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

[TostitoBandito]

Just booked Red Sea Aggressor V far south for September. I've found it hard to figure out where to pick to dive from land, or which LAB operator to choose, so I decided on Aggressor. I have heard many good things about their operations from lots of fellow divers, and assumed they would be a reliable R Sea operation.

Comments here have me wondering? In any case, I booked a solo cabin on the highest deck, so I can get out if there's a fire or foundering. Weather is calm in September.

Interested in others' thoughts on Red Sea Aggressor V?

While not the exact same boat, the two most recent Red Sea Aggressor trip reports in this forum are pretty harrowing in different ways, both having little to do with the boat and more to do with the company and the general state of their operation. I would recommend caution when dealing with them.

 

[Triple C]

In April this year I met several RSA V passengers who'd just completed the Deep South route which I imagine you'll be doing. I'd just finished my own trip on another RSA boat and we were all waiting for airport transfers and killing time in a café. They all said they'd had a great time BUT they'd been put on a different boat as the RSA V was not available. I can't recall why, but it seemed like a plausible reason at the time. It seems the crew was the RSA V's but the boat wasn't. They did point out that the replacement boat was of a similar standard.
I emphasise that was back in April, so I'm sure whatever the issue, it's been taken care of.

Sorry I can't offer anything more substantial. I hope you have a great trip. Will you please report on the state of hard corals in the deep south? South and St John's was a disappointment in that department.

Thanks for the info. ChatGPT says RSA V is a brand new boat that has just gone into service around March 2025. Maybe there were issues initially launching her when you ran into their divers. I hope so! She has a steel hull with all appropriate safety equipment and is corporate operated, as best I can determine. I'm taking an in-reach and smoke/O2 detector just because I travel a lot of remote places.

As to your comment about bleaching - I'm fearful we're losing all our hard coral very quickly. In the past 2-3 years I've been to Indo, Philippines 2x, Tanzania, Cuba, Mexico 3x, Bonaire, Curacao and most hard coral has died and is fighting to come back. A few more years of high temps and they won't. The exceptions were Nusa Penida in Indo, which had miraculous hard coral gardens for acres and acres, and the dives I did around Malapascua, PH. Dauin, PH had fantastic macro life but the coral was in bad shape. I'm retired and racing to see what's left of the world's reefs before we kill them all.

Will report back on deep south. The itin is called Deep South – Zabargad & Rocky Islands.

 

[BoltSnap]

Thanks for the info. ChatGPT says RSA V is a brand new boat that has just gone into service around March 2025. Maybe there were issues initially launching her when you ran into their divers. I hope so! She has a steel hull with all appropriate safety equipment and is corporate operated, as best I can determine. I'm taking an in-reach and smoke/O2 detector just because I travel a lot of remote places.

As to your comment about bleaching - I'm fearful we're losing all our hard coral very quickly. In the past 2-3 years I've been to Indo, Philippines 2x, Tanzania, Cuba, Mexico 3x, Bonaire, Curacao and most hard coral has died and is fighting to come back. A few more years of high temps and they won't. The exceptions were Nusa Penida in Indo, which had miraculous hard coral gardens for acres and acres, and the dives I did around Malapascua, PH. Dauin, PH had fantastic macro life but the coral was in bad shape. I'm retired and racing to see what's left of the world's reefs before we kill them all.

Will report back on deep south. The itin is called Deep South – Zabargad & Rocky Islands.

Please do report back

 

[Living4Experiences]

Thanks for the info. ChatGPT says RSA V is a brand new boat that has just gone into service around March 2025. Maybe there were issues initially launching her when you ran into their divers. I hope so! She has a steel hull with all appropriate safety equipment and is corporate operated, as best I can determine. I'm taking an in-reach and smoke/O2 detector just because I travel a lot of remote places.

As to your comment about bleaching - I'm fearful we're losing all our hard coral very quickly. In the past 2-3 years I've been to Indo, Philippines 2x, Tanzania, Cuba, Mexico 3x, Bonaire, Curacao and most hard coral has died and is fighting to come back. A few more years of high temps and they won't. The exceptions were Nusa Penida in Indo, which had miraculous hard coral gardens for acres and acres, and the dives I did around Malapascua, PH. Dauin, PH had fantastic macro life but the coral was in bad shape. I'm retired and racing to see what's left of the world's reefs before we kill them all.

Will report back on deep south. The itin is called Deep South – Zabargad & Rocky Islands.

I'm doing something similar to you...doing dive travel as fast as possible to see everything I can before it all dies off forever. However, I wouldn't go diving in the Red Sea, even if I was given a free trip. With five incidents in 2025 already, June went by without a boat sinking. I guess that's a notable positive.

If you already know this, my apologies. All Aggressor boats are individually owned. The three boats in the Red Sea are owned by the same guy. There are no "corporate owned" boats. Aggressor has SOPs that each owner is expected to follow; however, with no oversight or enforcement, the owners can run the operation however they want. Aggressor's presence in the Red Sea is only since 2022, so not a lot of experience operating there. The RSA V went into service in March 2025, but it's unclear if this is a new build or someone else's boat that the owners bought and use the Aggressor name. If it matters to you and you want that answer, you can email Zoe at zoe@aggressor.com.

I'm not kidding when I say this, but update your life insurance and get really good travel insurance. Take pictures of all your gear in case of loss for insurance claims. Have your go-bag and life jacket near your bed.

Godspeed...

 

[LFMarm]

Aggressor's presence in the Red Sea is only since 2022, so not a lot of experience operating there.

They were definitely there in 2016 and I believe that was not their first year. They had 1-2 accidents over the years though.

 

[Living4Experiences]

They were definitely there in 2016 and I believe that was not their first year. They had 1-2 accidents over the years though.

I got the info from their website. Perhaps they left the market after they sunk the Aggressor I in 2019 or maybe they go in and out of the market there depending on the boat ownership.

 

[Triple C]

I'm doing something similar to you...doing dive travel as fast as possible to see everything I can before it all dies off forever. However, I wouldn't go diving in the Red Sea, even if I was given a free trip. With five incidents in 2025 already, June went by without a boat sinking. I guess that's a notable positive.

If you already know this, my apologies. All Aggressor boats are individually owned. The three boats in the Red Sea are owned by the same guy. There are no "corporate owned" boats. Aggressor has SOPs that each owner is expected to follow; however, with no oversight or enforcement, the owners can run the operation however they want. Aggressor's presence in the Red Sea is only since 2022, so not a lot of experience operating there. The RSA V went into service in March 2025, but it's unclear if this is a new build or someone else's boat that the owners bought and use the Aggressor name. If it matters to you and you want that answer, you can email Zoe at zoe@aggressor.com.

I'm not kidding when I say this, but update your life insurance and get really good travel insurance. Take pictures of all your gear in case of loss for insurance claims. Have your go-bag and life jacket near your bed.

Godspeed...

Yikes. Per ChatGpt it's a brand new vessel, not sure if that's reliable info. In my travels I've never met anyone who didn't rave about Aggressor LOBs, which is why I chose them. Given all the issues in the RS LOBs, I got a cabin 2 decks above sea level, and I upgraded my kit from a CO alarm to a CO and smoke alarm. I'm getting an inReach and a Nautilus, both sealable to depth. I will travel with these going forward as I plan to go to Misool in the fall, and to keep at it. I feel like I've done all I can to stay safe and I'm willing to have a go at it.

I hope(!) to report back mid Sept. Thanks.

 

[boulderjohn]

In my travels I've never met anyone who didn't rave about Aggressor LOBs, which is why I chose them.

It should not take too much of a search on ScubaBoard to introduce you to a host of people with contrary attitudes about Aggressor. That includes me.

 

[makar0n]

 

[Jay_Remi]

I concur. Agressor is quite a polarizing operator. I know many who hate it, whilst some do like it. It's not for me, and the reviews of Agressor in the Red Sea are not very positive. I definitely would not dive with them in that part of the world (in other parts either to be fair....)