Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[DiveFlyDive]

Even the fancier lobs that I've been on, only had a staircase at one end and a hatch at the other. Ergo, I don't find that unusual. That said, there have been far fewer guests aboard the lobs that I've been aboard.

The last liveaboard I was on had 2 above deck exits (no accommodation below deck) and a large door like emergency exit. It was purposely designed which makes a difference.

 

[beester]

I'm really gutted reading this. I think most of us feel the same way, we've all been on liveaboards, one or the other, it really hits home. I feel for the victims, the crew, the families and friends involved.

I hope a full investigation will get to the bottom of this.

Really really sad!

 

[Scuba-74]

It looked like the shower room wasn't directly connected to the bunks, and was accessed by separate stairs.

That is correct.

 

[hammet]

People are reacting with emotions throughout this thread and that is understandable, up to a point. It seems these boats were quite capable of operating for many years without horrific incidents such as this one.

I think it best to not pass judgment or lay blame until the facts are known.

Given the utter destruction of the wreckage I doubt any valid determination will be made.[/QUOTE]

 

[KevinNM]

Shouldn’t a mayday from a commercial vessel automatically also transmit the vessel name and gps coord to the coast guard?

 

[chillyinCanada]

The last liveaboard I was on had 2 above deck exits (no accommodation below deck) and a large door like emergency exit. It was purposely designed which makes a difference.

Sounds good. Every boat that I've been on, save one, was purpose built. Regardless. . .

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I thought about this incident a lot last night, I really didn’t sleep well. I get up and see it all over the news again.
I’ve been running theories over and over in my mind about what could have caught fire so fast and what could have been an ignition source.
I’m thinking it was a battery in a charger that ignited. The huge fuel source I think was a large grouping of boat coats hanging directly in the area of a battery charging counter. I’ve never been on the Conception, but from a few photos that have been posted I saw boat coats hanging in the gangway into the salon. Boat coats are made 100% out of synthetic material that I seriously doubt have any fire retardant qualities. Maybe someone with prior experience on the Conception can fill us in on the proximity of clothing hanging area and battery charging area?
I don’t know if we are allowed to speculate and discuss yet, if not moderators please delete as you see fit.

 

[JDelage]

This is very sad, and very scary. I can't imagine what those people's last few moments must have been but it's a tragedy.

 

[DrMack]

Shouldn’t a mayday from a commercial vessel automatically also transmit the vessel name and gps coord to the coast guard?

Only if it was a DSC transmission. A voice mayday on channel 16 does not automatically transmit the digital distress information on channel 70 that a press of the DSC button produces.

 

[hammet]

USCG sometimes has the capability to triangulate VHF signals.