Sundiver Woes Continue

[merxlin]

How did that work out? And why was the Captain - the individual that was always responsible - abrogating responsibility in favor of a passenger in the first place?

The first incident was in 2004. There were different protocols then. In that case a shop chartered the boat. They supplied their own DM and the only crew on board was the captain. This was fairly common back then. And yes, right or wrong the roll call and duties were delegated to the shop DM. After this incident that practice stopped on the Sundiver boats for obvious reasons. No one ever relieved the captain (again, it was not Kyaa) of his responsibility and they faced the full set of consequences. The situation on this most recent event were completely different (albeit with a similar result), and again, the captain is dealing with the repercussions.

If you have never been on the boats you can envision what you consider a culture of lax systems and procedures. Based on the times I dove with them I can tell you that is not the case. Yes, there were exceptions, but to me they were not an unsafe operation.

No one, including me, wants to think of a diver being left at a site. And I do not see anyone trying to justify it, only explain the circumstances. There have been plenty of divers left at sites, by boats that still operate under the same captains, but they didn't have the notoriety, and fortunately did not have a fatality. They retrieved the divers and nothing was said. If the consensus is that any boat that leaves a diver should be out of business, then we have a lot of work to do. Again, I'm not justifying what happened, but think we are fooling ourselves if we think this was a unique situation.

 

[mathauck0814]

All 4 boats I frequently dive with have roll call done by the captain, Underwater Explorers, Starfish, and Loggerhead out of Boynton Beach and Jupiter Dive Center, Jupiter.

I can say unequivocally that dive boats on the east coast are a very different beast than they are in California.

Doesn't mean you're not entitled to your expectation or that it's not a good idea. It's just a practice that some boats employ and others do not. Generally speaking, boats I've dived or worked on do not include crew in their roll calls.

 

[scubadada]

The captain is responsible for all the divers, there's no excuse when this doesn't occur. There's certainly no excuse for leaving a diver in the water at a dive site

 

[Tribes]

Dive boat operator surrenders credentials after death of Tustin diver near Catalina Island last year

By CITY NEWS SERVICE/OC Register


A U.S. Coast Guard investigation into the disappearance and presumed death of a diver near Catalina Island has resulted in the voluntary surrender of the credentials of a dive boat operator, authorities said Wednesday.

The case stemmed from a casualty aboard the 43-foot commercial passenger vessel Sundiver Express, which was operating out of Long Beach, a Coast Guard statement said.

“Under the direction and control of Kyaa Heller, the Sundiver Express departed from a dive site off Catalina Island Dec. 29 while a dive passenger was unaccounted for after entering the water for a recreational dive,” the Coast Guard said.

“A search and rescue effort ensued when the passenger, Laurel Silver-Valker was later discovered missing from the vessel at the next dive site. Silver-Valker was never located and is presumed deceased,” the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard investigated, and filed an administrative complaint seeking revocation of Heller's merchant mariner credential, with six alleged offenses, including negligence for failing to maintain proper passenger accountability, and misconduct related to the operation of a commercial vessel.

“In lieu of appearing at a suspension and revocation hearing before a federal administrative law judge, Heller elected to voluntarily surrender her merchant mariner credential to the Coast Guard on June 6, 2016,” the Coast Guard said.

By surrendering her credential, Heller is no longer authorized to serve as “Master of a commercial vessel,” the Coast Guard said.

“This is a tragic case, and our hope is that the small passenger vessel community, and in particular, dive boat operators, take some important lessons from this case to prevent such an incident from ever happening again,” the Coast Guard said.

“There is no excuse for departing a dive site without confirming all passengers are on board and accounted for,” said Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Menefee, senior investigating officer, Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach.

“Passenger vessel operators must take the role and responsibility of Master seriously, as the safety of their passengers is in their hands. The responsibility of a Master cannot be delegated,” Menefee said.

Article continues here: Dive boat operator surrenders credentials after death of Tustin diver near Catalina Island last year

 

[Tribes]

Why did you post this?

 

[dytis-sm]

All 4 boats I frequently dive with have roll call done by the captain, Underwater Explorers, Starfish, and Loggerhead out of Boynton Beach and Jupiter Dive Center, Jupiter.

In my experience on Southern California boats, there is no captain taking roll. It is always the DM who then gives the ok to the captain. Same thing in Hawaii, the other place I dive often. So one would say that the DM has a responsibility in such an incident. I suppose where you are at the captain does not trust his DMs.

Ironically in both incidents that Sundiver was involved, it was a DM screw up. Now in terms of the repeat, one has to consider that this company has been around for a while and run a lot of trips, so the odds of an incident are high. It is easy to crucify the captain, but I doubt this was captain's negligence.

 

[Wookie]

Ironically in both incidents that Sundiver was involved, it was a DM screw up. Now in terms of the repeat, one has to consider that this company has been around for a while and run a lot of trips, so the odds of an incident are high. It is easy to crucify the captain, but I doubt this was captain's negligence.

Probably the dumbest thing I've ever seen written. There is no such thing in Coast Guard parlance. Divemaster doesn't exist, and if you're using the divemaster to fill the position of deckhand, you have to drug test them, provide them with procedures, the list is exhaustive and inclusive. And they don't dive. Deckhands are required to be on the boat. They are part of the crew.

Everything that happens on the boat is the Captain's responsibility. Maybe if a diver drowns the Captain can duck that one, but getting underway while failing to verify all souls are onboard can be placed nowhere but the captain. That responsibility cannot be shifted to other crewmembers. The Coast Guard called this one perfectly.

 

[dytis-sm]

Probably the dumbest thing I've ever seen written. There is no such thing in Coast Guard parlance. Divemaster doesn't exist, and if you're using the divemaster to fill the position of deckhand, you have to drug test them, provide them with procedures, the list is exhaustive and inclusive. And they don't dive. Deckhands are required to be on the boat. They are part of the crew.

Everything that happens on the boat is the Captain's responsibility. Maybe if a diver drowns the Captain can duck that one, but getting underway while failing to verify all souls are onboard can be placed nowhere but the captain. That responsibility cannot be shifted to other crewmembers. The Coast Guard called this one perfectly.

Thank you for the compliment... It is nice to hear people's opinions and from time to time some facts. The fact remains that in Southern California for right or wrong the DMs do roll calls and then report to the captain. I do not know if that is a standard. That is what I observed not what I agree or disagree. It is also a fact that boats have crew for a reason. I doubt that the captain of a cruise ship makes roll calls, yet he is responsible as much. What I meant to say is that it is unfortunate that a crews screw ups reflect on the captain but that is Maritime law... An opinion dumb or not.

 

[The Chairman]

I do not know of a boat where the captain does roll calls.

The MV Spree... it's done by the crew first and then Captain Wookie. In my opinion, he has the safest boat on the water.

 

[dytis-sm]

The MV Spree... it's done by the crew first and then Captain Wookie. In my opinion, he has the safest boat on the water.

So I suppose this thread is populated by Captain Wookie and his peanut gallery...