Korean tragedy - how soon is too soon for a recreational dive?

[Mantra]

I find myself very moved by the ferry tragedy that is unfolding. Here's hoping they find air pockets inside the ship. Those poor children. What a horrifying way to die - trapped inside a metal box filling with water.

And it made me think - I've dived a similar wreck. It was the Dona Marilyn off Malapascua. An Asian passenger ferry that went down with horrible loss of life in the late eighties. So its a comparatively fresh wreck. I felt a somber, solemn sense on that dive and was conscious I was looking at a grave. And it felt respectful or something to bear witness to that ship.

But I couldn't imagine going near this Korean boat, which is in 30m of water. Not in the forseeable future. Not for - decades, maybe? It would feel wrong and voyeuristic.

So where is the line? How soon is too soon? Is there any sort of consensus on that?

If anyone has other ethical notes about diving wrecks I'd be interested to hear them.

And if you believe in anything, pray some of the children will be found alive. And if not join me in hoping.

Thanks, all.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Someone dove the Doria the next day, I believe, but in that instance the loss of life was relatively small (though I imagine those who died or lost family in the collision did not think it so). And it wasn't exactly a cattle boat full of tourists that went out.

Here, I imagine local custom will dictate the correct amount of time, but unless Korea has an unusually strict prohibition on wreck diving I suspect we'll see divers quietly visiting as soon as recovery efforts cease. Then again, 30M isn't really deep enough to make it a terribly challenging dive, though it will probably turn into a wreck penetration training ground ​par excellence.

If it had sunk off Greece, nobody would ever dive it as it would be declared historically significant within moments of sinking.

 

[Rhone Man]

It is a thought provoking question. I have dived a number of wrecks where there was loss of life, but only ever years after the event. I never really wondered about what amount of time needs to pass before it becomes socially acceptable.

Another one occurs to me - why do we ask this question in relation to shipwrecks but not other instances relating to loss of life? No one suggests that an automobile or aircraft wreck should be treated with reverence, or that a section of freeway should be closed to public use if a large scale loss of life occurs. The only vague parallel that occurs to me is the way that in Britain the state will often buy and demolish houses which belonged to mass murderers, but I think that is to avoid giving wack jobs some kind of shrine.

 

[victorzamora]

I think the difference between diving a Loss-of-life wreck and driving down a highway that had a loss-of-life incident is that you specifically make a trip to go out of your way to witness the wreck. The highway is just on your way home. Also, a highway incident doesn't have the numbers that a ferry has. The NUMBER of deaths on that ferry also puts it into its own ballpark, in my opinion. However, it's the voyeurism vs functionality argument that makes the difference in my mind.

As for how long to wait? As someone with no loved ones on that ferry, it's easy for me to say "Not long after rescue efforts cease" or "Right after all rooms have been cleared" but I really don't know. I know I wouldn't dive it for a while, but that's personal.

 

[scubastingray]

I think another difference between the highway analogy is the recovery effort. If there was an accident on the highway, the injured/deceased are taken away on stretchers. Those on this ferry were not.

 

[Redshift]

People dive the Salem Express all the time and it was also a terrible and still recent tragedy. I don't think it's a bad thing to dive these wrecks. It keeps the story alive and the people who lost their lives remembered in a way. And I think it's possible to dive them with respect and despite the pleasure that it is to dive a wreck, have present what happened there and act accordingly.

 

[RickyF]

I'm sure how soon will be a very touchy subject. If the ship is in 30M of water and was say 20M tall, it might be considered a hazard to navigation and wire-lined or salvaged? I know that was done in other areas especially off Virginia.

 

[mathauck0814]

The technically correct answer is probably, "as soon as the authorities have completed their work". However long you wait after that is more a matter of your personal judgement.

 

[drbill]

Personally I'm not one who dives wrecks very often. About the only time I do is when there is sufficient growth on them to make them interesting to me as a marine biologist. I can't think of a single wreck I've dived that involved loss of life. Out of respect for the lives lost in situations like this, I probably would not even consider diving such a wreck for about a decade unless I was involved in a scientific experiment to study marine encrustation. Of course that is a personal judgment and not one I'd apply to others with differing opinions.

 

[TSandM]

I've done the Salem Express. It was an extremely eerie dive, with the immediacy of suitcases and children's toys on the sand. I didn't particularly enjoy it, and were I to go back to the Red Sea, I would not dive it again.

I believe most people find it reprehensible when folks want to gawk at disasters, whatever the disaster may be. We had a huge landslide here in the PNW recently that resulted in a lot of deaths. I saw an article in the newspaper yesterday reminding people that the area is not a tourist attraction and that the roads are closed to all but those having real business there.

The difference between a shipwreck and a massive freeway pileup or train derailment is that those things will be cleaned up -- you won't end up with the question of, "How long should we wait to go gawk at it?". As far as the original question goes, I was fine with the WWII wrecks in the Red Sea, but a local diver did Truk lagoon and couldn't wait to get away from there and on to Palau for the second part of his trip. He felt he had been diving in a graveyard. So "how long?" is relative, and personal, I guess.