the other Conception trips.
What was different about this one to cause the fire?
The 2nd issue is obviously: where was the night watch person. Was there specific training to that person to be aware of battery related fire risks? If there was: then that person-the night watch person-needs to be charged criminally. If there wasn't then the owners of the company and boat captain have more liability.
If there was no all night boat watch person-awake, alert and paying attention: thats primarily on the boat captain (and owner of the vessel to a lesser extent). Its also on the other crew who should have insisted there is always an overnight watch person.
We'll never know everything--and I doubt the crew is really revealing ALL they know. Especially now that indictments against the captain are out there. I just get stuck on the: why these batteries and these chargers and these outlets that sparked and caught fire. Could there have been a power surge from some other mechanical defect on the boat that juiced up and heated the batteries? Was it just random dumb luck of a bad battery?-if so, I'd be suing the battery maker... over a year later, and still many questions remain for me.
It’s how these things work. Nobody showed up to work at NASA mission control on Jan 2 2003 and said, “Are you all with me that we should totally ignore all the rules about foam and damage to the shuttle’s tile system that we have rigidly enforced for years and completely reproduce the dysfunctional safety culture that resulted in the loss the Challenger for the launch of Columbia?”

No, that exactly what they did but they took years to do it. They were not noticeably less safe on day 301 than the were on day 300, but year after year they were far less safe than they had been.

And it probably worked the same on Conception. ‘This is safe to do despite the rules because nothing bad has happened.’ Until it does, and all the procedures and things that are supposed to catch it have been removed.
 
‘This is safe to do despite the rules because nothing bad has happened.’
I recently read an analysis of the response to Covid-19 and it had a similar conclusion. It is a common psychological phenomenon.

In many cases, when you do something you are warned not to do, you get instant negative feedback. As a child, you are told not to touch a hot stove, and if you do anyway, you get an instant reminder of the rule As an adult, you are told not to violate laws against speeding, and you may get away with it for awhile, but speeding tickets remind you to follow the laws. With Covid-19, people tell you to wear a mask, but if you don't, the odds are you will be just fine for quite some time, especially in a rural area without a lot of travel and crowded conditions, places like North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa. Those states had almost no cases for the first months of the pandemic, so they thought wearing a mask is unnecessary because they didn't see negative feedback. Today, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa are #1, #2, and #3 in per capita Covid-19 cases in the USA.

A few years ago I read the story of a cave diver who felt the rule of thirds was unnecessary in high flow caves, since the flow would typically bring you out with half your gas. So he regularly dived solo while reserving far less, until he was found dead and out of air deep in the cave.
 
Here in the USA, DAN America pays out for whatever your primary insurance does not cover. When I got bent, when I checked into the hospital, they took my Medicare card, my secondary insurance card, and my DAN card. I had to fill out a special form for DAN. I got 3 days of treatment, and I didn't pay a dime. I never got any kind of a statement from DAN, and since I wasn't billed for anything I didn't look particularly hard at anything else. I got the sense, though, that DAN did not pay anything, because my regular insurance covered it all.
 
This wasn't the 1st live aboard dive boat with a similar charging station and a similar amount of batteries being charged at once. So, why this one??

My understanding is that another Truth boat had a battery incident during the day with people around and it was immediately dealt with, since it was no big deal no one thought of the larger implications.

The 2nd issue is obviously: where was the night watch person. Was there specific training to that person to be aware of battery related fire risks? If there was: then that person-the night watch person-needs to be charged criminally. If there wasn't then the owners of the company and boat captain have more liability.

The last person up ( night watch?) checked the galley/lounge 30 min before they discovered the fire. If that person was on watch and went to the bridge, had a cup of coffee and checked the ship position, instead of going to sleep, events may not have changed as there was no way to see that area of the boat from the bridge.

From how the skipper read and interpreted the regulations ( incorrectly from my view) the crew member sleeping with the passengers was the watch. Secondly, how do you hold the crew responsible when the skipper trains them that these are the proper procedures?

I never threw anyBODY overboard. Just their kit.

Well it isn't like you wouldn't, you see why a person could get confused.
 
Well it isn't like you wouldn't, you see why a person could get confused.
Now my feelings are hurt.
 
Now my feelings are hurt.

Oh, awright, just let 'em walk the plank on their own. Or perhaps pull them back in later, as in keelhauling?
 


A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Several off-topic posts discussing Covid have been removed.
 
Voting occurs Tuesday December 8. It’s likely to get passed, but it has been threatened to get vetoed.

The families request that those who support the Small Passenger Vessel Safety Act which is included in the NDAA to please call your local representatives and let them know a fellow diver would like updated safety measures. It currently has support on both sides of the aisle, but every voice helps. Staffers love to hear from their constituents and can answer any questions you may have. The more input received across the country, the better.



State leaders announce Conception Boat Safety Bill included in Defense Bill
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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