And so it begins. Panic in the California dive boat industry

[Eric Sedletzky]

To be more clear, is the crew required to be onboard when passengers are onboard, as they are when underway. Or are there a different set of rules when tied to the dock?


Bob

Don’t quote me on this, but I think there’s supposed to be someone on board if anybody - paying customer/guest is on board and crashed out.

 

[StefinSB]

Maybe I should open a Scuba bed and no-breakfast

 

[NAM001]

Why would a diver with a camera or a scooter or rechargeable dive light have to skip a dive because of the new charging rules?

thats easy its the boats rules. bring a spare set of batteries.

 

[Popgun Pete]

"They died in a grandfathered boat" is going to have a final ring to it.

 

[NAM001]

All the talk about sleeping onboard the night before,, watches,, and charging rule changes. It just says how many corners in the past have been cut in the name of getting business. The issue of prices that will go up. so what,,, they should have been up as it is if these concerns would have been dealt with up till now. To be honest It has more appearance of getting your ducks in line in the event inspectors come on board and ground the ship until corrections have been made. And to that aspect what else may be found? I suspect there is a good chance now that they will lose more money potentially if they do not do this, where before they would loose money if they did do this. Its becoming a game of the lesser of two evils. The attention of authorities has been raised, and now its not just a game of roulette as to whether you get hit or not, its the inspectors that will be now pushing to play the game also but as a spectator with no risk in the game. No one , absolutely no one wants oversight onboard. I cant imagine how a trip would go with inspectors onboard for several days. Or how about your insurance carrier.

 

[Wookie]

To be more clear, is the crew required to be onboard when passengers are onboard, as they are when underway. Or are there a different set of rules when tied to the dock?


Bob

I don’t know the answer to that.

I expect that the coast guard may not have considered the question before now. We will likely see guidance come down.

 

[loosenit2]

I don't like those charging hours. A number of people probably do their camera battery charging at the end of the day, after their dives, once they've got the camera case rinsed and the camera out to download pics from onto a computer. I suppose bringing an extra battery and charging it then swapping every day may become the norm.

Boarding the night before may let people avoid paying for a hotel, keeping costs down. If some customers didn't want to take advantage of the offer, more power to them, but now it's no longer a choice.

I hope at least some boats will devise a charging station that amounts to a steel trunk enclosing the chargers such that, when shut, even if a lithium battery-based fire broke out, it'd be contained.

Richard.

Your idea of a fully enclosed charging station would seem to solve the problem of fire but would create other problems. One product of charging Lithium Ion batteries is heat. In fact the more depleted the battery is and the higher rate of charging that is used more heat is produced. A bunch of electronics charging in a confined space would rapidly heat that space resulting in 1. potential damage to the electronics (not all batteries are removed from the electronics to charge, i.e. Teric) & 2. increased risk of Li-On fire, 3. Liability for all the electronics damaged if a fire started. Some studies have shown that risk of Li-On runaway is increased in high-temperatures.

For that solution to work it would have to be a specifically engineered enclosure that included ventilation/air conditioning, temperature monitoring, and automatic emergency cutoff monitoring. If a fire did start in a fully enclosed compartment the resulting pressure would make a bomb. I have to imagine something like that is possible but also wonder what it would look like and cost.

As an alternative option might be fire retardant and "explosion proof" soft containers. They are readily available for Li-Po batteries, and are relatively inexpensive. (https://www.amazon.com/Fireproof-Ba...ocphy=9027422&hvtargid=pla-638708303743&psc=1) I have not been able to determine if they would be effective for Li-Ion batteries. Using something like this would be an open charging area with each battery/electronic item placed inside.

 

[cerich]

I don’t know the answer to that.

I expect that the coast guard may not have considered the question before now. We will likely see guidance come down.

The Conceptions Certificate of Inspection addressed this very issue. "OR PASSENGERS ARE ON BOARD OR HAVE ACCESS TO THE VESSEL FOR LESS THAN 12 HOURS IN ANY 24 HOUR PERIOD, THE CREW MAY BE REDUCED TO 1 MASTER AND 2 DECKHANDS." and of course this part "A MEMBER OF THE VESSEL'S CREW SHALL BE DESIGNATED BY THE MASTER AS A ROVING PATROL AT ALL TIMES, WHETHER OR NOT THE VESSEL IS UNDERWAY, WHEN THE PASSENGER'S BUNKS ARE OCCUPIED."

It's hard to say if other vessels used as dive boats in California have similiar or identical restrictions/requiremenst placed on them.

Easy enough to tell however, the COI should be in a place where all can see it

 

[Wookie]

And there you have it. I didn’t have the watchman clause as that is a fairly new regulation, and my COI was written very differently, but it does appear that this one was written specifically for passengers sleeping onboard th e night before.

 

[Tug]

To be honest It has more appearance of getting your ducks in line in the event inspectors come on board and ground the ship until corrections have been made

this is what my money is on, I can also see a lot more hoardings happening in between COI inspections, and not just in dive boats