Fire on safari boat Suzana in Egypt (Red Sea Aggressor)

[ReefHound]

Unless my passport is going to be stored in a safe back at the port on land, I think I'd rather have it my own possession to keep in a small drybag to go. The passport is just one of the many items I'd have in there for emergency evac.

 

[nippurmagnum]

Nope, not buying that. They market these trips under their brand, and people recognize the brand name. They may share responsibility with the owner, but they are still responsible.

I completely agree. Check out the Aggressor webpage, which as of 30 seconds ago still offers trips on the Red Sea Aggressor I and claims that what makes their trip different is that it's a "5 star yacht" providing "Aggressor service." So is there such a thing as "Aggressor service," or not? Is it just meaningless marketing fluff that only saps should fall for?

The Aggressor response to this fire so far seems limited to (1) blaming the death of the one diver on the diver herself, and (2) keeping their head down. The first-hand accounts of the divers on the Aggressor thus far have been uniformly gut-wrenching. Not a single person has come forward to say that the Aggressor company rose to the occasion.

 

[Mike Walker]

Not a single person has come forward to say that the Aggressor company rose to the occasion.

Whaddya mean? There was "complimentary beer and wine".... apparently...



(What red best compliments the smell of burning PVC?)

 

[Concerneddiver]

Is there a reason you are double posting many hours apart and not sharing the inside information with all of us?
Fire on safari boat Suzana in Egypt (Red Sea Aggressor)

Yes there is a reason this has to be done legally and thru the correct channels to get justice. I can’t put things in the open at the moment. Need to protect my legal position as well. I would like to get in touch with the family of the departed and their lawyers and give them the plethora of information I have on Aggressors disregard for safety and diligence.

 

[Dan]

Some of the things I learnt from this accident so far are:
1. To bring along a small dry pouch with string to hang it around my neck, containing my iPhone, a credit card and passport, put the pouch next to me during napping / sleeping in the cabin.
2. To bring along portable smoke detector in addition to the CO detector and turn them on during the night.
3. To remember where the life jacket is located inside the cabin and how to reach for it in the dark.
4. To locate emergency hatch and try to open it once after emergency briefing.

Any other things / actions I should add?

 

[Mike Walker]

It's also worth noting that most modern phones are water resistant for short periods at shallow depths. Whether protected or not, bring your phone with you if you need to abandon ship. It will probably survive floating with you at the surface.

It's not a PLB but I've been suprised how often I've had a cell signal in remote areas, including the aforementioned red sea trip. It'll certainly be valuable when you get back to shore regardless.

(worst case - it makes a decent signal mirror...)

 

[Dogbowl]

It's also worth noting that most modern phones are water resistant for short periods at shallow depths. Whether protected or not, bring your phone with you if you need to abandon ship. It will probably survive floating with you at the surface.

It's not a PLB but I've been suprised how often I've had a cell signal in remote areas, including the aforementioned red sea trip.

That is true. We got signals in North Raja Ampat as well.

 

[Dive&Bike]

Even as the reports in English so far are scarce, on the German Taucher.net there now is another first hand account that corraborates the account on this board, all the way to the abysmal treatment by Aggressor... the story stands and won‘t go away!

 

[nippurmagnum]

Whaddya mean? There was "complimentary beer and wine".... apparently...

(What red best compliments the smell of burning PVC?)

The Egyptian owned/operated liveaboard I did in the Red Sea in September was about $500 cheaper than the Aggressor, and on board my boat, beer and wine cost $3 a pop. I don't like to drink on liveaboards so I had exactly one beer the whole week. I would have needed to drink 166 more beers before the Aggressor would have been worth the upcharge.

 

[DavidFL]

Any other things / actions I should add?

I know this is overkill, but I have an Iridium satellite phone for other reasons; I take it on LOB trips; the model I have has some water resistance, but I keep it in a Light Monkey canister together with my ditch/dry bag.