Dive Boat Fire Belize

[emtgirl86]

Hello there everyone. I only knew bits and pieces about this when I was on the Nekton Pilot. I surfaced from a dive and saw some think black smoke....I went up and talked to the Captain. He was able to tell me the name and knew that it was a dive boat. I later heard that everyone made it off okay. We were too far out of position to render aid and still had divers in the water. All I can say is that it was a pretty crazy site to come out of the water and see a boat on fire. From what I was told is that they saw three explosions, a fire, then it sank. Can anyone confirm this?
Nicole

 

[DandyDon]

I thought I saw something about Amigos Del Mar- Does anyone know if it was from Amigos (in Ambergeris Caye) and if it was, was it the Miss Mel?

From the link in post 6 above...

Amigos del Mar, San Pedro, Belize
A couple of days ago their Pro-48 caught fire and sank inside Lighthouse Atoll whilst transiting between dive sites. No-one was hurt, though a lot of possessions were destroyed.

The other link had more info that I'd noticed before: Dive Boat with 19 Tourists on Board Erupts Into Flame including...

Kathy Mowvley, Passenger on Burning Boat
“The crew noticed a loss of power in one of the engines and then we heard a bang from the engine room, like a fan belt or a pistol going through the engine or something. Grey smoke started coming out and then black smoke.”

Nadine Cote, Passenger on Burning Boat
“I just thought there was engine trouble, didn’t think there was any fire down there. It can happen at anytime anywhere. We weren’t too concerned until we started seeing thick black smoke.”

Pamela Maze, Passenger on Burning Boat
“At first we thought it was just a minor puff of smoke, of fire. We didn’t know there was actual fire until we saw the flames. It was very fast. Basically we were just trying to get as far away from the boat as we could and watching it in flames was quite an experience I have to say but we were more concerned about the safety of everybody around us.”

Keith Swift,
Were you frightened?

Pamela Maze,
“Of course. You are always frightened in that kind of situation. We were more frightened on the boat when the fire started and it happened so quickly. We were just so lucky that the crew was very fast on helping us get on our BCDs and get in the water with out scuba gear.”

David Cote, Passenger on Burning Boat
“We ended up going to the bow of the boat, because the smoke had filled the cabin, and then we started seeing flames coming out of the side of the boat and so the captain started giving everybody life jackets and everybody started jumping off the boat because the boat was engulfed in flames.”

All 19 tourists onboard and 4 crew members safely evacuated the boat and watched from a distance the fire consumed it. The tourists were picked up by a crew from Aqua Dive Shop who had heard the explosion and responded to help.

Julio Perez, Aqua Dive
“They said they overheard an explosion on one of the boats that works out there and they decided to help the divers that were on the boat; rescued them and put them on a dock out there.”

This afternoon - a day after their dance with death – these tourists literally toasted to life. They say it could have been much worse and they are happy they made it out alive.

Pamela Maze,
“The escape was very well organized. Really in that kind of situation, the crew was amazing, got us out safely and everyone around us helped us. It was an incredible situation and normally in a country far away from our home, that was a great experience and of course we would come back anytime.”

Ok, so it was poor reporting, then my misreading. They were given PDFs - gooooooood.

Fire on a boat is a very risky thing. I think I would have hit the water at the first sign of smoke - they went to the bow? :silly:

 

[BubblesUp]

Ok, so it was poor reporting, then my misreading. They were given PDFs - gooooooood.

Not so sure about that. The guy to the left in the second picture in Post #6 is definitely wearing a BCD. Except for the person immediately to his right, there seems to be little sign of the typical, orange PFD.

 

[lamont]

if i could take just one thing off the boat with me when it burned and sank around here it would be my drysuit. PFDs don't keep you warm.

 

[vladimir]

Fire on a boat is a very risky thing. I think I would have hit the water at the first sign of smoke - they went to the bow? :silly:

Don, the boats I usually dive on designate an emergency staging area--either the bow or an upper deck holding the inflatable lifeboat. This allows the crew to take a head count, pass out life preservers, and, if necessary, get people off the boat in an orderly way. It sounds like the passengers and crew evacuated according to procedure.

 

[DandyDon]

Don, the boats I usually dive on designate an emergency staging area--either the bow or an upper deck holding the inflatable lifeboat. This allows the crew to take a head count, pass out life preservers, and, if necessary, get people off the boat in an orderly way. It sounds like the passengers and crew evacuated according to procedure.

Yeah, you're right. The way one guy said they went to the bow cuz the cabin was full of smoke sounded like a delayed abandonment, but maybe not. I have been on small boats that I know did not carry PDFs, one that crossed from Utila to Roatan. I took my own.

 

[Lead_carrier]

BCs are not life preservers. You'd be safer in the water with the PDF that every dive boat should furnish. That could have been inaccurate reporting, but the crew should encourage divers to don PFDs even if they take their inflated BCs with them, and they certainly should be readily available. I'd rather wear my snorkel vest at sea than any BC, and - I would probly have had it on for the crossing.

I still wonder if this respected operator did not have fire extinguishers onboard? Engine fires happen, but were they used?

Was there time? How big was the fire when it was discovered, and how much did it grow by the time they could ? Have you ever tried putting out an oil/diesel fire with a fire extinguisher in calm weather? It isn't the easiest thing that I've ever done. Throw in the wind, difficulty is greatly multiplied. Yes, I have been in the situation to have tried it, fortunately it wasn't on a boat.

Sounds to me like they got the best advice. Leave the boat please, NOW!

 

[DandyDon]

Was there time? How big was the fire when it was discovered, and how much did it grow by the time they could ? Have you ever tried putting out an oil/diesel fire with a fire extinguisher in calm weather? It isn't the easiest thing that I've ever done. Throw in the wind, difficulty is greatly multiplied. Yes, I have been in the situation to have tried it, fortunately it wasn't on a boat.

Sounds to me like they got the best advice. Leave the boat please, NOW!

Yeah, probly so. I tried to find the larger article by channel 7, but I don't think they filed it online. Oil, diesel, and fiberglass is a combination of tender I would not want to stay on long with smoke coming from below. I once surfaced from a dive at St Barths, looked around, saw my dive boat, then saw one burning in the harbor. Not a fun sight even when you're away and know it's not yours. Having yours burning would be pretty personal, being on it or in the water at sea either one - but being off of it ASAP would be preferable for sure.

Anyone know about automatic fire suppression systems for engine compartments? I would think a $700,000 bought should have one?

 

[khacken]

I have been on that boat. It is the Amigos Del Mar takes out to the Blue Hole and the Turneffe Islands. This is not a liveaboard, but instead a large open dive boat. My experience with them was great and they seemed to be concerned about safety. I also seem to remember life jackets being up in the front of the boat. However, this was over a year ago, so I could be wrong.

 

[diverbob]

if i could take just one thing off the boat with me when it burned and sank around here it would be my drysuit. PFDs don't keep you warm.

not a whole lot of dry suit divers in Belize. I dont recall seeing any when I was there in July anyway.