Egyptian LOB sank

[Cornbread O'Malley]

Would the number of LOB sinking / fire change your decision on LOB going forward?

The incidents do make me more aware of the environment of the liveaboard I'm on, but I prepare mentally by making notes of and remembering the safety features of the boat and mentally preparing should I need to exit in a hurry. I'm booked for a liveaboard excursion in Thailand in April 2025 and have several more in the works for the year.

 

[Centrals]

In my opinion the boat accidents in Thailand are less relevant as they almost always overload the passenger boats or day trip boats, and there is almost no security measures.

What worries me more is the number of LOB accidents with divers losing equipment. Of course news articles always make things look worse than they are (I'm sure chance of losing something on a LOB is much lower than being stolen something on the street).

Would the number of LOB sinking / fire change your decision on LOB going forward?

No.

Accident is unavoidable most of the time but the impact could be less severe if certain precautionary steps are planned/taken ahead. Alway amazed me when I saw passengers wearing high heel shoes or flip flop in flight.
Losing diving equipment is my least concern because the travel insurance should cover some of the cost.
LoB is slightly difference from land based diving trip. Really need to plan ahead on the escape route and the location of life jacket. Common sense.

 

[Adr1an]

Frankly I believe that on Egypt LoB passports should be left at the harbor office just before sailing out. There is zero need for them onboard as boats never leave Egyptian waters and sailing permits are processed the evening before the boat actually sails out. Boat should keep photocopies "just in case" and that's it.

 

[Lu Y]

Frankly I believe that on Egypt LoB passports should be left at the harbor office just before sailing out. There is zero need for them onboard as boats never leave Egyptian waters and sailing permits are processed the evening before the boat actually sails out. Boat should keep photocopies "just in case" and that's it.

If people really believe the risk of passport getting wet / lost is so high, is it really worth doing a LOB in Egypt? For us the only sites that cannot be reaches by day boat is St John (we are not interested in BDE as there are better places to see sharks around the world imo)

 

[Bookworm11]

Absolutely it figures into my decision. And that's why this upcoming trip, my second time to the Red Sea, I am going diving on land again. I read about the safety record of Red Sea liveaboards. I love to dive, but I don't need to dive 5 times a day at 67. I am a lawyer, and I always think cautiously. I've never done a liveaboard, and I'm doing my first this January when I travel to Raja Ampat to dive on the Velocean with my local dive shop. Perhaps I will do a Red Sea liveaboard at a later date, but you can sure bet I will check out the specs very carefully.

 

[Adr1an]

If people really believe the risk of passport getting wet / lost is so high, is it really worth doing a LOB in Egypt? For us the only sites that cannot be reaches by day boat is St John (we are not interested in BDE as there are better places to see sharks around the world imo)

It's not that high if you consider the huge number of Red sea liveaboards and you compare it with the number of incidents that required ships to be abandoned. But it's not zero either, while carrying passports on a boat that never leaves Egyptian waters during the trip makes zero sense.

 

[Cornbread O'Malley]

...there are better places to see sharks around the world imo...

I'm interested in knowing. Please do enlighten me!

 

[Lu Y]

I'm interested in knowing. Please do enlighten me!

Fuvahmulah and shark point near Male in Maldives

 

[Pearlman]

The videos of Oceanic White Tips from the Red Sea are some of the best I’ve seen. Are there other places where you can see them like that?

 

[Jai Bar]

Fuvahmulah and shark point near Male in Maldives

Nah, although one can see dozens of sharks in the maldives, however sleek and beautiful, you can generalize them as "coward sharks"- they do keep a distance and scare away from bubbles.

Diving with a group of Longimanusses in Egypt is a different story- these dudes are anything but cowards. They like it close and personal, they bump into you, rub against you and keep constantly checking you out- from a safe distance of a few inches...

At times you can be surrounded by several curious oceanic white tips, and I do not think there are many shark dives as exhilarating and frightening at the same time as Egypt's oceanics.

Unforgettable, remarkable, amazing.