Galapagos-trip report, contaminated air

I wanted to do a trip report for the liveaboard we did, but one incident spoiled the whole week. Here is a copy of the letter I sent. Tell me what you think about it. I took the name of the company out becuase I'm not interested in starting any battles.

October 21, 2008



Dear Sir,




I am writing you to express my concern with the actions of the captain of the XX during the Galapagos trip from October 12-19th. The trip was the seventh live aboard I have taken and was by far the worst experience I have had to date. My concerns are with the contamination of the air used during the dives and the lack of concern for the safety of the passengers by the captain.

The trip started well with the only sign of concern was that enriched air nitrox was not available after a few days due to mechanical problems. On the fifth day of the trip, I and the other passengers noticed a caustic smell to the air that caused burning eyes and throat irritation. Several of us approached the dive master with our concerns. The dive master confirmed that he too felt that oil was contaminating the compressor. He continued to fill the tanks and told us to “tell the captain.” He did not make any attempt to do so himself or stop filling the tanks with the noxious gas. I approached the captain and identified myself as a physician who was concerned with the safety of the divers due to contaminated gas. The captain told me that all the gas was the same and I was the only one who had a problem with it. After insisting that he follow me to the dive deck, the captain was able to see that the gas was indeed contaminated with a strong caustic fume. He ordered diving to be stopped for the day and had the filter replaced or cleaned.

The next day the dive master assured us the air was safe and diving could be resumed since the air filter had been cleaned or replaced. After examining the air, it was apparent that the air was improved, but still contaminated with the smell of burning rubber or plastic. I approached the captain again with my concerns and was shocked with his behavior. The captain laughed at me and said that I was the only one having problems with the air during this trip. This was not the case. Everyone could smell the air including staff who acknowledged it during the dive briefing. They stated that it may cause tickling at the back of the throat, but was perfectly safe to use. As a physician, I was aware of laryngospasm, oil pneumonia and other uncertain risks of diving with contaminated air. I along with another physician, a level one trauma nurse and her dive buddy chose not to dive the rest of the day. Others chose to dive after being assured by the captain and crew that the air was safe.

Although there were no injuries or fatalities, I feel the actions of the captain are inexcusable. The fact that the compressor had a problem is not the issue. The problem is that the captain misled those who trusted him and by doing so placed their lives in danger. The air had improved with the filter change, but it was still not “safe.” The compressor needs to be cleaned because the oil residue or other contaminants are still in the whips and tanks. That repair, however, could not be done overnight. The captain chose to take a risk with others lives and won this time. Nothing happened, but what about the future? Such complacency with safety will undoubtedly lead to tragedy if that type of practice continues.

I do not consider this incident to be a problem with the company. I hold the captain responsible and hope you do too. The crew is also somewhat to blame by telling the passengers that the air is safe even if they were ordered to do so. Because of this, I have sent the 420 dollar tip to Divers Alert Network. I have also sent letters to XX. Please feel free to validate this letter by contacting others aboard the vessel. I can also be reached for more information.

Wow, that is scary! Please let us know what the response is, if any.

Other than the bad air, how was the trip before it went bad?

Not sure of the relevance of this posting if you do not name the specific vessel. Explain.

What you encountered are very typical signs of the filters not being replaced and overheating causing the oily, plastic taste and quite likely substantial increase in the undetected CO level. Cleaning out the whips (all lines) as well as cleaning the tanks (rolling and more) were certainly necessary. Buy a CO tester for future trips.

After the bad air was discovered, did other divers continue to dive? With the size of the tip you mention, was there more than just you?

Ed Jackson1:

I do not consider this incident to be a problem with the company. I hold the captain responsible and hope you do too. The crew is also somewhat to blame...

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This is where you are completely wrong, but maybe in your letter to the management, you were trying to be PC. No, if it was as you describe, this is a problem with the company.

Glad you made it out alive.

IMHO, to make a post like this and mention the location but not the name of the operator is almost criminal, because it incriminates everyone. This is a very dangerous situation and I'm glad that everyone made it home ok. I agree with Roatan Man, it is a problem with the company and their responsiblity to make everyone who spent quite a bit of money on a trip like this taken care of to their satisfaction.

Yeah, what's the point of posting this information if we don't know who the dive operator is?? You might as well just have kept it to yourself since it doesn't help anyone make informed decisions about who (or who not) to book with in the future.

I seem to be with everyone else. You cannot be trying to help anybody here....why post at all? If you were trying to help prevent problems for other divers, you would tell them who it was and what the vessel was and who the captain was so that they can validate things (i.e. mechanical corrections) on their own trip (if it is with the same operator).

I do understand the need to be PC however this is an instance where naming names is a must if you truly want to help.

Thanks for the start (your OP) and now we look forward to the finish (posting the rest of the info)

well, I agree this thread does none of us any good if the company/captain is not named, but the OP asked for comments on the letter.

My comment - saying you did not consider it a problem with the company may have seemed polite, but it is the companies problem. I would have also been asking for part of my money back for days you could not dive due to bad air. If I did not get what I considered an appropriate response, I would most definitely be naming names here.

I wanted to see what people thought about diving when the air was bad. Some people came from a long distance and had "dive fever". They chose to dive even when they knew the risk. I wanted to know what people not on the trip thought. Would you dive? I also wanted to alert the company so they can do what's right and prevent someone from getting killed in the future. I do not want any refunds.

I was trying to find some information without starting a battle but it seems like that's not possible based on some of the responses. If you are going to the galapagos and are concerned, then Pm me and I'll tell you what you need to know.


As for criminal, OK. I'll ask that the post to be deleted and move on to a different topic.

I probably will buy a carbon monoxide tester. Thanks for the suggestion.

Ed

I don't think anyone would have guessed from your post you were asking what people thought about diving with bad air? I doubt you will have anyone say it's a good idea. Now what some people decide to do when they've dropped a bundle to dive far away, well some people will obviously kid themselves then. But sitting at their keyboards, I don't think anyone would disagree with someone sitting out.

Ed Jackson1:

I was trying to find some information without starting a battle but it seems like that's not possible based on some of the responses. If you are going to the galapagos and are concerned, then Pm me and I'll tell you what you need to know.


As for criminal, OK. I'll ask that the post to be deleted and move on to a different topic.

Click to expand...

I don't think you should delete your original post. IMO, one of the problems with the whole issue of contaminated compressors is that no one knows how often it happens. Your original post has value in helping to document an occurrence and to publicize the fact that such problems really happen and are not just bits of theory taught in OW classes.

As for the decision whether or not to publicly post the name of the op, I think being willing to give more details about it offline is sufficient. Accusations of criminality for not discussing some details are insulting and IMHO border on being a TOS violation. Words like that only serve to discourage people from coming forward and reporting problems, which is exactly what the community doesn't need or want.