A disaster of this magnitude, even if it turns out it was soley an act of god, is very likely to have this company close it doors. Strategic law suit based on archaic maritime law or not.
I would be surprised if the repercussions aren’t felt throughout the whole charter boat industry in some shape or form. Like I have pointed out in other parts of this thread. The charter boat industry in so cal isn’t lucrative enough for most owners/operators to put the money into their boats to get up to speed when new regulations will come out to raise the standard.
I assume that you’re talking about me, since everyone else has been remarkably well behaved in this thread.
If you look carefully, you’ll see that my anger is directed at the lawyers. I realize that they are bound by oath to give the best possible legal advice to their clients, but I wonder if they shouldn’t have considered the social repercussions of this move, as much as the legal ones. A preemptive strike on the grieving families is such bad taste that it boggles my Scandinavian sensibilities, and there are plenty out there who won’t see the delineation between owners and legal team.
There was a chance for the owners to come off looking like victims of a dysfunctional regulatory machine, and maybe enjoy a continuation of their social lives. That chance is now spoiled for the whole world to see. The right moves are pretty obvious (I guess) when you’re helping the WSL owners hold onto their money after Titanic, but somewhat different when dealing with a Mom 'n Pop operation.
But hey, my position that the logical course of action in this case is morally reprehensible, is entirely normative, and thus doesn’t cut much cheese in this world
One former NTSB official pointed at inadequate safety rules for boat construction. “It appears that both exits from the sleeping quarters bring you up inside the vessel,” the former head of the NTSB’s Office of Marine Safety, Marjorie Murtagh Cooke, told the Los Angeles Times.
“With 30-plus people dying, the investigation could lead to changes in the way vessels are designed or protected.”
As I already pointed out before this kind of liveaboards need a total redesign and upgraded safety regulations to prevent that similar things could happen in the future. As we say: “When the calf has drowned, the well is filled up.” I suppose that the USCG has now some explaining to do and must take their full responsibility in this matter.
On a multi-day trip with that many passengers, having that big of a crew makes a lot of sense. Especially when customer service is a huge part of the package, and tips are a significant part of the crews income.
However, again, with a six man crew someone better have been on watch. There are ways to have efficient utilization.
For example, as far as officers go, there is only a master and mate on these boats usually, making a two watch system. It won’t be a 6/6 or 12/12, it will be based around the boats movements and vary daily. Still, in theory, there is no reason why they should both be up at the same time, and back when i worked on charter boats the second ticket (mate) was the night guy. These boats don’t have a bnwas per say, but they have a similair type minder in the wheelhouse.
It would be easier to stay up at anchor in my opinion. You can actually stay mobile and move around.
A good question in regards to the COI. Does it specify watches? Been a while since I was on a ‘T’ boat but I don’t remember that kind of language in the COI
Smoke inhalation and the divers passed on in their sleep, which brings us back again to the question about smoke detectors and a carbon monoxide alarm.
My wording may be off, but AFAIK someplace in their certificates somewhere or maybe just a general rule they were supposed to have someone on watch at all times.
Common sense for most would say maintaining a watch is the prudent thing to do ( and i hope they were for their sake) but here it is in black and white.
Found it in the CFR subchapter T:
§185.410 Watchmen.
The owner, charterer, master, or managing operator of a vessel carrying overnight passengers shall have a suitable number of watchmen patrol throughout the vessel during the nighttime, whether or not the vessel is underway, to guard against, and give alarm in case of, a fire, man overboard, or other dangerous situation.
Who among us could sleep 20 yards off the beach at anchor with no one on anchor watch? Let alone the roving patrol/fire watch!
The owners of this company have little regard for safety in my opinion. This boat operates year round. The water temp is pretty cold in the winter, and they are still using those junk life floats in lieu of rafts.
A two-point anchor spread and an anchor alarm on the nobeltec can lure many into a false sense of security. The yacht that rescued them, weren’t they sleeping on the anchor?
Lots of weekend warriors and commercial fisherman on small boats probably sleep on anchor and shouldn’t, but boats carrying passengers with proper crewing should maintain a watch and if they don’t they are in violation of the above CFR referance.
For someone who has tug/osv/deep sea experience exclusively, how the charter boat industry operates can be a bit of a shock.
If the regulations are followed, the boat is perfectly fine as built the CG would say. And I would have to agree. Subchapter T is pretty basic and if captains would just blindly follow it, they would be fine for the most part.
“He who kept watch, sounded and mistrusted, never got lost”.
This is an old proverb from Spain, well known among our seamen.
Our beloved ocean is as captivating as it is unforgiving. In the wake of this tragedy, I sure hope we all are well aware of that.
Regulations, laws, STCW standards, blah blah blah, matter naught against COMMON F…G SENSE!
Here we have an old wooden boat, designed as a mouse trap, anchored 20 yards from the shore. A beautiful weekend of adventure turned into one of the worst nightmares that eyes have ever seen.
I couldn’t give two shites about what the “laws” say, somebody should have been watching AT ALL TIMES. Not only at night.
Then we have to take into account the human factors in this situation. Crew and passengers alike were probably tired after a whole day of diving and chasing around, they were anchored relatively close to shore, and fell peacefully and complacently into Morpheus’ sweet embrace.
That costed them their lives. Dead and survivors alike, their lives are gone. I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of the ones who survived.
Not placing blame here, for we are all human and flawed, and therefore susceptible of making mistakes. Such as this fatal one.
That’s what we have to remember and learn from this tragedy. May God have mercy of these 39 souls.
Likewise here, it was a long time ago.
You have to anchor close in in small coves around Santa Cruz because the seafloor drops rapidly. I’ve anchored off the island in charter boats and on private sailboats. The winds around the islands are unpredictable and will change without warning. Seeing as the beach is only 20 yards away with the anchor sitting on a steep slope, I wouldn’t dream of not having an anchor watch on any type of vessel.
Not suggesting there wasn’t. On the contrary, I would assume that one of the crew was assigned. That such a crewmember might have dozed off unintentionally on a calm quiet night after an 18 hour day is also possible.
