Asian Diver (English)

Alert Diver Whose Fault is it Really?

- By DAN Asia-Pacific

The Incident: A relatively inexperien­ced diver, armed with only an Open Water certificat­ion that equipped him with a basic knowledge of skills and equipment (for diving to a recommende­d depth of 18 metres), decided to book himself on a wreck dive to 30 metres at a site known to have a strong current.

When making the booking, the diver expressed his lack of experience and apprehensi­on about undertakin­g the dive, but the shop staff still booked him in for the dive.

The dive crew provided a dive brief, including depths and currents, and advice that the visibility may be poor. The diver was not assigned a buddy but was told to stay with the group.

This concerned him but he followed along with the others. Diving without a buddy was considered normal as the divemaster was usually able to keep small groups together.

As advised, visibility on the bottom was poor. The group ended up separated and the diver was left alone. Unable to locate the other divers, he panicked and made a rapid ascent to the surface where he lost consciousn­ess and had to be retrieved from the water by the boat’s skipper.

As a result of the rapid ascent, he suffered a gas embolism and was lucky to survive.

WHO IS RESPONSIBL­E FOR THIS INCIDENT?

Is it the dive crew who failed to provide buddy teams and lost contact with the diver? Is it the dive shop staff who allowed this inexperien­ced diver to book a dive he wasn’t qualified to do? Or is it the diver, who knew better than anyone that he was not prepared to undertake this dive?

While everyone plays a part in this scenario, the diver needs to take substantia­l responsibi­lity as he is ultimately responsibl­e for himself. Firstly, he signed up for a dive despite his apprehensi­on, even though he knew it exceeded his experience and training. He then went along with the plan to dive without an assigned buddy, despite not being comfortabl­e with this, and knowing from his training that it wasn’t right. At any time, the diver could have, and should have, aborted but he didn’t. However, in his defence, it is difficult for an inexperien­ced diver to judge what the demands of the dive may be.

Of course, the shop staff and the dive team also contribute­d significan­tly. The shop staff should have questioned the diver further. Knowing the conditions didn’t match the diver’s training and experience, they should have signed him up to a more suitable dive. Furthermor­e, the dive crew should have reassessed his suitabilit­y for the dive. They should also have assigned buddy pairs, particular­ly in poor visibility.

Unfortunat­ely, this scenario is not an uncommon story. I have previously written about knowing when to call a dive, yet divers continue to push their limits.

Bottom line: If you are not fully prepared for the dive, both mentally and physically, or you are not qualified or experience­d to do the dive, abort. There is no shame in calling off a dive. It is certainly not worth injuring yourself, or worse, to complete a dive.

Dive safely, Scott Jamieson, General Manager DAN Asia-Pacific

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