Kategorie: News
Interview with Maik Solf on the current safety situation on liveaboard boats
Safety on liveaboard vessels is an extremely important topic for us divers. However, since last year, with an accumulation of accidents, the safety issue has become an absolute top 1 topic and has moved the entire diving community.
We spoke to Maik Solf, founder and co-owner of Aquaventure Tauchreisen. Maik Solf is also President of ADTO, the association of diving tour operators. He answered our questions in this role.
Taucher.Net: How does the ADTO assess the current safety situation on liveaboard boats, especially in highly frequented regions such as Egypt and Indonesia?
In your opinion, are there special regions where particular caution is required?
Maik Solf, ADTO: The current safety situation on liveaboard boats varies greatly from region to region due to the different legal situations and safety standards in the various destinations. In many of the destinations offered by ADTO tour operators and many partner fleets, high and highest safety standards apply, which are regularly checked by the ADTO and its operators.
In the recent past, there has been an increase in reports of shipping accidents. This could represent an accumulation of incidents of this kind and/or be due to a greater focus by the public, the press and social media. We can only speculate about this at this point.
Whether it can generally be said that the security situation has changed (in whatever direction) cannot be answered in our opinion without further investigation.
The two regions mentioned, Indonesia and Egypt, have by far the largest number of liveaboard ships in the world. It is therefore to be expected that there are also more incidents in these regions than elsewhere. Of course, every accident is one too many and improving safety is therefore always a top priority.
Our observations show that a relatively large number of the boats involved in accidents, particularly in Egypt, were very new on the market or had only been modified shortly before the accident. Here we see clear deficiencies in the approval procedures of the local authorities, where licences are obviously not primarily assessed with shipbuilding expertise...
For this reason, the ADTO and its affiliated tour operators have had their own checklists for ships for years (see also answers to question 2) in order to fulfil the responsibilities of a tour operator under European travel law.
We generally work with long-standing partners and pay close attention to their safety measures and inspections.
We therefore consider the safety situation on the safari boats offered by ADTO operators to be as safe as it has been for many years, but we are aware that pretty pictures of boats that are shown on the Internet and encourage sales do not always correspond to the actual situation and of course cannot say anything about the real safety situation.
Taucher.Net: What criteria and safety standards do ADTO members apply when selecting and checking the liveaboard vessels they offer their customers?
How do tour operators ensure that the vessels meet customer expectations and the applicable safety requirements?
Maik Solf, ADTO: Under European travel law, a tour operator is obliged to carefully select and check the service providers in the destination. ADTO tour operators fulfil these obligations as follows:
Firstly, as already mentioned in question 1, the tour operators affiliated with the ADTO have been using safety checklists for years. These cover every conceivable aspect, from ship equipment, safety facilities and the level of training of the boat crew to diving operations and licences. These checklists are regularly applied and updated by ADTO employees trained for this purpose on the contracted vessels. In discussions with our partners, we encourage innovations and focus on the topic of possible safety improvements.
Secondly, the ADTO operates the Scuba-Advisor portal, a rating portal based exclusively on trips that have been booked and taken place with ADTO-affiliated tour operators, in which customers report on and rate their experiences of diving trips worldwide. The ratings are publicly accessible and are regularly analysed by the tour operators. In direct contact with the service providers on site, weak points can be recognised and quickly rectified. After all, only satisfied customers will recommend the services to others.
Ultimately, several ADTO tour operators are directly or indirectly involved in liveaboards in various countries. We can therefore draw on a high level of expertise in these matters. This is incorporated into our checklists as well as into the measures we take after receiving reviews via the Scuba Advisor. This can be found at: scuba-advisor.com
Taucher.Net: What legal requirements and industry-specific guidelines are there with regard to the safety and maintenance of liveaboard boats?
To what extent do the organisers take these requirements into account when working with local operators?
Maik Solf, ADTO: The legal requirements are naturally the responsibility of the respective country. If you consider the different levels of development of many holiday countries and their economic performance, it becomes clear why these standards are not uniform worldwide and also not comparable with German safety standards in terms of safety and maintenance. We see clear potential for improvement here.
Uniform standards would be desirable and we are working towards this within the scope of our possibilities by means of the checklists already described.
The question of the extent to which we organisers take the requirements into account in our cooperation has already been answered under no. 2.
Here is an example of an insurer's list for a ship in Indonesia:
Taucher.Net: How does booking a diving safari through a tour operator differ from booking through a pure agent?
What additional rights or advantages does the customer have with a tour operator?
Maik Solf, ADTO: Booking a diving safari through a tour operator instead of directly with the ship or through an intermediary platform offers a number of advantages.
First of all, for the same price, the money for every trip booked via a tour operator is secured - if the service provider (airline, hotel, ship) goes bankrupt, the customer is entitled to a refund - getting money from abroad in this case is difficult for the customer who books directly. In this case, the customer should definitely ask for the travel insurance certificate!
If a diving safari still cannot take place - it does not even have to be an accident, but also an engine failure and the associated cancellation of a tour
cancellation of a tour - the tour operator will provide an adequate replacement. If this is not possible, the customer will receive a full refund (including the cost of the flight).
The tour operator will also ensure that customers can travel home again at no additional cost.
The customer has a German-speaking contact person around the clock and, of course, European travel law applies.
The customer does not have to deal with the operators in the respective country.
Taucher.Net: What responsibility does the tour operator bear in the event of a claim and what services are reimbursed to customers in such cases?
Is financial compensation or repatriation covered as standard in the event of accidents or shipwrecks?
Maik Solf, ADTO: In addition to the benefits for the customer already answered in question 4, the costs of lost luggage are reimbursed in the event of an accident or shipwreck. Personal injury is covered by the tour operator's liability insurance.
Taucher.Net: Thank you Maik for your time and the detailed answers on the subject of liveaboards.