Legal considerations for the Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[NAM001]

A waiver NEVER protects the operator from negligence.

Its too bad that waivers to not inform the customer of that, after all it is the customer that pays , via the package price, for the insurance the boat carries and yet has no right to know how it protects the customer?

 

[Ojai Diver]

As long as they have a watch onboard, it shouldn't be an issue.

Well, boats here did not always used to do so, but I guess they will now.

 

[NAM001]

As long as they have a watch onboard, it shouldn't be an issue.

I AGREE.... More than once have i got up in the middle of the night to find that so called watch asleep at the wheel while anchored. Its human behavior and things happen. I think the boat I used out of freeport TX was your compeditor, and it had a captain a DM and a cook. days are long and there is no way one can realistically believe the watch is alert all night. you sit down and the sleep button gets pressed and you are out. It only takes a few minutes for a casualty to get out of one persons ability to control. I know that will happen, It has happened to me many times. we are only human. Its funny when the customer is the only one awake at the dive site. granted that one hick up from the generator and the Captain is wide awake again for a few minutes.

 

[Wookie]

I AGREE.... More than once have i got up in the middle of the night to find that so called watch asleep at the wheel while anchored. Its human behavior and things happen. I think the boat I used out of freeport TX was your compeditor, and it had a captain a DM and a cook. days are long and there is no way one can realistically believe the watch is alert all night. you sit down and the sleep button gets pressed and you are out. It only takes a few minutes for a casualty to get out of one persons ability to control. I know that will happen, It has happened to me many times. we are only human. Its funny when the customer is the only one awake at the dive site. granted that one hick up from the generator and the Captain is wide awake again for a few minutes.

Sea Searcher? I got their Captain when they went under. He couldn't figure out why we were manned so heavily....

 

[Wookie]

Its too bad that waivers to not inform the customer of that, after all it is the customer that pays , via the package price, for the insurance the boat carries and yet has no right to know how it protects the customer?

No one knows what insurance the boat carries aside from the insurer and the owner. You can go as low as a million, or as much as (I've heard) 10 million.

 

[NAM001]

Sea Searcher? I got their Captain when they went under. He couldn't figure out why we were manned so heavily....

It may have. It was a shotty boat adn trip fees were much less than yours which was the incentive for groups to book that boat. Your boat was much nicer and I wished I had the chance to dive from it. The second deck made all the difference in a nice trip. As best as I could see you had a class act going for you. The mere look at the boat said a lot of thought went into it to make it work right. the other boat well lets say when they tell you to not drink the water becsue it is too expensive to get the potty water tanks certified for human consumption and limit your consumption to bottles water, it makes you wonder what else is not being kept up?????

I miss having been able to do a trip on the fling and spree.

 

[NAM001]

No one knows what insurance the boat carries aside from the insurer and the owner. You can go as low as a million, or as much as (I've heard) 10 million.

I believe you are right becasue i know no better, I vision one day i will sign a wavier that will read something like ,,,,,while on board the ship and crew will insure the following aspects of the trip. the customer will asume responsibility of the following aspects of the trip. Sign if you agree

 

[KevinNM]

Statements like I am qualified to make the dive being undertaken is stupid. You dont know what you don't know. Some kid with less than 10 dives including the ones for OW class. checks yes and the boat is off the hook if he is injured because teh kid know no better. Yes it is the divers responsibility to protect themselves. Yet who after traveling several hundred miles and paying some huge price to go diving will say no they have never dove in a current with a wall to contend with.

We were at the last dive site on the Spree, we were to make 2 dives there. Conditions were 'sporty', as in the dive briefing had the phrase 'under no circumstances can you let go of the line' at least 3 times . With the comment 'if you do let go of the line we'll try to find you with the chase boat.' Frank's wife told me 'You probably shouldn't do this dive.' 3 of the 25 divers did the dive, they were all highly experienced in good condition, and they didn't include me. So this is something the operator can certainly influence.

 

[KevinNM]

I agree, I think the "taxi" term has been misinterpreted, at least as I would use it. When I get into a taxi, I don't expect it to blow up. Same as a dive boat. They aren't 'just" getting me from the mainland to the island, they need to be safe when doing it. But it is no frills as mentioned. No hot towels after a night dive, no comfy sheets, etc.

I'm pretty sure a captain of a dive boat lost their masters license after failing to rescue a struggling diver on the surface by their boat. You are not a taxi driver. You don't become a taxi by saying you are one.

 

[nolatom]

I can't picture a Captain ever allowing his night watch to sleep while anchored or moored somewhere, with passengers asleep. Nor an owner allowing it either.

One thing about the Limitation Act (I know this is for the "legal" thread, but indulge me?) If owner knew or winked at, a watch not staying awake or making rounds, his challenging shot at limiting his liability to the value of the "vessel and pending freight" would sink from very difficult, to zero. If on the other hand he made a point of telling/requiring wakeful roving, and this was a one-off freak lapse, then there's a chance that the casualty happened without "privity or knowledge" of the owner, which is what the ancient Limitation Act requires.

Okay, maritime lawyer hat back off now.