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Introduction

On one of our Raja Ampat expeditions we were anchored next to the Oceanic Liveboard. By the following night the ship was destroyed by a fire that began in the engineroom. Fortunately no-one was hurt but a marine investigation is ongoing. Choosing a safe dive liveaboard has always been important but passenger safety is part-and-parcel about how well a ship is run. While you can never say never, it’s abundantly clear for those inside the industry, that many ships are falling short of minimum standards. In recent years there has been an increasing rate of tragedies: liveaboard ships are either running into reefs, sinking or catching fire at a greater rate than ever before.

Passengers are kept unaware of the problems

A recent article in Undercurrent titled ‘What’s Happening with Liveaboards?‘, doesn’t make the situation better. It rather glamorises how things were ‘back in the day’ when not much has changed. It makes for scary reading. I don’t believe the author when they say ‘never were the passengers endangered’. Especially since they were being shot at. Plus the ‘vessel occasionally touched the reef in the night’. They ‘had no therapeutic oxygen for any decompression emergency’ and ‘no crew member had any medical training’.

The main take-home from the article, is that a significant proportion of modern dive liveaboard operations are still operating like they were ‘back in the day’. And for the most part, as the author points out, passengers are kept ‘unaware of the problems’. That is perhaps the greatest tragedy of all. It’s likely you’ll never know the danger you are putting yourself in.

List of recent liveaboard fires and sinkings

Here is a list of recent fires or sinking of Indonesian vessels. Including other boats in the region, the Siren fleet has lost at least 8 ships! The majority of the vessels, below, are fleet-operated. During COVID, dozens of boats were submerged in the harbour, owing to lack of ongoing maintenance. In addition to the following losses, there are many more near-misses. There are fewer than 100 liveaboards in Indonesia. The list, below, represents a 10% loss.

2009 Sampai Jumpa
2015 Oriental Siren – sunk from hull crack
Sep-10 Blue Dragon 2 – struck reef
Dec-11 Mandarin Siren
Feb-18 WAOW (Indonesia),
Dec-18 La Hila
Jul-19 Oko Komodo – sunk
Dec-23 Indo Siren
Mar-24 MV Oceanic
May-24 Sea Safari VII

How do you know if your liveaboard is safe?

If you aren’t used to choosing a safe dive liveaboard then you are probably unaware of what it takes to run one safely. Every vessel fire is been reported widely in the dive media but you probably won’t read about, for example, how Pindito’s crew recently saved a diver’s life. Good news doesn’t travel as well. Which is a shame, as the only way to appreciate good practice is to hear about it. Hopefully you’ll never have to experience it directly yourself.

In this article I’ve gone through some of the most important factors relating to ship safety. I’ve outlined some of the questions you can ask (and why), and highlighted how Pindito has been able to keep a perfect safety record for over 30 years.

Summary of questions to ask before choosing a safe liveaboard

Key Safety Consideration	Description (click title for more details)
#1 Is the vessel owner-operated?	✦✦✦ Owner-operated boats are the life’s work of the owner and not run by consortiums or shareholders. They are significantly more likely to be run safely and efficiently.
#2 How many crew are there on board?	✦✦ A minimum of 16 crew for any overight or remote-area trips.
#3 How many speedboats are there?	There should be enough speedboats for one to remain on site with all divers, while another acts as support in case of emergency.
#4 Does the ship carry oxygen and emergency medical supplies?	Emergency oxygen should be a requirement for all dive vessels.
#5 How many dive masters are on board (e.g. first aid and rescue training?)	There should be a minimum of one fully-trained dive master (meaning they already have rescue course training) for every eight divers and one for every dive group underwater.
#6 Is there a separate camera charging room?	Ask what the vessel policy is for charging lithium batteries. Whenever batteries are being charged, they should always be accompanied and suitable fire-fighting technology on-hand (water does not extinguish lithium fires).
#7 Have there been any serious incidents? (A Google Search is normally sufficient)	If there have been any serious or catastrophic incidents e.g. fires, diver deaths, colliding with reefs or sinking of the vessel or a vessel in the fleet? Does the vessel or fleet have a track record of multiple incidents?
PINDITO	Pindito meets all the above requirements. Details are below.

HOW CAN YOU BE SURE YOUR LIFE IS IN GOOD HANDS?

Seven questions to ask before choosing a safe liveaboard

If you are spending any time asleep on a small ship at night you would be wise to choose a safe dive liveaboard. If you’re doing diving and snorkelling the risk is even greater. As with any water-based activity, this is even more so for remote locations. Some of the most recently built boats look great from the outside but might be considered high risk. There is one high-end luxury pinisi that we know has a rotting hull. Sadly, you can never be 100% certain your life is in good hands, because you’re kept unaware of most problems. You can only find out by asking as there are no government or other industry standards to protect you.

#1 Is the vessel owner-operated? The single most important question of all

⛴👨🏽‍💼

An owner-operated boat tends to be better looked after as the owner’s entire livelihood is contained within the hull. As you can imagine, it’s difficult to maintain a crew of 20+ people to a high safety and operational standard. Buying a second boat is a huge step up in cost, commercial risk and very hard to fill with passengers and an equally-skilled crew.

If the boat you are booking is part of a fleet, you are most likely at greater risk. The bigger the fleet, the less likely there is attention to detail.

Also, if you want to ask serious questions about your liveaboard, who are you going to speak to, if it’s not owner-operated? The shareholders will not understand the day-to-day operation. The crew are likely to be unreachable.

✅ Pindito is owner-operated for 30 years. The owner has no other vessels. ✔️

⚠️ Most boats that are part of ‘fleets’ are owned by hobbyists or silent shareholders and run entirely by the crew. Your cruise director and the Captain become responsible for day-to-day operations and customer service. If either, or both of them, are new to the job it poses a serious risk. If you cannot contact the operator of your ship and get straight answers, the chances are, no-one knows fully how it’s being run.

#2 How many crew? The second most important question of all

👨‍✈️👨‍✈️👨‍✈️ +👷👷👷+ 👨🏼‍🏭👨🏼‍🏭👨🏼‍🏭+ 👨🏽‍🍳👨🏽‍🍳👨🏽‍🍳 +👷🏼‍♂️👷🏼‍♂️👷🏼‍♂️👷🏼‍♂️+ 🤿🤿🤿🤿 +🧑🏽‍⚖️ +👨🏽‍💼👨🏽‍💼

For a small liveaboard to operate overnight trips or cruise long-distance, the absolute minimum number of crew would be about 16. The following crew contingent is the bare minimum to run any ship of that size without any guests at all, assuming they cook their own food:

• 3 x officers (Captain, first and second mate)
• 3 x deckhands
• 3 x engineers

This allows the crew do 8-hours on and 8-hours off. This means there are always two working at any time to extinguish fires, issue alerts for dragging anchors or monitor sonar for shallow reefs. It also means each crew member gets a full 8 hours of sleep per day. On top of this are speed boat drivers, kitchen staff, cruise director, dive masters (at least one per 8 guests) and hospitality crew. If a vessel has 12 or fewer crew, the safety is severely compromised as critical fire flashpoints are unmanned half of the time and your crew are too tired to run the vessel in the day.

✅ Pindito operates with 23 crew for 16 guests: Captain, First mate, Second mate, Deckhands (3), Engineers (3), Cruise director, Kitchen staff (3), Speedboat drivers (4), Dive masters (4), Hospitality (2). ✔️

⚠️ In Indonesia, a survey certificate does not mean a vessel is crewed properly. Some vessels are operating with 12 or fewer crew. According to sources of mine, almost half the vessels crossing the Banda Sea may unsafe for this reason alone. A significant proportion are unequipped to do any remote location or overnight trips.

#3 How many speedboats?

🚤🚤🚤+🚤

If there are any in-water operations this is a critically important factor in choosing a safe dive liveaboard. A vessel should always carry one spare speedboat in case of problems. If you have 16 divers on board then you need either two tenders capable of taking 16 people each or three speedboats capable of taking eight people each. In the event of any emergency, your speedboats are your only lifeline. They are there to rescue you if you surface early, or connect you to the main vessel where all the safety equipment is stored.

✅ Pindito operates four speedboats in total and has a separate driver for each. ✔️

⚠️ Speedboats should NEVER leave the dive site while divers are in the water. Yet it’s really common to see speedboats dropping divers and then returning to the ship for the next loot of divers. If anyone has problems submerging, they are left alone to drift in the current. We have even had incidents where we have had to rescue divers when their own liveaboard has left without them after they’ve surfaced late. If your liveboard is dropping passengers off and coming back to the boat and you have a problem

#4 Does the vessel carry oxygen?

0₂ ⛑ 🤿

You might think this is a no-brainer. Early application of oxygen is essential for anyone who suffers the bends. It helps avoids acute complications and buys time to get medical evacuation organised. But unbelievably, there are boats that do not carry oxygen.

✅ Pindito carries oxygen as well as comprehensive medical supplies. ✔️

⚠️ If you ever suffer from the bends (which can happen to anyone at any time) and oxygen is not available, it could be fatal.

#5 How many dive masters are on board?

🤿 🤿 + 🤿 🤿

Not every ship carries qualified dive masters. Some of them are just Open Water trained ‘guides’ to find animals. The minimum number of dive masters with rescue training should be one for every eight divers. A fully trained dive master should be present with every dive group. Again, one would imagine this is a requirement, but it is not uncommon for there to be no properly qualified dive masters onboard.

✅ All Pindito’s guides are dive masters with requisite rescue and medical training. ✔️

⚠️ If your guides are not dive masters, then they are not professional divers. Which means they are not insured to protect your safety. They may also not be trained in first aid or dive rescue. This poses an extreme risk. If you ever get into any trouble the risk could be fatal.

#6 Does the ship have a separate camera charging room?

🔋🔋🔥🧯

Having any batteries on charge in downstairs rooms is extremely unsafe. Charging should only ever be in a well-ventilated space away from major flashpoints and unaccompanied at all times, day and night. Also, additional fire-fighting technology is needed as water will ot extinguish a lithium fire.

✅ Pindito has a separate camera charging station behind the wheelhouse and open on both sides. It is the main thoroughfare throughout the day. At night a staff member is always present. We have also installed Elide Fire Extinguishing Balls as an extra safety measure. No-one is allowed to charge gear in their rooms. ✔️

⚠️ In recent years ship fires have begun after runaway explosions of lithium batteries. This has become one of the most significant issues for fire safety. When choosing a safe dive liveaboard, ask about this. If your chosen liveaboard has not thought about this then they cannot have your health and safety in mind.

#7 Has the vessel had any serious incidents at all?

⚠️⛔️

Before choosing a safe dive liveaboard, try to find out if the vessel (or a vessel in the fleet) has had any major incident: running aground, diver fatality etc. This can be done quite easily by doing a Google Search. If an incident has occurred I would be making more enquiries and possibly striking them off the list.

✅ Pindito has been operational for 30 years (12 years longer than any other ship). It is still structurally at a far higher standard than most newer liveaboards (which are often built using inferior timber). It has never had any fatality (though it has twice saved the life of a diver with a medical condition); and apart from COVID, has only ever cancelled one trip. ✔️

⚠️ Some of the fleets of liveaboards have lost multiple ships and you might consider avoiding those.

Other considerations

Where are the two fire escape routes?

🔥 📍🗺 x 2

Every vessel must be built with two unimpeded egress points in case of fire. You usually won’t know about this until you get in board, in the hope that you receive a safety briefing. Before choosing a safe dive liveaboard you can sometimes see this on a plan of the vessel but if in doubt, you should definitely ask. Needless to say, the boat must also be equipped with life jackets, life rings and sufficient liferafts (all of which should have been surveyed, approved and dated).

✅ Pindito has two fire escape routes from the cabins. The second is forward of the vessel and is also the crew quarters exit, so it cannot be blocked at any time by luggage or other obstacles. ✔️

⚠️ One of the worst tragedies ever happened off California recently where 34 people lost their lives, as a fire escape was blocked from above.

Is the vessel seaworthy?

⛴ 🌊💥

There are many hidden factors that keep a vessel ‘ship-shape’ and seaworthy. They have NOTHING to do with what it looks like from the outside. In fact, newer vessels may be less seaworthy, as they are built faster and often from inferior materials. Unfortunately, you can’t know this, as annual survey inspections are often passed even though boats are not in good condition.

Pindito’s seaworthiness was tested last year when it got caught in a sudden, impredicted and unseasonal storm in the Banda Sea. Banda is seasonally is one of the worst seas in the world but I’ve heard of people buying cheap shoulder-season trips at times when I would not risk a crossing. Pindito was unlucky to be there during the doldrums but climate change is making conditions less predictable these days. Windows were blown out by waves but the guests were safe.

Then there are the more hidden issues. For instance, Pindito’s engineering wiring is all exposed, so short-circuits are easy to see and any fire outbreak can be immediately extinguished. If ships are built with critical wiring and connections behind bulkheads or wall panels, this massively increases the risk of runaway fires.

Classification

⛴ 🔖

Not all ships are equal. Classification, for example in Indonesia, follows the BKI standard. When Pindito was built, the requirements were a lot more stringent.

Pindito was built in 1992 and is BKI classified. This means it met IMO regulations at the time (and still does). This was a requirement for the ship to be certified. Since about 2008, ships in Indonesia do not have to be classified to be insured. For the first 12 years or so Pindito was the only vessel working in eastern Indonesia. About 2008 there was a massive growth in the number of new vessels but many of those, presumably, would not have needed such classification. This is because Indonesia authorities will provide clearance for any traditionally-built vessel. Those vessels, however, were not (traditionally) designed for passenger use, they were cargo ships.

Today, if a vessel is to be BKI classified, that is the choice of the owner.

✅ Pindito is built from timber that will last 100 years. The design and construction will outlive all of the more modern liveaboards built in the last few years.

⚠️ There are some very high cost liveaboards we know that have major structural problems (rotting timber hulls) and should not be going to sea at all. But they pass their survey each year and some do crossings such as the Banda Sea. There are fleets of popular (cheap) ships that have lost a number of vessels from sinking due to these problems.

Other miscellaneous indicators

There are lots of other small indicators that can show you how seriously a liveaboard takes your health and safety. These stack up in terms of your confidence in a ship’s ability to operate safely. They are matters that can be asked about or seen but some are hard to guarantee as they can change. Additional indicators might be:

• Are they well-managed and communicative about your trip, details and money?
• How many years has the Captain been cruising this area? There are plenty of examples of vessels running aground with new Captains who do not know the complex reef terrain.
• Have they made dive insurance compulsory? This should include medical evacuation? Ensuring you are insured means the operator has thought about your health and safety.
• Is Nitrox included ‘for free’? And does the ship offer the practical component of Nitrox certification on board i.e. have qualified dive masters? Nitrox is an extra safety measure in remote locations where decompression is unavailable nearby.
• Are they 80%+ fully booked each year? This might indicate their capacity to do proper structural repairs – you can also ask to see a manifest of repairs done and the dry dock information for the last 12 months.
• Are they constantly offering ‘cheap’ discounts? This might indicate an inability to retain guests or maintain repairs.

Why I only work with Pindito in Indonesia

When choosing a safe dive liveaboard, the first step is finding a ship that is equipped with the means to avoid problems. The second, is knowing it is crewed by enough people, including those trained to use the equipment.

After nearly 30 years I can usually choose a safe dive liveaboard through a variety of little indicators … generally high commercial standards, an attentive owner or cruise director, and prices not being cheapened. I know Pindito is among the best and that each time we go to sea I trust the crew with the lives of all our guests.

I am onboard Pindito 2-3 times each year and in touch with the owner on almost a weekly basis. The questions I ask about safety have had me in trouble with other vessel owners that have described me as ‘difficult to work with’. What stands Pindito apart is its commitment to very high standards and the willingness talk about them. In fact, we talk about them continuously, as standards are constantly revised.

About Simon Mustoe

I’ve worked in the marine industry since about 1997 when I first joined Scottish and Norwegian small ships on the high seas of the North Atlantic for weeks on end. Since then I’ve operated my own crews on commercial ships with high safety and risk standards. I’ve been upended for helicopter underwater escape, launched rifelafts and studied survival at sea. But I’ve also chartered many boats for tourism and commercial operations.

I was on board during a serious explosion on a very well-equipped ship run by Exxon Mobil one night in 8m seas in Bass Strait, relying on fire-trained marine crew to abate a disaster. I was also recruited to a trawler in the Gulf of Mexico with, it turned out, very low standards doing a survey for a US University. In this latter case I intervened and a potentially serious incident was avoided but I would never make that mistake and put my life in their hands again.

I’ve chartered metal-hulled ships to remote areas of the coral sea and Ashmore Reef. I once chartered an aluminium-hulled Antarctic yacht for Southern Ocean trips, and also a tall ship to sail up Australia’s east coast. I’ve been working with Pindito since 2017.