Diverace liveaboard runs aground in Myanmar (Burma)

[Down2bizDiver]

Should I mention that the French cruise director and some local crew spent the afternoon drinking vast quantities of beer ashore? The accident occurred about two hours after the coming back aboard. The cruise director is reported to have drunk 13 or more beers in the preceding 4 hours. I suspect it was more because I observed him drinking beer after he was back onboard ... I was present at the onshore bar for a time during the afternoon when he consumed perhaps 6 beers during the 90 minutes I was there. I should also mention that shortly after leaving port, the ship reversed direction and headed back towards port then after a few miles did another 180 degree turn and headed away, as documented by the GPS tracking app on my iPad.

 

[flyboy08]

I hope you post all this on their Facebook page among other outlets!

In the USA, like in flying, it's 8 hours bottle to throttle and most use 12 hours as a rule! Also, if a US commercial vessels in US waters suffers an incident such as you described, it is required to call the US Coast Guard and file with the NTSB the incident immediately!

 

[Wookie]

I hope you post all this on their Facebook page among other outlets!

In the USA, like in flying, it's 8 hours bottle to throttle and most use 12 hours as a rule! Also, if a US commercial vessels in US waters suffers an incident such as you described, it is required to call the US Coast Guard and file with the NTSB the incident immediately!

Yes to Coast Guard, No to NTSB. The CG may bring the NTSB in in the case of a ferry accident, or the NTSB may shoulder their way in, but regarding small passenger vessels, which a liveaboard is, there is no requirement for the Captain, Owner, or Agent to notify them in the event of an accident/Incident.

 

[Uber Dave]

That is one crazy experience!

 

[Down2bizDiver]

Yes to Coast Guard, No to NTSB. The CG may bring the NTSB in in the case of a ferry accident, or the NTSB may shoulder their way in, but regarding small passenger vessels, which a liveaboard is, there is no requirement for the Captain, Owner, or Agent to notify them in the event of an accident/Incident.

What about not notifying anyone involving an accident that damages or destroys government property such as a navigation aid? I can't imagine landing short or off runway and wiping out the localizer or ILS antennas without reporting the damage to someone?

 

[t-mac]

What about not notifying anyone involving an accident that damages or destroys government property such as a navigation aid? I can't imagine landing short or off runway and wiping out the localizer or ILS antennas without reporting the damage to someone?

Thai boat with Singaporean owners in Myanmar. I was in Myanmar a couple or years ago. Lived in Thailand for a while. Not really surprised by this part.

 

[Wookie]

What about not notifying anyone involving an accident that damages or destroys government property such as a navigation aid? I can't imagine landing short or off runway and wiping out the localizer or ILS antennas without reporting the damage to someone?

In the US ATONs (Natigational Aids) belong to the coast guard, and hitting one gets you a form, an investigation, and a repair bill. I can't tell you about the rules in Burma, but I expect that hitting one may very well result in the seizure of the vessel and an invitation for the captain to come back to court sometime. Which may result in missing the next sailing, as well as missing getting you. Ack to the port of departure.

 

[KathyV]

...The owner is not a company, rather a wealthy individual resident in Singapore...If this were an operator in USA, Australia, Europe, or even Belize or Mexico, I am 100% certain the authorities would shut them down immediately.

...if a US commercial vessels in US waters suffers an incident such as you described, it is required to call the US Coast Guard and file...the incident immediately!

What about not notifying anyone involving an accident that damages or destroys government property such as a navigation aid? I can't imagine landing short or off runway and wiping out the localizer or ILS antennas without reporting the damage to someone?

In the US ATONs (Natigational Aids) belong to the coast guard, and hitting one gets you a form, an investigation, and a repair bill...

Serious accidents at sea may go unreported more often than expected. About 2 years ago there was a lot of discussion here on ScubaBoard about a retired dive shop owner that died as a result of an accident off Ambergris Caye, Belize. It was never indicated that the dive boat was responsible for the accident, but the boat captain and the dive op did not report the accident to the police or the maritime authorities. The boat captain reported it to the manager who reported it to the tourist board!

When the authorities finally heard about the incident through gossip, some time after the event - they did prosecute the boat captain, see the link below.

I can understand that the fear of repercussions might cause someone to try and hide a bad incident, but then you run the risk of getting in even more trouble for trying to cover up the event!

Diver Succumbs to Injuries; Boat Captain Fails to Report Accident to Authorities - The San Pedro Sun News