Vessel Indo Siren Fire?

[pjbonacum]

I've been rebooked on a boat called the Hatiku to replace the Indo Siren.

Dancing Wind Adventures

Hatiku & Dancing Wind team were created by a desire to build and manage the best liveaboard in for divers experiences Indonesian waters.

www.hatiku-adventures.com

Are you re-booked in Dec or sometime in 2024? And is this a one-off or were all booked passengers on your planned trip re-booked as a group? We were scheduled on the Indo Siren for a Jan 9-19, 2024 trip. Communication is currently limited to a statement from Master Liveaboards that they are looking for an acceptable vessel to replace the Indo Siren for the January trip.

 

[Scared Silly]

We spent a week on the Indo Siren in 2017 diving Komodo. Regardless of the boat always a bummer to see one go down. It will be interesting to learn of the cause of the fire.

It has been long enough ago I do not remember all of the safety drills that were done on the Indo Siren. One of the last boats we were on our cabin had one true exit into the galley area. As our cabin had a large exterior window I noted that they needed to have a window breaker tool in the room so to have second exit. Has it been needed I could have broken the window.

I will have to say that Siren/Master fleet has certainly had their share of incidents. That is certainly of concern. However, the one thing that to my knowledge each passenger has been well taken care after the fact. One cannot say that about the major industry operator.

I have added some context to each of the incidents.

2009 - Sampai Jumpa sunk after hit by a freighter - struck from the rear by a freighter
2011 - Mandarin Siren went down in flames - dryer fire
2012 - Oriental Siren hull crack & sunk - hit unseen object
2015 - Truk Siren ran aground, looted & burnt - driven on to the reef by a Typhoon Maysak
2015 - Palau Siren ran agound, repaired - hit reef due to poor seamanship
2017 - Fiji Siren hit something & sunk - hit unseen object
2023 - Indo Siren burnt to water level - currently unknown cause.

Regarding the "hit unseen object" one of the biggest issues for small boats are shipping containers that have fallen off ships. They tend to float just below the waterline. Hitting those are rather catastrophic.

The 2015 Typhoon Maysak also damaged the Truk Odyssey. Neither had passengers on board.

 

[jabc]

Are you re-booked in Dec or sometime in 2024? And is this a one-off or were all booked passengers on your planned trip re-booked as a group? We were scheduled on the Indo Siren for a Jan 9-19, 2024 trip. Communication is currently limited to a statement from Master Liveaboards that they are looking for an acceptable vessel to replace the Indo Siren for the January trip.

They rebooked me for the original December 18-28 dates. When I asked about other options, they said I could take a later trip to Raja or another destination, or a general credit with no expiry date.

I decided to go for it, and at this point nine of the original passengers have confirmed. Same dive guides, cruise director and deck hands from the Siren, with the Hatiku crew, who know the boat.

They are still working on this departure, and in the next 24 hours should have it locked down.

 

[pjbonacum]

They rebooked me for the original December 18-28 dates. When I asked about other options, they said I could take a later trip to Raja or another destination, or a general credit with no expiry date.

I decided to go for it, and at this point nine of the original passengers have confirmed. Same dive guides, cruise director and deck hands from the Siren, with the Hatiku crew, who know the boat.

They are still working on this departure, and in the next 24 hours should have it locked down.

Thanks for the update. We are still in the communication void with "looking for another boat" being the total message. Still have the rest of December to get the status of our early January booking. Hope you have a great trip.

 

[Scared Silly]

We spent a week on the Indo Siren in 2017 diving Komodo. Regardless of the boat always a bummer to see one go down. It will be interesting to learn of the cause of the fire.

It has been long enough ago I do not remember all of the safety drills that were done on the Indo Siren. One of the last boats we were on our cabin had one true exit into the galley area. As our cabin had a large exterior window I noted that they needed to have a window breaker tool in the room so to have second exit. Has it been needed I could have broken the window.

I will have to say that Siren/Master fleet has certainly had their share of incidents. That is certainly of concern. However, the one thing that to my knowledge each passenger has been well taken care after the fact. One cannot say that about the major industry operator.

I have added some context to each of the incidents.

2009 - Sampai Jumpa sunk after hit by a freighter - struck from the rear by a freighter
2011 - Mandarin Siren went down in flames - dryer fire
2012 - Oriental Siren hull crack & sunk - hit unseen object
2015 - Truk Siren ran aground, looted & burnt - driven on to the reef by a Typhoon Maysak
2015 - Palau Siren ran agound, repaired - hit reef due to poor seamanship
2017 - Fiji Siren hit something & sunk - hit unseen object
2023 - Indo Siren burnt to water level - currently unknown cause.

Regarding the "hit unseen object" one of the biggest issues for small boats are shipping containers that have fallen off ships. They tend to float just below the waterline. Hitting those are rather catastrophic.

The 2015 Typhoon Maysak also damaged the Truk Odyssey. Neither had passengers on board.

The original list missed this one:

2023 - Bahama Master hit from behind - reportedly the AIS wasn't broadcasting its position

 

[Dan]

The original list missed this one:

Nope. I was specifically referring to The Siren Fleet ONLY.

 

[scubafanatic]

I'd be curious as to how the trips were advertised, and how clear the difference was to passengers...and of course, where this was and whether you had frugal local divers or dive tourists as the main customer base.

Yet All Star Liveaboards has both Blackbeards cruises and the AquaCat in the Bahamas.

A number of locales, such as the Galapagos and Raja Ampat (and based on other's trip reports, Komodo) have a range of price level niches.

Back before the Conception disaster, Truth Aquatics' boat the Vision ran both regular and some limited load (i.e.: reduced max. customer number) trips. Enjoyed my not-full limited load trip; wouldn't want to've done a fully packed regular trip.

From your reputation on ScubaBoard, I'm confident even the cheaper boat was safe enough, given your management position over it. I can swat a few mosquitos going and coming to save money. You might would'a had me at free soda...if it was Coke Zero or Diet Coke.

Frank is quite correct, we are NOT talking about "a few mosquitos", more like 'Plagues of Egypt' level mosquitos, not to mention all the horrific tropical diseases they carry!

 

[Howard Baker]

One of my dive buddies took a trip on the Indo Siren shortly before it burned. She wrote an article for our local dive club newsletter about the trip and her observations of the safety precautions on the boat. I was also supposed to be on the trip, but I broke a leg and had to cancel.

Read it here: 2023-12 Buoy Tender.pdf

Thank you for the link. The report echos my views entirely on the professionalism of the Indo Siren crew from my trip in February this year.

 

[SSDO]

Been diving for quite a number of years, military and pleasure diving in many areas of the world. Spent 21 years as a Coast Guard Officer diving and driving ships from the Arctic to the Antarctic and many, many places in between, diving on and off the job as a Ship Salvage Diving Officer… and for over 30 years since retiring.

There are a wide range of opinions here and that’s ok. Here’s mine. My wife and I have been on trips on the Fiji Siren, Palau Siren and Philippine Siren as well as quite a number of dive boats. The Siren crews were always professional in regards to safety, roving night watches, navigation and diving operations.…

Personally have sailed out of everything from bare hulls to luxury boats. The Siren crews were much better than most.

I can say from experience a fire at sea can come from many causes, usually starting in the galley or engine room. Fires are relatively easy to start and devilishly hard to stop. Ships hit each other in the night, sink from hitting submerged objects and many other reasons. It’s the risk one takes when sailing the seas.

Cheers
SSDO sends

btw: Someone can add to their list of mishaps that the Fiji Siren was purposely run aground upriver in Fiji before a incredibly strong cyclone too. Dug out afterwards by the crew with a large backhoe and shovels, refloated and sailed again, until it was sunk two years later.

 

[Dan]

Been diving for quite a number of years, military and pleasure diving in many areas of the world. Spent 21 years as a Coast Guard Officer diving and driving ships from the Arctic to the Antarctic and many, many places in between, diving on and off the job as a Ship Salvage Diving Officer… and for over 30 years since retiring.

There are a wide range of opinions here and that’s ok. Here’s mine. My wife and I have been on trips on the Fiji Siren, Palau Siren and Philippine Siren as well as quite a number of dive boats. The Siren crews were always professional in regards to safety, roving night watches, navigation and diving operations.…

Personally have sailed out of everything from bare hulls to luxury boats. The Siren crews were much better than most.

I can say from experience a fire at sea can come from many causes, usually starting in the galley or engine room. Fires are relatively easy to start and devilishly hard to stop. Ships hit each other in the night, sink from hitting submerged objects and many other reasons. It’s the risk one takes when sailing the seas.

Cheers
SSDO sends

btw: Someone can add to their list of mishaps that the Fiji Siren was purposely run aground upriver in Fiji before a incredibly strong cyclone too. Dug out afterwards by the crew with a large backhoe and shovels, refloated and sailed again, until it was sunk two years later.

Welcome to Scubaboard!

Yep, sh!t happens. Our yacht got stuck on uncharted pinnacle near Siaba Besar, Komodo. The unmarked pinnacle (sea mount) is around 1.5m depth at that time and is located just past from a deeper region (white zone) with the nearest depth mark of 86m to blue zone (shallower region) with the nearest depth mark of 16m. No marker buoy or beacon (such as danger cardinal or west cardinal mark) was posted in the navigation chart to warn ships for navigating from 86m to the anchor point, passing through the blue zone of 16m.

The yacht came to a halt when its propellers hit the unmarked pinnacle. Its crews managed to lift the yacht off the unmarked pinnacle by inflating airbags and buoyancy bags between the hull and the unmarked pinnacle. A fisherman boat towed the yacht to Labuan Bajo and later on a tow boat towed it to Jakarta for repair.