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

[Jay_Remi]

What liveaboard was this?

M/Y Scuba Scene

 

[Mobulai]

Shockingly, all fire alarms had been turned off.

This is the part that doesn’t shock me

And if they had nitrox blending onboard I can forsee how this could have escalate quickly and badly

 

[Living4Experiences]

The standard for Red Sea liveaboards is no fire safety...no surprise there. The other Scuba Scene was lost in April 2022. The current boat shows up on Allstar Liveaboard's website, a Florida-based company. I wonder if they own it or just sell trips on the boat.

 

[BoltSnap]

@stuartv
Is this the boat you were on when we met in Hurghada last year?

Scuba Scene

 

[stuartv]

@stuartv
Is this the boat you were on when we met in Hurghada last year?

Scuba Scene

I was on the Allstar Scuba Scene. Is it the same boat mentioned above as "M/Y Scuba Scene"? I do not know. Probably?

The boat and crew all seemed very professional and I *felt* very safe. But, I did not go around and check that fire alarms were turned on. I did not check escape hatches to make sure they were accessible and would open if needed.

 

[scubadada]

Last week, a friend experienced a near-disaster on a Liveaboard (LOB) trip. An engine room fire erupted, but thankfully, they managed to extinguish it quickly, preventing serious damage. Shockingly, all fire alarms had been turned off.

M/Y Scuba Scene

Hi @Jay_Remi

What happened to the trip your friend was on? Was it interrupted or were they able to continue? As a passenger, my confidence would have been shaken.

 

[Bookworm11]

Feel free to share your views; you don't have to distort my message to offer an opposing one.

To clarify: what I meant is not that the boat is unsafe itself, but that if something unforeseen happened, and people had to be rescued, you are now dealing with the Egyptian Navy. That did not come across clearly, and I apologize for that. I was in no way trying to distort your message-just trying to emphasize my worry that the Egyptian Navy has no rescue divers, and that the Egyptian government wants to cover up accidents. Worth noting again is that the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch has warned its citizens about diving on Egyptian LOBs and offered assistance to Egypt in investigating the accidents (which has not been utilized by Egypt.)

 

[stuartv]

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"?

 

[Mobulai]

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"?

I aint goin on either for now, but.. a hypothetical exercise:
on a day boat most probably I’m ready to jump out with my kitted up equipment/tank and that gives me a chance at surviving; don’t have to worry about a fire starting while I’m asleep and way further from shore

The only LoB I was on a few years back I had booked as a childfree carefree person; by the time I made it on board I already had one “brewing” — the entire trip I had anxieties around bed time, and had a drybag ready to jump-ship at any moment (documents, lights, I even considered already to invest in a GPS signal)
Parenthood changes you

Risk is never 0% in any situation, I look at things with a “warranted risks” perspective for myself — to eavh their own processes

Edit: I just wanna be clear, I’m not against day/LoB in general; I’d just love to actually know more about the boat (not tge operator) before I do. As of now, the turnover is high so my perceived risk is high

 

[BoltSnap]

I'm going to go on a liveaboard in Egypt for certain and probably several trips. I am keeping record of reputable boats as I gather more information from different sources.