6 divers missing off Sangalaki

[cephalopod2]

Regarding VHF, other than the big liveaboards, forget it. No dive boat is likely to have VHF at all...Fishing boats wont have vhf, pleasure boats wont, a lot of small ferrys wont.
DSC does indeed require dedicated receivers as it has 2 VHF channels allocated for the data. A normal vhf simply wont hear a DSC bulletin. You need to remember you're in a remote country with limited SAR resources and help.

IyaDiver posted some very thorough and experienced advice on how to prevent yourself from becoming a lost diver in any high current area of Indonesia - and there are many - in the thread about the 7 Japanese divers lost off Bali. Many more details are in his original post (model reviews, etc), but his key recommendations have always stayed with me. Excerpted from his post

I suggest everyone diving areas similar to Nusa Penida/Lembongan/Ceningan island group, more so in a country where SAR assets is unlike USA, meaning poor.....please carry a marine VHF radio IPX7 rated in a cannister and HANG one more, on the neck of the boat crew.

Burdening any SAR of any country or any of our friends and relative with the thoughts that we are lost at sea, is both expensive and a very sad affair.

....I conduct radio drill often when the crew is new or not my own....Radio drill is when I actually use the radio in water and call the boat to pick me up while giving them magnetic heading to my direction or my magnetic bearing away from dive spot.

Do not rely soley on PLB only when diving Indonesia, use PLB as 2nd back up and last resort.

Diving in any country with minimum SAR asset, one must cut short the time between drift and found. More so if the location one will drift to is open Ocean like the Indian Ocean.

Forget DSC capable radio, Indonesia dive areas do not have much big ship where DSC alert is read by a DSC capable radio and linked to a chartplotter. Even compass you may not find on some boats....Anytime a dive boat is powered by a 40HP hand pull start outboard engine, that means the boat has no battery. Some remote areas, the diesel engine is hand crank too. So again, no battery. So don't dream on mounted marine VHF common on simple boats.

The full post is here http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ac...-divers-missing-off-indonesian-island-10.html

 

[Dave1w]

That is good advice from Iya I have just purchased a Nautilus, hopefully to pair up with my handheld radio, to be left on board (and a PLB for a last resort )


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[Learn It]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ge...ignalling-equipment-searchers-point-view.html

 

[boulderjohn]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ge...ignalling-equipment-searchers-point-view.html

That thread was concluded in late 2007, nearly 8 years ago. DAN had a similar article in 2010: Alert Diver | The Boat Left Without You: Now What?

The Nautilus Lifeline was not put on the market until November, 2010, and DAN published an article in late 2011 promoting its use: Alert Diver | Nautilus Lifeline

It seemed to me that it had a lot of features that could respond to a lot of situations. Peter69_56 seemed to indicate that having one in those waters does no good. I wonder if he or someone else who really understands all its features could explain why.

 

[String]

It seemed to me that it had a lot of features that could respond to a lot of situations. Peter69_56 seemed to indicate that having one in those waters does no good. I wonder if he or someone else who really understands all its features could explain why.

Its works on VHF/DSC which is worthless there as pretty much no boat there will be equipped with a VHF radio of any kind. If youre going that way a PLB that broadcasts on 406MHz to satellite is far far more worthwhile.

"A VHF radio!" said Lever. "Almost every commercial boat on the water has a VHF radio. If the diver can use that to communicate in real-time with boats in a given area, the odds of him being picked up quickly are exponentially improved."

Simply isnt true in most of the world.

 

[Dave1w]

Yep, and trying to get them to have anything like that is impossible. Only advice is being your own for the boat and sort that out yourself. 99% of the dive centre won't do this for the boats they use, I've only seen a couple do it


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[IyaDiver]

DSC Feature in any radio, including Nautilus Lifeline, requires MMSI number to be obtained first and programmed into the radio.
Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI)


MMSI for other than US Citizen is a pain to get, as it is for yacht/ship as its entity and not a person.

USA offers assistance for local boaters, thru Boat US and it has to be used in US waters only.
MMSI Registration - Maritime Mobile Service Identity - BoatUS


MMSI if the real international one, one must have ship station licence and entity is a vessel/ship/boat/yacht.

Vessel above 300 Gross Ton by international law is to have navigation and radio system following The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) standard. This standard, a DSC capable radio is a must have, among other things.


So forget DSC based rescue if you dive 3rd world countries. Also to note that dive locations in 3rd world countries are NOT at the areas where commercial vessel GMDSS class will travel or part of its route. Big vessels are not easy to maneuver and expensive to run.
1 hour of engine running they consumed few hundreds of liters per hour of fuel, if not thousands per hour, depending on size. Do u think they will find your distress signal as important ? Late arrival at next port due to rescuing a diver, may get a commercial vessel demurrage charge in the US$1000s of dollars per day, its not a joke. Commercial vessels do not have zodiacs to rescue a diver at sea, pulling up a person from sea and to maneuver the big vessel close enough to do so is not easy, diver may even get chewed by the vessel propellers.
For those who does not know what a tanker stopping distance, you will be suprised. It can be up to 1+ mile.
Twenty Tanker Tips


As I stated in the Japanase incident of 2014,page 19. Keep the rescue local, fast and no drama. That means your dive boat is the one to pick you u with radio assist on the voice channel , not data/text.


GPS coordinates from a DSC radio to a another DSC radio but not link to an electronic map, is just numbers. Without a marine chart it is useless.
2° 17.055'N by 118° 14.568'E ....what does this means to someone without a paper or electronic
chart ? Those coordinates is the middle of Derawan Island.

Local boat boys always are good with 4 directions, West - North - East & South. That is the language divers must relate to the boat by voice if visual is not possible due to extra distance.
I am at the South of dive spot bla bla bla....come and get me.
Know your dive spot before a dive, Google Map is free. Get familiar with it. Navionic chart on smartphone/tablet is cheap to, under US$75, my PC version is US$200+ and software another US$300.
Know your area before you do the trip. Lock compass bearing to the dive spot, so you know when you drift which direction the drift is.


In flat water, good sunny weather, 1 feet eye height of a diver above water ( world is round, not flat ) can see distance 1.23 n.mile away. Add the boat height of say 4 feet. If dive boat big enough length wise, seeing the boat from 2-3 miles is easy. If diver can drift for 3 n.miles in water from X dive spot, with current of 1.5 knots , I would say diver is a death seeker because that is two hours of drift dive equivalent or, 1 hour drift dive and some crazy DECO stop of 1 hour ...LOL. Drift dive of such distance must be planned ahead and carrying an always floating surface marker tied to the dive guide is a must and the dive boat follow the drift. I know of dive guide who does this logical thing in Nusa Penida Bali and the so called Jukung dive boat trails along all the time. Me, I keep 500 meters max drift, before I deploy my surface marker while doing safety stop. If I drift too far, I will use the radio immediately for alerting the dive boat.




***PLB***
PLB only has 24 hours battery life for its distress transmission.
Look at the timeline when the helicopters are used, its more than 48 hours after the incident. So PLB battery will not last that long. Assuming a diver uses a PLB and transmission age was 24 hours ago, with the sea condition of that day + 48 hours, the drifted diver will be very very far away from original last transmission. Carry two PLB is good for today cheap <US$300 PLB cost.


Dive safe guys....
.

 

[Dave1w]

I think the radio feature of the Nautilus is useful, IF you leave a radio on the boat, but also, I'd just be very careful what boat I got on. I just registered the Nautilus via the UK with not too much hassle.
I've only found a couple of operators with boats I would trust, so unfortunately it narrows down the diving choices.


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[Peter69_56]

That thread was concluded in late 2007, nearly 8 years ago. DAN had a similar article in 2010: Alert Diver | The Boat Left Without You: Now What?

The Nautilus Lifeline was not put on the market until November, 2010, and DAN published an article in late 2011 promoting its use: Alert Diver | Nautilus Lifeline

It seemed to me that it had a lot of features that could respond to a lot of situations. Peter69_56 seemed to indicate that having one in those waters does no good. I wonder if he or someone else who really understands all its features could explain why.

Yes he does understand and did own one until United tore my bag and lost it for me.

I agree in first world countries they are very useful, but keep in mind only for about a 5 km radius and provided the boats in the area have a VHF radio (also with DSC). In third world countries where they have no VHF radios fitted let alone a DSC function means the lifeline is useless. The point I am trying to make is that as long as shipping in your area of diving within a 5 km radius has a VHF radio and/or DSC function fitted they are a great item to have for safety. If you are diving in areas such as Bali, Philippines, PNG, Truk etc where most if not all of the dive boats don't have a radio, the lifeline is useless as it will not contact anyone. With A PLB, although there is a delay in the communication process, at least someone on the planet knows your exact location for around 48 hrs, hopefully enough time to find you. I had both, but having lost my lifeline now, I will not be getting another and will depend on a signal mirror, tank screamer, dye, SMB and PLB.

For reaction time relating to a PLB signal, I can only comment on my experience in OZ when mine accidentally went off, they were firing up the chopper to come get me within 30 min of receiving the signal. The PLB will operate at a minimum time of 24 hrs, but usually much longer. I agree in third world countries, it will take quite some time to receive the signal from the Marine safety base to say police and get them going, however what the PLB signal does is to show actual position and also your drift for at least 24 hrs, thus a good indicator of where you might be from last known signal.

Also in OZ to be able to use one you must have a VHF radio licence. In other countries I believe this is not the case, but another complication for those in OZ.

I also agree to some point about the lifeline giving position. Unless you have GPS or maps on the boat the position means nothing and not something you can steer to, so really the rescue boat must have both a GPS and a VHF/DSC radio for the lifeline to be fully effective. If you can see the rescue boat however, you can talk with it and direct it to you, but in any sort of a sea, that opportunity will quickly disappear.

I just don't want people thinking that if they get a lifeline, that its the be all, end all for being rescued. It has quite significant limitations, depending on area, boating equipment etc.

In relation to drift, I immediately launch my SMB when in deco/safety stop if not on a line, drift or no drift. I want the boat to know where I am at all times.

 

[cephalopod2]

There are still 4 divers missing after 7+ days. I am extremely concerned for them. I wanted to pull together information from different news articles since that's the only source we have to work with right now. All quotes direct from Google Translate.

A KaltimPost article suggests they were diving with Derawan Ocean Divers, i.e. based in Derawan. From TA reviews, it appears the dive boat trip from Derawan to Sangalaki is 1-1.5 hours each way (I have not dove there - perhaps someone who has can verify). One of the KaltimPost articles suggests they were picked up on Derawan at 10 and arrived at Sangalaki at 11 AM.

They started their second dive at 2:10 PM according to several articles. When the divers could not be located, the skipper called for other local boats to help in the search. The DM Oslan was found about 5 mi/9 km from Sangalaki after having swum for about 2 hours. We do not know how far the dive site they started from was from Sangalaki. I am not sure what this sentence from the Aug 22 Kompas article (below) means

"Oslan recount has given instructions to immediately return to the speedboat because of bad weather. However, the four men could not be monitored by Oslan."

Did Oslan call the dive while they were underwater, or was this instruction after they surfaced? Did all 5 divers surface together, or did Oslan surface alone or with part of the group? Was Oslan unable to "monitor" the other divers because they had become separated underwater or did they become separated at the surface? Did they face any current underwater?

This appeared in the Kaltim article - perhaps someone fluent in Bahasa can give a more accurate translation. If "we" were on the surface, perhaps part/all of the group surfaced together.

"When we dive noon and late afternoon nice weather only, which again also crowded dive and swim," said Osland in Pospol Derawan Island, yesterday afternoon. At 15:00 pm, when the surface of the water, Osland no longer see speedboats that deliver them. When it, high waves and strong winds that carry them away from the diving points.

"For an hour we were on the surface and did not see the speedboat. I then tried to swim ashore, "he explained. "Diving equipment entrusted," he added as well.

Osland just met another speedboat around 17:00 pm. He's looking for four foreigners. Unfortunately, about half an hour sweeping, Michela et al was not found. Osland conditions limp made him stop looking and move closer to the island Derawan to ask for help.

From a Kaltim Post article, it appears the divers were OW certified, but of course that tells us little about their experience levels. Osland apparently has nearly 15 years experience.

Cari WNA Hilang di Sangalaki, Turunkan Heli Bell 412 - Kaltim Post
The incident began when six foreigners, five Italian nationality and one Belgian, diving in the waters Charitable Island. They boarded the speedboat named Osean Derawan Dive with a capacity of eight passengers engined PK 2x40. Six WNA accompanied Osland (44) and Aras (51), a resident of the island Derawan.

...Disclosed, diving certificate belonging to four foreigners were to limit the depth of 15-18 meters. Osland has certified dive master and dive often accompany residents. It was his first bad experience for nearly 15 years as a companion or guide diving.

There remains no information on what signalling equipment the DM or divers were carrying.

***************************
Kompas article. Note that Sangalaki translates as "Charitable" in Google Translate.

Hingga Hari Ketujuh, Wisatawan Asing di Sangalaki Belum Ditemukan [Direct from google translate]

Until the Seventh Day, Foreign Tourists in Charitable Not Found
Luke Adi prasetya
Lunch | August 22, 2015 14:20 pm

594 reads

BERAU, KOMPAS - Four foreign tourists who disappeared while diving in the waters Charitable, Berau Regency, East Kalimantan, has not been found until Saturday (22/8) afternoon, or the seventh day of the search. A joint team is still combing Charitable and surrounding waters.

"The results of the search while still nil," said Chief Postal Derawan Island Naval Sea Letda (P) M Buhari, Saturday (22/8) afternoon. Search involves the Navy, the police, Basarnas Balikpapan, and citizens. Search also assisted by two helicopters to comb the location. Traveller fourth is missing Daniele (36), Alberto (36), and Michela (33), the three Italian nationals. Another one is a Belgian citizen named Vana Chris R (29). Four of them are in one group were diving together.

The loss of tourists while diving in the waters of Charitable which is also a turtle conservation area, according to some residents, the first time this has happened. "As far as I can remember, there has never been lost tourists while diving," said Danny, a resident of Maratua.

The incident made the Berau Regent Makmur HAPK wonder. Makmur are also frequent this dive say, from the waters around the main island Derawan Islands Charitable, Derawan, Maratua, and Kakaban, precisely Charitable waters in the most quiet and comfortable.

"I do not know, really, could it happen because these waters during Charitable never anything like that. But, in my opinion, if the tourists to follow instructions instructor, yes, it would be safe," said Makmur.

The rating is accompanied Oslan, Derawan citizens, as well as guide experienced divers. The four travelers, Wednesday afternoon, diving accompanied Oslan, while others simply snorkel. However, around 18:00 pm, four foreign tourists were never surfaced.

Speedboat driver who took them and asked for help to the people in the waters of Charitable. Oslan was found in critical condition at a distance of 5 miles (about 9 km) south Charitable Island. Oslan limp with exhaustion swim about two hours.

Mujiono, Head of Operations Basarnas Balikpapan, say, Oslan recount has given instructions to immediately return to the speedboat because of bad weather. However, the four men could not be monitored by Oslan.
Andar T Lestari, Balikpapan residents who never dived in Charitable, say, every diver must comply with all basic rules. "For example, bring enough supplies, knowing the condition of the waters, and adhere to the dive instructor. But, as I recall, the flow in the Charitable not tight," said the company's employees.

Buhari said erratic weather occurred in the waters of Derawan Islands. Therefore, travelers should pay attention to the weather. If it's too late, you should not dive.