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

[Jay]

Regardless of the franchisee contract details, Aggressor (the company) and the CEO, Wayne Brown, are seen to have some degree of responsibility as to how 'their' boats are designed and operated AND there are multiple ways they can check that which are readily available; e.g. online customer reviews that go straight to Aggressor, as suggested above have a 'customer' stay, use the on-board video camera system randomly uploads fire-watch pics / have them stored and sent when on wifi etc. Design factors, check those out prior to franchising or insist on rectification when renewing the franchise. Just ideas - there's tonnes more ... you get the drift; where there's a will there's a way.

When I LOB now, I open/close/climb through every escape hatch, regardless of which cabin I'm in. I check if any door to/from a hatch might/can be locked/blocked, check if something could fall on a hatch and block it etc ...

I suggest we all do it, and be a little (politely) vocal with our findings. One way or another we can help invoke change.

 

[Dan]

I much prefer a dedicated, waterproof light. My little torch is quite bright and can thus be seen from a respectable distance, and has a three hour burn time. I perceive its value to be greater as a means for me to be found on the surface at night as opposed to using it to help navigate aboard a blacked-out vessel. Mine has a bolt snap attached so I can clip it to my ditch bag, a line/lanyard, or other location as the need arises. I keep my bag sealed and ready to make a hasty exit, and I don’t wish to open it to retrieve anything until I’m safely out of the water.

After reading the book about the Dancer I always keep a flashlight on the doorknob of my room. A lanyard works well and will keep it on your wrist if necessary.

The 55 lumen, waterproof to 58m depth Hollis keychain dive light came in. It looks pretty bright & solid to me. So I clip it to my ditch bag.

Hanging the ditch bag kit by the door knob is a good idea.

 

[labdogs13]

You should tell us all here, otherwise, your motives do not look good.

Why would you only want to share information like that to one person? Information like this needs to be seen by all!!

 

[John Bantin]

What a contrast to the way Blue O Two handled the problem after we had to abandon ship when Blue Melody caught fire! They could not be faulted. I suggest you send your story to me: john@undercurrent.org - so that we can let even more people know of your experience.

I've just realised that the same person (Ahmed Fadel) was Dive Manager for Blue O Two on Blue Melody, as is now GM for Aggressor Fleet in the Red Sea. The difference must be the companies.

 

[Antho]

Hi, I just posted the video I took when we jumped from the RSA1 boat on fire. Second part of the video is when I am in the zodiac that rescued us.

 

[Late in Life Diver]

Aggressor website statement very misleading.

I have been a regular customer on the aggressor fleet for several years. Yesterday I went to the site to make plans for my next dive trip. When I read the statement at the top of the website, my initial reaction was that a diver was lost perhaps during a dive. There is no mention of a fire, the loss of the ship, and the traumatic events that followed for the passengers. There is virtually no details in the US news either, with the exception of scuba dive related websites. I only learned of the actual events from a friend. I then went to scubaboard, to find further details, including statements from actual survivors.

Whilel I understand that it is prudent to withhold some details until all of the facts are known, I find it absolutely disgusting that aggressor continues to omit this key FACT of this tragedy.

As for a watch system during the night, I am also a sailor and have crewed on Many ocean crossings. We always had 24 hour watch. At night, the watch was usually limited to only two hours especially during the late night hours between one and 5 PM. This would allow the crew to obtain sufficient sleep and do the regular work during the day. A single crewmember does not have to be trained to cover all aspects of the ship, but would monitor various systems including engines and generators. If a serious problem was noted, they would wake up the appropriate skilled crewmember.

As for carbon monoxide detectors, we tested them on a weekly basis, and these tests were logged on maintenance sheets.

on my last aggressor, in the Grand Cayman, all the lifejackets were kept on the dive deck. At the time, I did not think much of this, but now I realize that jackets should be in the cabins as well. Based on the stories by the survivors, They were unable to get to that area. The lifejackets have lights, which would’ve aided in recovery of the passengers and crew in the water.

I would like to thank everybody who supplied information about having a grab bag or at least a small waterproof pouch with critical items such as passports and credit cards. I plan to make one up for my next LiveAboard trip.

in my opinion, aggressor needs to think hard about their next step. First, they need to be forthcoming and admit all the known facts about this tragedy. Second, once the facts are obtained, they need an affective plan to ensure the safety of all their crew and passengers. personally, I do not intend to die with him again, until this happens.

It is clear, that aggressor continues to just want the story to go away, rather than take responsibility for what happened, and make the necessary changes to ensure that it will never happen again.

 

[DandyDon]

I've just realised that the same person (Ahmed Fadel) was Dive Manager for Blue O Two on Blue Melody, as is now GM for Aggressor Fleet in the Red Sea. The difference must be the companies.

That looks like a common name for the area. You sure it's the same person?

 

[John Bantin]

That looks like a common name for the area. You sure it's the same person?

I sent a photo to one of the RSA passengers for confirmation. Ahmed Fadel says the police have told him not to talk to anyone before they finish their investigation.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I sent a photo to one of the RSA passengers for confirmation. Ahmed Fadel says the police have told him not to talk to anyone before they finish their investigation.

So, the link is same guy, different company but ends up with burned lob?

 

[Anthias]

I'm coming to this thread late and then I accidentally put it on the new thread about smoke alarms. My apologies.

I'd like to add some information. First, my deepest sympathies to all; to the divers that were on the boat and went through such a horrible experience, and the crew and owners of the Red Sea Aggressor, going through their own nightmare, whether they are responsible or not.

I had a group on the Red Sea Aggressor I six weeks ago. We were on the boat for 2 weeks and had a wonderful time.

I had just gotten off the Vision, the sister ship of the Conception, just a couple of days before she burned. We would have normally been on the Conception, but scheduling didn't work out. We know the crew and owner of the Conception well, so when we heard about it while we were in Cairo, we learned as much as we could. We were devastated, for everyone concerned, as we had nothing but respect and confidence in Glen and the crew of the Conception and know they all were in agony over the loss of so many people on their boat.
So when we got on the Aggressor, just two days later, what had happened on the Conception was VERY MUCH on our minds. So I want to make it very clear. The crew, including the boat hosts, dive guides, the stewards, and deck hands all knew about the Conception because we all talked about it. At the safety briefing, I specifically asked about the three things and I said I was asking because of the Conception fire. I asked about the three same questions that were swirling about with the Conception. Where was the escape hatch for the lower deck. They'd already told us, but we went over it again. Were there fire alarms? Yes, and they had just been serviced. Was there a night watchman? At all times. I was very clear we were all very upset by the Conception tragedy and we wanted to be sure. So yes, the crew most definitely knew about the Conception. Sorry I didn't write this list earlier.

So, the escape hatch on the lower deck is in a cabin. It was most definitely was there before the Conception fire, so that is a total rumor. Two group members tried it and it wasn't great. It exits into the crew cabin on the main deck, so when they tried it, a bag or something was on top of it. Knowing how hard the escape hatch was on the Conception (it was all up to code and compliant with all regulations), the one on the Red Sea Aggressor was definitely better, but still not great. Obviously, for the folks on the Aggressor, it worked better for them than the one on the Conception.

Did the fire alarms work? They said they had just been inspected. But from here on out, whenever I have a charter, I will be asking for confirmation of functioning fire alarms. Were there enough alarms to be effective? That I don't know, but I will be looking at that much more now. That is one of the problems with the Conception fire, from what I understand. On the Conception, I believe that on the lower deck, there was only one alarm in each aisle and it was halfway down the aisle; far away from the exit staircase. All up to regulations, but perhaps not effective enough to be triggered and wake people up in time to escape a fast moving boat fire.

They said they had a night watchman. I didn't get up at night to see and really, how many of us do? Do you really look for them everywhere; in the engine room or the galley, all places off limits to passengers? So I won't jump to my own conclusions about that. But I had one group member who got ill (other reasons) and spent time in the salon trying to sleep, moving about, etc. He "usually saw the mechanic/engineer on watch". His words. So some other information to chew on.

Was the boat in good repair? I'd say pretty much, yes. We did have a couple of things go wrong with our AC cutting out and a rather temperamental hot water system. But otherwise, the boat was fine and the crew was great. It's an Aggressor, a mid-priced boat, so not the top of the line for luxury or spaciousness. I've been on worse Aggressors and better. But the service could not be faulted.

That ill group member ended up in the hospital, and I have to say that Ahmed, who is the manager of the Hurghada office for the Aggressor, not an owner, was a life send to me helping me with this man in the hospital. He visited him every single day and kept communications working for all of us. He also got Egypt Air to change his tickets for no fee to get him back to Cairo and home. The owner, David Home, contacted me almost every day and came and spoke with me in person about the care of this individual. Given my own personal experience with both these men in a very stressful situation, I read other reports and understand the stress and dismay that all are under.

All this is way too close to me for comfort and has led to a lot of thought. I do feel that regulations - given the probable cause of the Conception fire from battery chargers, the difficulty of the 2nd escape hatch on almost all boats, the smoke alarm issues on both boats, and the very good chance that a night watchman had fallen asleep - need to be changed. That is going to be really hard to make happen. Making a better escape hatch could cause major redesign on most boats and the boat would lose a cabin. Are you willing to pay more for safety? So in the meantime, I think we all, as consumers, need to ask those questions every time we get on a boat. Where is the escape hatch and then go see it and try it. Take a few minutes and do it. Give them feedback if it's hard and make it realistic feedback. Ask about the smoke alarms and ask for them to be tested (if that is possible). At least it puts them on the spot and lets them know they better get it together. Ditto with the night watchman. Ask about it. Ask where you could find someone if you needed them. Ask the schedule of the nightwatchman or doing a walk about the boat. Again, you put them on notice. Don't just think about your dive gear and setting up your camera. Take the time to guard your own safety.

The power we all have, as consumers, is immense, if we get together and do this. Be educated divers and ask questions. Fires on boats are bad and they spread fast. But there are things that should be there to protect us. We should ask questions ask about them and we need to know about them. We can push for change while regulations grind their way slowly to improving.