Unknown Sea Story lob sinks

[rmorgan]

Now, five rescued; four recovered; seven missing. Five survivors rescued day after tourist boat sank in Red Sea - as search for missing 'intensifies'

 

[Scared Silly]

Another similar update on survivors and victims from the BBC

 

[Kay Dee]

Heartening to see some of the missing found!

Anyone know how deep the water is where the boat sunk?

 

[noads99]

These LoB's are getting taller, not necessarily bigger in length, beam or deep drafts. The number of capsizes seems to be increasing and I do wonder about the Egyptian safety standards. I love a LoB as much as the next diver and have always checked all the exits are accessible if bunked on the lower deck for peace of mind.
The other thing is when there is an issue it appears to go very quiet after a while and I don't think I've ever seen a follow-up or results of investigations - perhaps someone more knowledge will contradict me?

 

[noads99]

This was basically a brand new boat. What on earth is going on in the Red Sea? Do they all have a terrible safety record?

With 17 still missing 12h after the sinking I don’t think we can expect any kind of even semi-happy ending.

More likely a refurbished boat, renamed and rebranded like many others have been due to restrictions on new builds!

 

[O-ring]

eSysman just posted an update -

 

[Phil111]

As others have commented only three years old and yet it was built of wood. The interior pictures of it make it look very modern. Yet it had next to no electronics like similar EU or N. American vessels would have.

If you check out the video posted above there is a picture of the bridge controls. For a vessel of that size its rudimentary at best.

It seemed as though the pressure to get passengers to the dive sites over weighed prudent seamanship for the captain. For a poorer country like Egypt the short end of the stick goes for the crews, training and safety.

 

[Mod63]

The next time you find yourself in Port Ghalib or Hurghada, walk the docks and look at the minimalist tech that festoons the tops of the upper decks. I've seen more nav equipment on basic 30' American sportfishing boats than I've seen on any of the 20 or so Red Sea LOBs I've looked at. Might the military drive the electronics aspect of safety on these boats?

From that comment one can deduct that you have never been near any LoB in Egypt. GPS, Radar, marine radio are standard equipment. Just one example of one of the older boats, the Royal Evolution:
62 Nautical Miles Radar, GPS & Plotter, Echo Sounder & backup GPS, Electronic Compass, NAVTEX, HF/ Single Side Band with DSC, VHF with DSC, Normal VHF, Satellite Telephone, AIS
And yes, I've seen the same on the bridge of multiple LoBs over the years.

 

[Mod63]

If you check out the video posted above there is a picture of the bridge controls. For a vessel of that size its rudimentary at best.

That picture is not the bridge proper, that is the flying bridge....

 

[nippurmagnum]

As others have noted, the Sea Story and the Sea Legend were owned by Dive Pro Liveaboards. Both boats were total losses, and there were fatalities on both boats. PLEASE NOTE that Dive Pro also owns the Tillis and the Sea Pearl, which are still operating. I was on the Tillis some years ago, and generally had a great time, but was alarmed by the fact that the escape hatch on the boat was painted shut and blocked by crew bunks. I insisted that the crew open the escape hatch during the safety briefing, and it took them 45 minutes to do so. At the end of the trip, I mentioned this to the owner of the boat, Mr. Ali, and he said he would look into it -- but seemed unconcerned. A couple of years later, the Sea Legend caught fire, and survivors reported that the escape hatch had also been blocked. I would avoid ANY boat owned by Dive Pro Liveaboard: Fleet - Dive Pro Liveaboard