Is Egypt Getting an Unfair Reputation When It Comes to Liveaboards?

[TostitoBandito]

I'm unclear on why some people seem to feel like an Egyptian LOB is not safe enough to go on, but a day boat is.

I get that a day boat is unlikely to catch fire and kill you while you're sleeping.

But, it seems like a very real concern is what emergency and search and rescue capabilities are available to help you, no matter when an accident occurs.

Even the day boats can apparently capsize, sink, or whatever. Even burn to the waterline, I suppose.

If your boat capsizes and sinks and you happen to get caught inside for some reason, are you going to be thinking "well, this is okay, because it's just a day boat"?

Yeah I consider liveaboards and shore operators to both share a lot of the same problems caused by extremely low market value, cost cutting, lack of oversight, corruption, etc... With liveaboards obviously you might have more exposure since you're on the boat full time for like a week, but I wouldn't personally be eager to book anything anywhere in the country. Day boats can sink or break just like liveaboards. Oh, and how's their compressor maintenance? I'm sure they're staying on top of that while seeing zero profit from operations. Safety equipment and oxygen on the boats? So on and so forth. All this stuff gets dropped for the same reasons that these liveaboard disasters keep happening.

I just think you're rolling the dice trusting any sort of dive operator there with your safety, unless you do a lot of due diligence. And it's still a leap of faith because when it comes down to it you don't know that they aren't cutting corners, you just know that it hasn't blown up on that particular operator yet.

 

[scubadada]

Yeah I consider liveaboards and shore operators to both share a lot of the same problems caused by extremely low market value, cost cutting, lack of oversight, corruption, etc... With liveaboards obviously you might have more exposure since you're on the boat full time for like a week, but I wouldn't personally be eager to book anything anywhere in the country. Day boats can sink or break just like liveaboards. Oh, and how's their compressor maintenance? I'm sure they're staying on that while seeing zero profit from operations. Safety equipment and oxygen on the boats? So on and so forth. All this stuff gets dropped for the same reasons that these liveaboard disasters keep happening.

I just think you're rolling the dice trusting any sort of dive operator there with your safety, unless you do a lot of due diligence. And it's still a leap of faith because when it comes down to it you don't know that they aren't cutting corners, you just know that it hasn't blown up on that particular operator yet.

Everything is good, until it is not. I have used my example of the RSA I. I don't believe the presumptive cause of the fatal fire on the RSA I has ever been released. There were many crewmen aboard that boat who survived, I'd wager they probably know what happened. In fact, I've never read an analysis of what might have happened on the RSA I, par for the course. Stop, you're right, no final analysis has ever been released. The lack of transparency in the Red Sea boat accidents is perhaps the biggest problem. I'm waiting for the report on the Sea Story, never hold your breath.

I loved my two weeks on the Red Sea in 2016. I thought about going back to Sudan on the Royal Evolution before the civil war nixed that idea.