Safety of Egyptian dive boats under scrutiny

MAIB expresses concern

The UK’s Maritime Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has expressed concern over apparent safety issues following three accidents involving Egyptian dive boats in the Red Sea within the last two years that have impacted citizens of the United Kingdom. Additional incidents that have not included UK citizens have also been reported during this period.

The latest incident occurred in late November last year resulting in several fatalities including two divers from the UK after the dive vessel Sea Story capsized. Interestingly, the Egyptian Ministry of Defence Search and Rescue Centre had conducted an exercise a month earlier that involved a realistic scenario for the rescue of 250 individuals from a capsized ferry.  

Several vessels were deployed by the Naval Forces Command after the November incident saw the Sea Story sink about 35 kilometres south of Marsa Alam. Despite adverse weather conditions, the rescue attempt managed to rescue more than half of the passengers and crew on board.

Dive Pro Liveaboard, the operator of Sea Story, has attracted a significant number of bad reviews on TripAdvisor for allegedly not focusing on safety on board their vessels.  With comments to “Avoid at all costs”, safety concerns began surfacing at the beginning of 2024 when another vessel operated by the company caught fire resulting in at least one death. This incident is not cited by MAIB as it appears not to have included any UK citizens.

Having lost two of their vessels over the last year, Dive Pro Liveaboard is still advertising trips on board their remaining two vessels, the Tillis and Sea Pearl with a schedule that kicks off for the New Year this week.

The MAIB has also cited two separate incidents that occurred during 2023 involving the Carlton Queen in April and the Hurricane in June which led to several deaths. The Hurricane, which is operated by the Surrey (UK) based operator, Scuba Travel, was part of a larger fleet of the company’s vessels that is available in Egypt. The company also operates fleets in several other destinations.

Although the capsizing of the Carlton Queen resulted in the abandonment of the vessel, no fatalities were recorded. The operator, Carlton Red Sea Scuba’s website is currently dysfunctional, but they remain active on their Facebook page which highlights that the company continues to offer diving tours on the Red Sea.

The UK has registered as a substantially interested state to the marine safety investigations that are being undertaken by Egyptian authorities. According to the statement issued by the MAIB, however, there is cause for “serious concern” about the safety of some of the Egyptian dive boats in the Red Sea.

The Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents has written to the Egyptian Authority for Maritime Safety (EAMS) setting out his concerns and seeking full participation in the EAMS investigations.

PHOTO: Egyptian Armed Forces participate in the rescue of survivors of the Sea Story incident in November last year. (Source - EAF website.)

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