Diver dies at Molokai on Maui dive boat

[scubadada]

I wouldn't think that a boat would take me where the chance of dying was very high

 

[Dan]

What I mean is if I'm not feeling good that day from the motion sickness after sailing through 10-12' wave and I know that I will go through a lot of stress to get in the boat under such situation, I will thumb the dive.

In August I went through similar situation in trying to wreck diving of Texas Clipper, 17 miles off the coast from South Padre. Some people got sick from the rough sea. The weather was getting worse & the captain decided to cancel the second dive for the safety of everyone.

 

[scubadada]

I go out if the boat goes out. I trust the operation and the captain to make a reasonable judgement.

 

[KevinNM]

I wouldn't think that a boat would take me where the chance of dying was very high

What "very high"? You have money, appropriate card and don't appear incompetent you can dive the Andrea Doria and go get some china. Hope you really do know what you are doing.

 

[RainPilot]

I go out if the boat goes out. I trust the operation and the captain to make a reasonable judgement.

This is SUCH a hard line for me to walk often. Where is the line between a "trust-me" dive and utilizing the judgement of local experts? Often there are conditions that I just dont know about and then I hope the skipper / guides know what they are doing. If I didn't I'd end up diving one site for the rest of my life.

My kinda-solution to this is to use my judgement to figure out as much as i can about the expert's approach, mindset and attitude. After that if i trust his opinion then I go with it in the absence of any red flags for myself.

 

[scubadada]

I go out if the boat goes out. I trust the operation and the captain to make a reasonable judgement.

This is SUCH a hard line for me to walk often. Where is the line between a "trust-me" dive and utilizing the judgement of local experts? Often there are conditions that I just dont know about and then I hope the skipper / guides know what they are doing. If I didn't I'd end up diving one site for the rest of my life.

My kinda-solution to this is to use my judgement to figure out as much as i can about the expert's approach, mindset and attitude. After that if i trust his opinion then I go with it in the absence of any red flags for myself.

I do most of my diving in SE FL. Especially in late fall, winter, and early spring, the wind and waves can be high and less predictable. I mainly dive with 5 operators out of three inlets, as Boynton Beach Inlet is most affected by conditions followed by Jupiter and then West Palm. I depend on the operators to decide if it is safe to go out, trust their judgement and adjust my plans as needed. If the operator is not going out in West Palm, I know it is a day for a long ride on my bike.

 

[BFRedrocks]

FWIW, I dove with Lahaina Divers last week and did the Hammerhead Dive last Tuesday. While I agree it was an advanced dive in 8-10 ft swells and decent current (at least a few of us got sick on the boat), I thought the crew (including Michelle) was very professional and safety conscious. They made it perfectly clear that this was a difficult dive that required all divers to pay attention to the crew to enter and exit the water safely, which all 16 of us did. I did not know about the fatality until just now, and obviously nothing was mentioned about it while I was diving with them, but having that knowledge beforehand may (and I repeat, may) have changed my mind about this site. We did see two hammerheads during the dives, so all was not lost, despite the generally rough seas.

I should also point out though that once under the surface, the conditions were similar to that of any other typical tropical dive...max depth of 70 ft, about 80-100 ft visibility, light current, decent marine life.

 

[Cert1967]

Browsing this thread and the news, I find Lahaina Divers lack of response to be troubling. A diver perished on their boat and this alone should have triggered a public response from a well-established dive charter operation. Litigation aside, an acknowledgment of the event, condolences to all involved and a wait-and-see until all investigations are complete would - in some form - would have been in order and the right thing to do.

It would seem that LD missed the boat by not having a crisis management plan in place. The flow chart for crisis management is simple, have a plan in place, litigation aware, accountability, single point of contact (staff does not comment individually), organizational buy-in, open with the public and media (bad news always gets out), and tell everyone what you are doing to make sure your operation is as safe as possible. LD's staff text messages - which they had to know would become public - surely didn't help their cause.

LD seems to have followed the "ostrich" approach, while their employees spoke up on the web. Post something once and its persistence negates deletion, without regard to the communication being public or private. To some extent, it seems to have been superficially successful. The original TA posting - "Diver Death on Molokai Hammerhead Charter" - as of today is alive as a Google search, but returns a 404 error on TA. A quick search of MauiNow and Maui News - nothing found - perhaps the Maui journalists are waiting for official reports.

I'm curious as to the USCG reporting requirements for the incident. Someone with more knowledge would have to advise on the relationship of tonnage, passengers, charter operation, and uninspected passenger vessel status. LD's website states that their boats, "Dominion and Dauntless are 46 feet in length and were built ... by Newton Boats. Each vessel ... is USCG certified. We take a max of 24 divers on each vessel." What tonnage are the boats? As I read the regs, the boats can't be UPV as they carry more than 12 passengers. Are the reporting standards related to the captains' license requirements? In this case, it would seem a Masters License would be required as there are more than 6 passengers? Near coastal or inland license for Hawaiian waters? Does the status of a captain's license or operational area dictate reporting requirements or just the size of the boat?

A quick search of Layman v Lahaina Divers reveals, “Both the Dauntless and the Dominion are required to have a Coast Guard certificate of inspection indicating that they are certified to carry passengers for hire.”, Layman v. Lahaina Divers, Inc., Civ. No. 12-00602 ACK-BMK (D. Haw. May. 28, 2014). Is this significant to USCG reporting requirements? Does it trigger a CG-2692 filing?

Does this event reach the threshold reporting requirements outlined in the USCG's publication, "How do I report a Marine Casualty?" What is the significance of 50 and 100 tonnage measures to the incident? The death would trigger the reporting requirement if it does. Drug and alcohol testing would also be required within a tight time frame.

"Verify that you have been involved in a “Reportable” Marine Casualty as listed on the front of this brochure or 46 CFR 4.05-1. Determine if it is a Serious Marine Incident as listed in this brochure or 46 CFR 4.03-2"

"Submit a written report in Form CG-2692 (Report of Marine Accident, Injury or Death)"

"Bottom line: Reporting of Marine Casualties should be within minutes of stabilizing the emergency situation onboard."​

"Coast Guard regulations currently require marine employers to take all practical steps after a Serious Marine Incident to have each individual engaged or employed on board a vessel in commercial service, who is directly involved in the incident, chemically tested for evidence of drug and alcohol use."

"CG-2692. Some of the casualty information collected on this form may be made available for public inspection; however, information collected is protected from use in civil litigation per 46 U.S.C. §6308."
​

UP thread some have opined that waiting for governmental agency reports is the best course of action. Perhaps a valid comment, if the reports are ever to become publically available. Perhaps there isn't a reporting requirement? While this undoubtedly fails in light of the 24-hour news cycle, it surely fails the reality test that individual speculation will run rampant in absence of hard information. LD's silence has reinforced speculation. Divers have no doubt benefited from discussions of mixed rec/tec charters and remote dive location risks raised in this thread. The, "let's wait and see what comes out officially", perhaps will never yield information.

In addition to a possible USCG report, there may be police reports, HI state agency reporting requirements, and coroner reports. In Colorado, corner reports are public records, HI?

Crisis Management, anyone?

If LD is required to file USCG reports they should discoverable under the 1966 Freedom of Information Act. Requests may be addressed to,

• 
  COMMANDANT (CG-611)
  ATTN FOIA OFFICER
  US COAST GUARD STOP 7710
  2703 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE SE
  WASHINGTON DC 20593-7710.

**********************
CFR Title 46

http://tinyurl.com/j3rhkgl​

CG-2692

http://tinyurl.com/grnbay3​

 

[KevinNM]

According to the captain of the last dive boat I was on, tonage of US vessels is almost infinitely gameable. It's based on how many bales of cotton you can fit, but there are lots of exceptions and other ways to game it.

 

[archer1960]

...


I'm curious as to the USCG reporting requirements for the incident. Someone with more knowledge would have to advise on the relationship of tonnage, passengers, charter operation, and uninspected passenger vessel status. LD's website states that their boats, "Dominion and Dauntless are 46 feet in length and were built ... by Newton Boats. Each vessel ... is USCG certified. We take a max of 24 divers on each vessel." What tonnage are the boats? As I read the regs, the boats can't be UPV as they carry more than 12 passengers. Are the reporting standards related to the captains' license requirements? In this case, it would seem a Masters License would be required as there are more than 6 passengers? Near coastal or inland license for Hawaiian waters? Does the status of a captain's license or operational area dictate reporting requirements or just the size of the boat?

...

I'm not super familiar with the requirements, but I'm guessing they'd probably require a 100 ton Master's license.