First – to the MV Hurricane liveaboard survivors and families of the deceased… as one of the survivors from the
2019 Red Sea Aggressor I (aka MV Suzana) boat fire, my deepest sympathies for what you are going through. I highly recommend EMDR therapy, it helped me a lot with my PTSD after our 2019 horror.
Second – hi divers! You all have a lot of great points regarding the recurring fire/safety hazards we face on liveaboards (especially repeat incidents in the Red Sea) and the problems with bureaucracy; lack of tracking accountably, affordability, personal responsibility by the companies/owners/workers – and our own need to do our due diligence, etc.
But for me, the anguish of my situation is that I/we
did our research and booked with the popular US-based Aggressor company on their ‘luxury’ Red Sea liveaboard (right after the MV Conception fire) because they advertised their safety details in full (just like the MV Hurricane below). Their advertised promise made us feel safe - we trusted them because of the USA ‘Aggressor’ name and the higher-than-local-average-cost for the trip which we thought equaled the higher safety standards they promised.
We were promised ‘fire alarms, and 24-fire watch patrols’ before booking and during our safety briefing on the first day – but the Aggressor company and local boat owner/crew lied to us because clearly neither happened – they failed us. As a result, one person died, and the rest of us came pretty close to it. We survived no thanks to the Aggressor.
On day 1, we felt at ease - we all saw the shiny fire alarms lining the halls, the fire extinguishers under our beds, the life vests in the benches, the secondary escape route which lead to the crew quarters (which the first below-deck group to escape realized was blocked by a mattress and sleeping crew), we were told about the evacuation procedures to include where to go and that a headcount would be performed.
The Aggressor said all the right things and we felt safe! What more could we have done (beside packing our own smoke detectors)?
The Aggressor who lied to us about fire alarms that would have woke us up and saved all of us - had these similar details posted online:
Tornado Marine Fleet advertises that the Hurricane Liveaboard has “Full Fire Fighting and Alarm System Smoke Alarms and Extinguishers in cabins and at strategic points”
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The fire alarms didn’t go off, we woke up due to the smoke. There was no one on watch because they would have noticed the smoke, and the crew was fast asleep blocking the escape hatch. Even after the fire alarms clearly didn’t work, the crew could/should have used the ‘dinner bell’ which was outside on the main deck to alert anyone missing – they had access to it, but didn’t bother/have the training regarding sounding an alarm – another failure.
And again for the record, no – the victim, Trish, NEVER made it above deck. She NEVER made it to safety only to turn around like the Aggressor HQ and local company repeatedly spread lies that she did – they failed her and us.
Frustratingly, the word doesn’t get out. Even as I read these latest reports of the Hurricane – the AP reported, “Fatal boat accidents are relatively uncommon in Egypt.” – they only listed two other incidents. I contacted them about the long list of others fires/deaths, but they never corrected it. And now, to them and other news companies, it’s old news. To the survivors, and victims’ families – we live it for the rest of our lives.
After time, this news gets buried – no thanks to search engine algorithms it might not even pop up on searches unless you know what you’re looking for… So those who would boycott these companies if they knew, don’t get the information. Or for instance, I’ve shared my story with fellow divers and some say, “it’s a one off and they’ve had good experiences and will keep using the company.” As for agents and local dive shops I’ve told - they still advertise for these companies and they still sell Aggressor’s trips to divers/customers who trust them – I’m sure without disclosing these issues.
Also with respect to lawsuits in an effort to hold companies accountable: in the Aggressor contract – you sign away your rights to sue the company in the ‘home of record where the purchase took place with the US based company’. If you want to sue, you’d have to do it in for example, in Egypt. You can see the complications of a single person with limited funds doing that. So despite the Aggressor company rubber-stamping these foreign based owner’s boats (giving the false sense they’re safe boats), they have zero accountability. They’re no better than the travel agent selling the trip – since they don’t actually inspect or take frequent trips on the boat.
I do think there needs to be a better way to track these company issues so that consumers can make better informed decisions (while still traveling with our own fire/carbon monoxide detectors)
– which should be with a non-profit group. The
USA State Department tracks deaths abroad, but provides very little information besides the location.
Regarding regulations –
at the very least check for split escape routes before you book, though I will never book below deck again: Thanks to @
Nick_Radov who posted the Coast Guard’s new issued safety rules for live aboard dive boats operating in US waters - reposted below. I recommend reading the NTSB report on the Conception fire (with bits regarding the Red Sea Aggressor fire.) When I interviewed with NTSB they said most of us survived despite the odds of the Aggressor’s failures. And lessons learned from the Conception fire, and the Aggressor fire, was that we had a “secondary means of escape exit to a different space than the primary exit.” [and the source of the fire]. “The NTSB believes it is imperative that operators of similar small passenger vessels act to ensure” this on all their ships.
But without working smoke alarms, or an alert system (as simple as a bell that can be initiated in multiple areas of the ship) – people will keep on dying and barely escaping with their lives.
US Coast Guard issued new rules regarding: Fire Safety of Small Passenger Vessels based on NTSB’s recommendations.
Subpart D—Fixed Fire Extinguishing and Detection Systems
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. They are not a regulating body and can only recommend. It’s up to regulating authorities, like the US Coast Guard, which they thankfully did.
NTSB Conception fire, final report (portion below)
note: Aggressor company, crew refused to be interviewed.
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