Red Sea Liveaboard Sinking

[Dan]

Last week a similar (tall / top heavy) liveaboard also sunk in Philippines and 4 people unaccounted for, Liveaboard Sinks Off Tubbataha Reef

We need to do some due diligent in choosing a liveaboard.

 

[BoltSnap]

trust the professionals to do their jobs. That might make more sense in Canada than some third world place but I’d be reluctant to claim I’m more expert than folks making a living doing it.

They "trusted" the "professionals" in Egypt and look where they are now.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I just watched the full video. Here's a summary. Some of this has been posted already, but I'll just recap more or less in order of the video.
The boat was slightly tilted at boarding but the crew somehow stragihtened it out by the time they left the harbor. There was a security briefing that mentioned an escape hatch. The windows in the cabins were too small to fit through and few even opened. There were life vests underneath the beds, but very basic ones. The guests felt a bit uncomfortable when questions about other safety features such as O2 and a defib on board were not answered (presumably the crew didn't understand). The briefing included info about the life rafts (2 on board) for 25 people each. There was no emergency drill however.
They had been diving a full day with no problems. At night one of the people in the video woke up at 4am and felt the boat was heavily tilted. Looking out through the window everything seemed ok though. So he went back to bed. At 5h30-ish they went out for the first dive, came back for breakfast and the boat was so far tilted that chairs slipped and plates slid off the tables. The crew kept finding excuses. They left their dive site for Ras Mohammed and the boat straightened out again until it started tilting to the side, then to the other. Back and forth a bit until really tilting over for good (other side as in the morning and at harbor). At this time most of the guests were on the sun deck (first floor so to speak), 3 people were in their cabins below deck, a small group was inside the salon. The group in the salon was hit by everything sliding. Nothing except the tables was screwed to the floor or walls. Of the larger group on the sun deck some fell off board into the sea and quickly drifted off (later collected by a zodiak that was partially leaking though). The group below deck was one very experienced diver and a father and son duo. They checked all the cabins and made their way to the escape hatch only to find it closed. So they went back toward the starcase which was usually winding to the right side but now the opening was pointing upwards. No railing. The experienced diver lifted the 20-something kid up on his shoulders and pushed him out. Then he did the same with the dad and told them to leave the boat. It was only much later that he somehow managed to get out of there and had to dive out through the salon where luckily there were some air pockets. He swam out to the open sea only to find that he was left alone. Luckily he was later spotted and rescued. In the meantime the life rafts were launched. One was upside down and unusable. The other one ended up holding everyone. During this whole time nothing was done by the crew, except for a dive guide who collected the people who fell into the water with the zodiak (one had also fallen into the sea but seemed otherwise helpful). The rest of the crew were not helpful, some couldn't swim, and most shockingly, the captain did nothing, not even save the passports or check if everyone made it out. Eventually another liveaboard picked everyone up. It sounds as though the captain had not sent an SOS. The other LOB radioed the sinking ship and got no reply which is why they came. The crew from that boat was apparently very nice and professional. They found a doctor on another nearby boat who could stitch up some wounds. The marine picked up the divers and crew eventually. Two were brought to a hospital, the rest to a shabby hotel which was switched to another one the next day. The rest is an odyssey of getting some money, passports, stamps and whatnot. The company was not helpful and, yes, told them they had no insurance. The gofundme was set up to help the less fortunate ones, among them dive instructors who obviously lost their gear... And they want to sue the company.

Outstanding company.


Here it is...

When the divers refer to the company that organized the trip, do they mean, the dive yacht company which seems to have had a fleet or a company that books various liveaboards for divers, for example, like "liveaboard.com"?

 

[blueskies_up_ahead]

So, what do you do, go with a reputable company? I did back to back week trips on the Aggressor I in 2016. In 2019 that boat caught fire and sank, killing one.

They're up to the Aggressor IV

Last week a similar (tall / top heavy) liveaboard also sunk in Philippines and 4 people unaccounted for, Liveaboard Sinks Off Tubbataha Reef

We need to do some due diligent in choosing a liveaboard.

I've been thinking about this. I've never been on a liveaboard, but how would you choose? Except for online reviews... This boat was brand new... The big issue is that it's all chosen online, booked and paid in advance. And no refund if you just don't board (nor if it sinks, as it seems...). The crew had explanations for the tilting and it straightened out once leaving harbor. I don't think I'd have cancelled my stay to be honest. I'm also not very experienced but many of the divers on this boat were...

When the divers refer to the company that organized the trip, do they mean, the dive yacht company which seems to have had a fleet or a company that books various liveaboards for divers, for example, like "liveaboard.com"?

I think they refer to the fleet company. They don't explicitly mention where they booked the trip. Only that they booked together. The group knew each other beforehand.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I've been thinking about this. I've never been on a liveaboard, but how would you choose? Except for online reviews... This boat was brand new... The big issue is that it's all chosen online, booked and paid in advance. And no refund if you just don't board (nor if it sinks, as it seems...). The crew had explanations for the tilting and it straightened out once leaving harbor. I don't think I'd have cancelled my stay to be honest. I'm also not very experienced but many of the divers on this boat were...

I think they refer to the fleet company. They don't explicitly mention where they booked the trip. Only that they booked together. The group knew each other beforehand.

Yes, I understood that they knew each other from before and booked together. But who are they talking about? I'm hoping to get a definitive answer from someone who actually knows.

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

Unfortunately Egypt is a place where you really need to do your research before booking. I'm slowly heading towards having a dive centre in Egypt, but I won't be running a liveaboard.

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

Looks like they booked directly with Carlton Fleet >here< and >here< and in the other usual social media....

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

The listing to one side - then to the other suggests that it may have had a problem with the vertical centre of gravity being too high

 

[scubaozy]

The listing to one side - then to the other suggests that it may have had a problem with the vertical centre of gravity being too high

Absolutely agree, I think it could be lacking ballast low down - every ship will be balanced with literally sand bags over the keel and craftmen and the captains are just eyeballing everything with not a lot of science behind. There could also be some of the tanks placed incorrectly, too high too low, too empty too full etc. If there is a big tank at the entire width of the ship, it will probably throw all the CoG off when fluid (fuel or fresh water) move within the tank.

 

[Wookie]

Absolutely agree, I think it could be lacking ballast low down - every ship will be balanced with literally sand bags over the keel and craftmen and the captains are just eyeballing everything with not a lot of science behind. There could also be some of the tanks placed incorrectly, too high too low, too empty too full etc. If there is a big tank at the entire width of the ship, it will probably throw all the CoG off when fluid (fuel or fresh water) move within the tank.

I guess I could go to Egypt and perform inclining experiments for Egyptian liveaboards, but there some excellent Naval Architects there already. The folks who built my liveaboard have a shipbuilding facility in Egypt.

So I guess it's a matter of not caring rather than not knowing how to perform stability calcs.