edpdiver
Contributor
I just heard from my travel agent about an accident with the Archipelago Adventurer 2 liveaboard in Indonesia. The information is posted in detail below. The short version of the story is that the ship ran aground, everyone was evacuated, and is safe. More details are given below.
First, here is a statement from Ultimate Dive Travel, who books a lot of clients on this boat (inlcuding me; I found it to be a fantastic operation).
"Ultimate Dive Travel was the first scuba travel specialist to find this wonderful boat, and have remained their largest customer in North America. So we wanted to bring this news to everyone before any rumors start to fly around, as we have already heard some rumors. We also will have one of our team members going there in mid December and if the boat is not running yet, we will be able to go and see it in dry dock in Sorong. The main thing is, Not 1 person, guest, nor crew was injured, and everyone is safe! This boat has a fantastic crew, and they did everything the way it should have been handled.
The other great news is, they have a good boat chartered during the time it will take to repair the Archipelago, and so no charters will be missed, plus Archipelago crew will be running all the operations of the chartered boat, dive masters, chefs, and all the rest of the regular crew everyone that has been on this boat have come to love will still be there with their smiling faces. Once completed the boat will be in great shape, with new engine, gensets, compressors and a new membrane system for Nitrox. Archipelago was also one of the first boats to offer Free Nitrox, showing their concerns about your safety. Safety is, and always will be the top priority."
and here is the statement from the Archipelago Adventurer 2
"Greetings from Archipelago,
It is with a heavy sense of disappointment that I must tell you of an incident which occurred with the Archipelago Adventurer II in Raja Ampat on the 26th October 2010.
At 8pm in poor conditions close to Kri Island, the Adventurer II vessel sat at anchor after a night dive, due to a combination of factors to do with weather and current, the vessel dragged the anchor and struck the reef stern first, sustaining damage to the driveshaft and propeller. The vessel was upright, but due to the propeller damage it proved impossible to dislodge her despite our efforts. As this became clear, the guests from our charter disembarked and have been graciously assisted by the team at Papua Diving, to whom we are very grateful. All guests and crew departed the vessel without incident, along with their belongings everyone remains safe and the group are continuing their dive adventure in Raja Ampat.
Currently we are assessing the damage to the Archipelago Adventurer II, as a result of the damage to the driveshaft, water did enter the engine room, however the vessel has been towed back to port and will enter dry dock to repair any issues caused by the impact. Due to extensive insurance, the machinery will be replaced as necessary and Archipelago will cruise the waters of Indonesia again as soon as possible. At this time however, we dont know the extent of the damage to the machinery or the vessel itself until we enter dry dock for a comprehensive inspection and assessment of the damage.
As a result of the uncertainty, and due to our desire to continue providing our divers with a quality experience in Indonesia for the same itineraries, timeframes and durations already agreed with our groups and individuals, we have chartered another vessel for the duration of the repair until we can cruise once more with the Archipelago. The dive crew, chef and service team from the Adventurer II will board the new vessel and will provide our trademark service, diving and food. We will utilize our custom built aluminum tenders too. We do realize this is not ideal, however after such an incident, we are working as quickly as possible to provide the best possible solution for our divers."
This is an fyi for anyone who is interested.
-Erwin
First, here is a statement from Ultimate Dive Travel, who books a lot of clients on this boat (inlcuding me; I found it to be a fantastic operation).
"Ultimate Dive Travel was the first scuba travel specialist to find this wonderful boat, and have remained their largest customer in North America. So we wanted to bring this news to everyone before any rumors start to fly around, as we have already heard some rumors. We also will have one of our team members going there in mid December and if the boat is not running yet, we will be able to go and see it in dry dock in Sorong. The main thing is, Not 1 person, guest, nor crew was injured, and everyone is safe! This boat has a fantastic crew, and they did everything the way it should have been handled.
The other great news is, they have a good boat chartered during the time it will take to repair the Archipelago, and so no charters will be missed, plus Archipelago crew will be running all the operations of the chartered boat, dive masters, chefs, and all the rest of the regular crew everyone that has been on this boat have come to love will still be there with their smiling faces. Once completed the boat will be in great shape, with new engine, gensets, compressors and a new membrane system for Nitrox. Archipelago was also one of the first boats to offer Free Nitrox, showing their concerns about your safety. Safety is, and always will be the top priority."
and here is the statement from the Archipelago Adventurer 2
"Greetings from Archipelago,
It is with a heavy sense of disappointment that I must tell you of an incident which occurred with the Archipelago Adventurer II in Raja Ampat on the 26th October 2010.
At 8pm in poor conditions close to Kri Island, the Adventurer II vessel sat at anchor after a night dive, due to a combination of factors to do with weather and current, the vessel dragged the anchor and struck the reef stern first, sustaining damage to the driveshaft and propeller. The vessel was upright, but due to the propeller damage it proved impossible to dislodge her despite our efforts. As this became clear, the guests from our charter disembarked and have been graciously assisted by the team at Papua Diving, to whom we are very grateful. All guests and crew departed the vessel without incident, along with their belongings everyone remains safe and the group are continuing their dive adventure in Raja Ampat.
Currently we are assessing the damage to the Archipelago Adventurer II, as a result of the damage to the driveshaft, water did enter the engine room, however the vessel has been towed back to port and will enter dry dock to repair any issues caused by the impact. Due to extensive insurance, the machinery will be replaced as necessary and Archipelago will cruise the waters of Indonesia again as soon as possible. At this time however, we dont know the extent of the damage to the machinery or the vessel itself until we enter dry dock for a comprehensive inspection and assessment of the damage.
As a result of the uncertainty, and due to our desire to continue providing our divers with a quality experience in Indonesia for the same itineraries, timeframes and durations already agreed with our groups and individuals, we have chartered another vessel for the duration of the repair until we can cruise once more with the Archipelago. The dive crew, chef and service team from the Adventurer II will board the new vessel and will provide our trademark service, diving and food. We will utilize our custom built aluminum tenders too. We do realize this is not ideal, however after such an incident, we are working as quickly as possible to provide the best possible solution for our divers."
This is an fyi for anyone who is interested.
-Erwin