Egypt dive boat sank because it wasn’t built for open water

A dive boat sank off the coast of Egypt last week. Several people have died, seven are still missing. Faulty construction and lax safety standards, accuse divers who have experience with the dive company.

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My Sea Story boat sank last week. Seven people out of 44 are still missing.

Last week, international headlines were made as divers and dive operators died following after a live aboard dive boat flipped over and sank off the coast of Egypt near a popular dive site on the Red Sea. Some 44 people were aboard, 4 are known to have died, and 7 remain unaccounted for.

Diver Emad Omran from Egypt reached out to Green Prophet and said that the boat was built too high for its size, and was “easily controlled by the wind” making it an easy target when the sea gets rough: “It wasn’t built for rough, hard seas,” He says. “Actually it was built for easy kite surf live-aboard in a sheltered island environment,” he tells Green Prophet. Omran says that the owners of the boat “have no idea about diving or safety standards or even tourism creating a negative environment for dive operators in Egypt.”

The family of a British couple still missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea have spoken of their “desperation” as they wait for news. Jenny Cawson, 36, and her husband Tariq Sinada, 49, from Devon, are believed to be among seven people still unaccounted for after the Sea Story went down off the coast of Egypt early on Monday. FAMILY HANDOUT

The company who operated The Sea Story is called Dive Pro Liveaboards, and the “company must stop operating in the Red Sea,” says Omran.

Dive Pro Liveaboards did not answer our request for comments.

Linda Korres, familiar with the boat and a member of the crew who died last Monday, eulogizes her diver and friend Aladin who died on the boat accident when it sank last week. He was credited for rescuing people.

She said she felt something was wrong with this company when she went diving with them three years ago, on the boat My Tillis.

“We truly hope that the irresponsible owner of the ship Dive Pro Liveaboards, who already lost one of his four ships, the My Sea Legend this year 22nd February, due to a fire and explosion, will be finally called responsible together with all the officials who looked away and still do for so many companies and ships in the Red Sea,” she said.

“I am sure the reason the My Sea Story had to go out in the storm was out of reckless greed with some bribery involved,” Korres says. “Sending these cheap and quickly built and remodeled multistory narrow ships out, that are not suitable for open sea is a death sentence! Any time. But especially in these weather conditions. These ships are too shallow, ain’t going deep into the waters, have no keel to keep them upright in wind and waves, which makes them likely to tip over.”

She adds that the “motors aren’t strong enough, they have no anchors, the rescue islands are often old and useless, the zodiacs broken. Often there are no life vests and the few that there are, are not suitable for open sea, as they have no collar. There are no smoke detectors, no evacuation routs lit with emergency lights.”

She recalls a trip out on one of the company’s boats, My Tillis: “The furniture, sofas, tables and chairs were loose and slipped on the deck and the dining room with every wave. The beds had no railing. Several people fell out of bed at night and hurt themselves. Closets couldn’t be shut with locks and swung dangerously open all the time. The fridges on the deck couldn’t close properly, so that several times beer cans shot over the deck when the boat was rocking. We were lucky no one was hit.

“The crew could only use duck tape to secure drawers and the closets.”

The floor plan of the Sea Story dive boat. Divers are trying to rescue those who may be trapped inside.

She says that the crew or the captain of these boats are not to blame for the latest catastrophe: “They earn very little money and depend on the jobs. The owners don’t pay well and treat them badly. As result there is a new uneducated inexperienced hardly or non-English speaking crew every other trip. Instead of paying a fair salary and training them in all aspects and teaching safety regulations.”

A dive master earns about 300 Euros a week on a live aboard. The crew less, she says.

Some cabins had no life vests at all: “I remember very well desperately clinging to the bed, frightened as never before in my life, sobbing and crying silently in the dark on the first night, when sea was rough, not to scare my friend Caroline Strazzabosco with whom I shared an upper deck cabin.

“After some hours I realized she was just as scared to death as I was… sitting on her bed not letting go of her survival bag filled with water, medicine and cookies for us. My Tillis got new paint, TVs and furniture a year after our trip. But I believe nothing improved or changed on the safety issues.”

Interior cabin, My Sea Story

“My Sea Story is said to be an only 2 year old ship. I doubt it. I rather believe it is one of the remodeled much smaller old ships. Often they just add some stories in height and cut the vessel to add some structure to make it longer… until it’s unrecognizable and receives a new name.”

Below are several reviews about the company from TripAdvisor sent to Green Prophet from Omran:

Please let us know if you would like to share your story with this dive company in Egypt. You can email us diveaccident@greenprophet.com. We hope to keep Egypt a safe place to dive.

The post Egypt dive boat sank because it wasn’t built for open water appeared first on Green Prophet.