Kategorie: News
Investigation of a series of accidents involving yachts on diving trips
Following the capsizing of the liveaboard vessel Carlton Queen in Egypt on 25 April 2023, a number of activities were launched to get to the bottom of the causes of such accidents. One of these measures is a bachelor's thesis entitled "Investigation of a series of accidents involving yachts for diving holidays", which was written between June and November 2023 by Justus Schiszler at the Kiel University of Applied Sciences in the Shipbuilding and Maritime Technology degree programme. The study analysed accidents involving liveaboard vessels since 2006 and grouped them according to the presumed causes of the accidents.
The regulatory situation was also analysed. Selected accidents for which sufficient information was available were analysed in more detail. In addition, comparisons were made with the accident figures for general shipping and safety recommendations for liveaboard vessels. The bachelor thesis is now available in German and English with an overview article in English on the website https://insightscuba.com/diving-liveaboard-safety/ (download also here).
To publicise the efforts to increase safety, a number of brief discussions were held on the subject of safety on liveaboard vessels at the boot 2024 trade fair in Düsseldorf. Firstly, Jan-Phillip Lauer and Justus Schiszler were able to speak to representatives of the ADTO (Association of Dive Tour Operators e.V.) and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism. The latter conversation resulted in a request to send an e-mail with recommendations for better safety measures. As promised, the information letter was sent to the minister, but no reply has yet been received.
Further discussions with various tour operators, such as Hammerhead and Bluewater Safaris, took place over the following days of the fair. It became clear that there are very different opinions on the existing regulations. The spectrum of perceptions ranges from insufficient regulations to unrealisable regulations. However, almost everyone agrees that the regulations need to be changed in order to improve safety. Even overly strict regulations do not provide safety, as there is unfortunately a tendency not to comply with the regulations.
Bachelor's thesis: Investigation of a series of accidents involving yachts on diving holidays
The bachelor thesis of Justus Schiszler (student at the Institute of Shipbuilding and Maritime Technology in Kiel) analyses ship accidents/accidents on liveaboard trips. For the basic analysis as the foundation of the bachelors' thesis, known accidents were first briefly described and a statistical analysis of the accidents was carried out with regard to the distribution over time, the causes and consequences of the accidents, the number of victims and the locations of the accidents.
The data collected in this way is then compared with data from the global shipping industry. This chapter summarises basic information on the accidents found: 31 accidents from the years 2006 to 2023 (August) were considered for the analysis.
Statistics from Allianz Versicherung are first used for the comparison with global data on general shipping. In order to compare the number of accidents involving liveaboard vessels per year with global shipping, the number of accidents per year can be set in relation to the number of vessels currently sailing. Unfortunately, the liveaboard segment does not fare particularly well here: despite particular difficulties in comparing the data statistically, there are probably significantly more accidents among liveaboard vessels than in global shipping, even if only a rough estimate is made.
In addition, the regulations on the most frequent causes of accidents are presented and compared with guidelines from local organisations such as the Egyptian Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS). Inspections by local organisations are also described and analysed.
Two accidents in the focus of the work
Two accidents are the focus of the work: The terrible accident on the "Conception" with 34 fatalities is described on the basis of the official marine accident investigation report of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the identified causes and recommendations are presented.
https://taucher.net/diveinside-34_todesopfer_bei_naechtlichem_brand_auf_tauchschiff_conception and taucher.net/diveinside-voruntersuchung_abgeschlossen_neue_details_zum_conception-desaster
The second case examined in more detail is the capsizing of the "Carlton Queen" on 25 April 2023, for which there is still no official investigation report. When the "Carlton Queen" capsized in the Red Sea, several people fell from the ship, but fortunately everyone was rescued. The ship capsized after several strong rolling movements and sank shortly afterwards.
The accidents described in detail are also used to highlight ways in which similar incidents could be avoided in the future. Finally, suggestions for changes in the supervision of the ships during construction and later operation as well as in the training of the crews are presented.
Download bachelor thesis (and errata)
https://taucher.net/tnetdocs/Bachelorthesis_und_Errata_Schiszler_ENG.pdf