Licensed Dive Boats

[ReefHound]

You would think, but you would be wrong. It wasn't that long ago that someone rented someone the name of a licenced permitted boat so it could dive in the park. Just paint the name one it...

That boat isn't, er, around anymore...

What would stop an op from putting the name and number of a permitted boat on it? Especially if that boat was a similar style. Just avoid having your boat around others who might take notice.

What would stop an op with a permitted boat from putting the same name and number on other boats? Just make sure they are never in the same place at the same time.

From a tourist perspective, that list of licensed boats is not a great way for me to identify illegal ops. For one, it doesn't say what op owns what boat. In some cases, it is obvious. If I book an op I don't necessarily know the names of all their boats. When I show at the dock is when I find out the name of the boat I'll be on and no one has ever told me in advance and guaranteed I'd be on a certain boat. And finally, even if I carried this list with me and checked it before stepping on the boat, I'm not going to make any accusations since I don't know if the list is 100% up to date.

How about a list of these alleged 100 illegal ops? If there are any prominent names that are operating illegal boats, name them.

 

[Snoweman]

What would stop an op from putting the name and number of a permitted boat on it? Especially if that boat was a similar style. Just avoid having your boat around others who might take notice.

What would stop an op with a permitted boat from putting the same name and number on other boats? Just make sure they are never in the same place at the same time.

From a tourist perspective, that list of licensed boats is not a great way for me to identify illegal ops. For one, it doesn't say what op owns what boat. In some cases, it is obvious. If I book an op I don't necessarily know the names of all their boats. When I show at the dock is when I find out the name of the boat I'll be on and no one has ever told me in advance and guaranteed I'd be on a certain boat. And finally, even if I carried this list with me and checked it before stepping on the boat, I'm not going to make any accusations since I don't know if the list is 100% up to date.

How about a list of these alleged 100 illegal ops? If there are any prominent names that are operating illegal boats, name them.

First, how difficult is it to ask a potential op the name of their dive boat(s)? Sure, they could lie to you, but when another boat shows up, you can ask what's going on. If you don't like the answer, move on.

Second, illegal operations don't tend to register their names, so compiling that list would be a lot more difficult and quite a moving target.

 

[Christi]

I'll give you a hint - some are in the top 10 on Trip Advisor

 

[ReefHound]

First, how difficult is it to ask a potential op the name of their dive boat(s)? Sure, they could lie to you, but when another boat shows up, you can ask what's going on. If you don't like the answer, move on.

Second, illegal operations don't tend to register their names, so compiling that list would be a lot more difficult and quite a moving target.

Sure one could ask but the harder you make it the less will do it. And really, move on where? You booked an op for the week, you're in Cozumel, standing at the dock with your dive gear, and a boat named El Gato shows up instead of El Toro. What are you gonna do? Not go diving that day? Not go diving that week? Accuse the captain of operating an illegal boat? When it might be entirely legal and what happened is El Gato needs a sudden repair and they scrambled to get another boat rather than send you back to the hotel.

When I'm in a foreign country, it's not really my place to accuse a foreign company or person of violating a foreign law. Especially a regulatory violation.

Not talking about a list of illegal boats but a list of illegal ops. If an op named Dive Bandits is known to operate boats illegally, I don't care what boats they may be using this week, I don't want to use them, period.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

There are also a number of very popular dive ops that while having legal boat permits but regularly use very illegal methods of getting divers to their boats in Caletta. That saves them a pot of cash on gasoline but I'm really surprised the taxistas haven't caught on yet…they will.

Dave Dillehay

 

[ChuckP]

I've heard they can do random checks, boat captain said they asked him for papers once while we were underwater. He's also said they checked papers on the way out of the marina.

There's a lot of papers to make you legal and this doesn't cover the business papers:
Park Permits
Licensed boat captain
Mate with a seaman card - I'm not sure if this is all boats are not, I'm told DM's usually have this card
Marine park cards for all people woking
And of course the valid work permit if not a citizen

I may have missed one or something and like I said this isn't the business portion.

 

[Jonn]

use very illegal methods of getting divers to their boats

Like what? Do the divers illegally walk down the dock and illegally step into the hull or something? Give us noobs a bit of context.

 

[Snoweman]

Like what? Do the divers illegally walk down the dock and illegally step into the hull or something? Give us noobs a bit of context.

I don't think they are supposed to drive people to the marina.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Mate with a seaman card - I'm not sure if this is all boats are not, I'm told DM's usually have this card

It has been my experience that the mate and the DM are typically two separate roles on Mexican dive boats. Though I wouldn't be surprised if there are people that are qualified as both, just that I've always seen a non-diving mate on all the Mexican dive boats I've been on, in addition to the DM that acts as the required marine park guide.

 

[ReefHound]

I don't think they are supposed to drive people to the marina.

But is that an actual law or just taxi mafia strong-arming? Because I've heard stories about the taxistas taking actions against such offenders like blocking shuttles and not letting them proceed but I've never heard of police action against them.

Many of us have used one popular dive op that falls under this but in my experience I have often been taken to caleta in a truck in the morning but usually put in a taxi going to caleta in the afternoon and usually in a taxi for return back to town. The taxistas are getting a lot of business.