Japanese Tourist Dies In Phuket Boating Accident

[LivinginKata]

Japanese tourist dies in Phuket boating accident

PHUKET: A Japanese woman on holiday in Phuket died this afternoon after she was struck by the propeller of the dive boat she was on tour with.

Chalong Police Duty Officer Attawat Suwannarat told the Gazette the police were notified of the accident at about 4pm.

The name of the woman, aged 22, is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Capt Attawat said the woman was on a dive tour off Racha Noi island when the accident happened.

She had booked the tour with her male travelling companion earlier today, he said.

The couple were were staying at a hotel in Patong, he added.

Capt Attawat said the woman’s body was recovered from the dive boat after it returned to Chalong Pier and taken to Wachira Phuket Hospital.

Police are investigating the series of events that led to the woman’s death, he said.

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-05-04

[LivinginKata]

Japanese dive tourist ‘struck in face by propeller’: Police

PHUKET: Hitomi Shibata, the Japanese tourist who died while on a dive tour off Koh Racha yesterday, was struck in the face by the propeller of the dive boat she was with, police told the Phuket Gazette today.

“From our initial investigation, Miss Hitomi was diving with her dive instructor and a friend when they saw her suddenly start to rise to the surface,” said Chalong Police Duty Officer Attawat Suwannarat.

“The dive instructor said that he heard a noise before the accident, so he thought that Miss Hitomi may have accidentally pressed something on her dive equipment that forced her to surface unexpectedly.

“They were near her but could not grab her in time,” he explained.

“She surfaced right near where the boat was moving slowly and she was hit in the head by the propeller. She died instantly,” Lt Attawat added.

The Japanese Embassy in Bangkok had informed her family of her death, he said.

The boat is owned by Marine Project Company, said Lt Attawat.

“I will question the boat driver and staff on the boat about what happened further,” he added.

Lt Attawat told the Gazette he was “not allowed” to divulge the name of the boat or the name of the dive tour company Miss Hitomi was diving with.

Marine Police officers and personnel at the Tourist Rescue Center at Chalong Pier, where Miss Hitomi’s body was brought ashore, said they knew no details of the incident.

A representative at Kon Tiki Tour, named in a local blog as the dive tour company Miss Hitomi booked with, said the company was unable to comment as a police investigation was underway.

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-05-05

[stevenl]

Kontiki chartered the boat for this season and operated it.

[KarenBravo]

Surprised that dive boats don't install propeller guards for this very reason. They aren't expensive and they don't affect the performance of the boat.

[LivinginKata]

I'm surprised the prop was engaged while divers were in the water.

[stevenl]

I'm surprised the prop was engaged while divers were in the water.

Diveboats in the area move around in order to collect the divers from the water at different places. So the prop is nearly always engaged.

There may have been a speedboat involved though.

Take into account there are in general more boats in the area moving around. Divers stay way under the surface, and when they surface they will nearly always use their safety sausage, so all boats know there is a diver at that point at shallow depth.

Some boats have propeller guards, most (by my estimate) in the area do not.

Edited May 6, 2011 by stevenl

[LivinginKata]

I'm surprised the prop was engaged while divers were in the water.

Diveboats in the area move around in order to collect the divers from the water at different places. So the prop is nearly always engaged.

There may have been a speedboat involved though.

Take into account there are in general more boats in the area moving around. Divers stay way under the surface, and when they surface they will nearly always use their safety sausage, so all boats know there is a diver at that point at shallow depth.

Some boats have propeller guards, most (by my estimate) in the area do not.

And that is normal operating procedure here in Thailand I am shocked. Any boat that I have operated from has either been at anchor with props disengaged and main engine shut off. When main engine still running I always make sure that there is a big sign hung over the controls that 'DIVER IS IN WATER. Do not engage prop'.

[stevenl]

And that is normal operating procedure here in Thailand I am shocked.

Yes, SOP here. And not only in Thailand, also in many other countries, including socalled civilized countries, the boats pick up divers from the surface. Sometimes this is done by the main diving boat, sometimes with zodiacs. IMO pick up by the main diving boats is, at least here in Thailand, much safer and much more controlled that the boat boys running around in their zodiacs.

[LivinginKata]

Yes, SOP here. And not only in Thailand, also in many other countries, including socalled civilized countries, the boats pick up divers from the surface. Sometimes this is done by the main diving boat, sometimes with zodiacs. IMO pick up by the main diving boats is, at least here in Thailand, much safer and much more controlled that the boat boys running around in their zodiacs.

Would never happen in the professional diving world. I have made sports dives here in Phuket a couple of times over the years and the dive boat was ALWAYS at anchor, else I would have never entered the water.

[webfact]

No arrests yet in Phuket dive death: Police

Hitomi Shibata was killed when a boat propeller struck her face during a dive tour.

It took about two hours to transport Ms Shibata from Koh Racha Noi to Phuket.

PHUKET: -- Police have yet to make any arrests in the investigation into the death of Japanese tourist Hitomi Shibata, Chalong Police Duty Officer Attawat Suwannarat told the Phuket Gazette this morning.

“We have not arrested or pressed charges against anyone as we still have to question the boat driver and the crew about what happened first,” said Lt Attawat, who is leading the investigation.

Lt Attawat said Miss Shibata, and the friend she was diving with, booked a diving course with a company in Japan that sold tours affiliated through global tourism operator Kon Tiki.

However, after arriving in Phuket, the couple’s dive tour booking was transferred to a local operator as the dive tour originally offered was full, he explained.

Miss Shibata, her friend and their dive instructor were placed on board the boat Aqua Art 3, belonging to local company Marine Project, along with about 20 other divers, he added.

The three were diving at a depth of about 12 meters at Ao Kluay (“Banana Bay”) off Koh Racha Noi when the accident happened, Lt Attawat said.

“The dive instructor said Hitomi suddenly started floating toward the surface because she accidentally pressed a switch on her suit, which let air into the suit,” he said.

“She died instantly when her head was hit by the propeller of the boat, which was moving slowly to pick up groups of divers back onto the boat,” he added.

“Her body was transferred to a speedboat and rushed back to Chalong Pier, arriving at 2:30pm. It was then taken Vachira Phuket Hospital for further examination,” he said.

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-05-06

[boredofseri]

Very sad....

[77Dan]

This 'accident' could have been easily avoided had the operator used a safety sausage, a boat with a propeller guard, or kept a closer watch on a diver who appears to have been inexperienced and was near a boat with the engine running. But knowing all the liability disclaimer forms that divers have to sign, plus the way Thai police work, I doubt very much anybody will be arrested.

[stevenl]

Yes, SOP here. And not only in Thailand, also in many other countries, including socalled civilized countries, the boats pick up divers from the surface. Sometimes this is done by the main diving boat, sometimes with zodiacs. IMO pick up by the main diving boats is, at least here in Thailand, much safer and much more controlled that the boat boys running around in their zodiacs.

Would never happen in the professional diving world. I have made sports dives here in Phuket a couple of times over the years and the dive boat was ALWAYS at anchor, else I would have never entered the water.

The boat is hardly ever at anchor here, except for Racha Yai, where maybe 50% of the time the boat is at anchor when the divers enter the water. Again hardly ever the divers return to the boat, the boat comes and collects the divers.

[stevenl]

This 'accident' could have been easily avoided had the operator used a safety sausage,

You could be correct regarding some of the other comments, but safety sausages are deployed at appx. 5 meters at the safety stop. Not at 12 meters during the dive.

The information in the latest article is partly correct. The boat is called Aquarts, number I don't know, but Marine Project, the owner of the boat, was not involved. The boat is being run for quite some months now by Kontiki, so they ended up where they booked, and not "to a local operator as the dive tour originally offered was full".

[Lannatyne]

Given what's reported at the moment, I do really think that this is a genuine accident.

In recreational diving, although not ideal, it is simply not possible to expect ALL divers to fin back to the dive boat. Currents, fatigue, inexperience all mean that divers will usually surface well away from the boat and need picking up. A boat underway is, therefore, not unusual and should be, unfortunately, expected.

As for the victim, it's her first dive in open water. Familiarity and confidence with kit will be major issues for a first-timer in the big, open sea. Bouyancy can be awkward at the best of times in the final 5m or so, especially for one so new to the sport and equipment.

I'm not convinced about the divemaster / instructor hearing something. Doesn't sound quite right to me. Underwater, there is a great amount of ambient noise, and if a boat underway is close by, there'll be a lot of noise going on. So, unless there was a catastrophic release of air which he would probably hear, then I really doubt if he could hear anything related to the incident.

And, if there was a catastrophic equipment failure, that will be easily identified in the "equipment autopsy".

A sausage, or SMB, wouldn't have stopped an uncontrolled ascent anyway. But, obviously, it would have indicated where the 3 of them were.

Experienced divers, and certainly those that want to prove their navigation skills, surface right at the back of the boat, at the ladder. Saves finning around and floating on the surface for a pick-up! However, that experience also teaches us to be aware of the underwater topography, and how close the boat is to shore, reef, or whatever other surface obstruction. The skipper needs to look after his boat and if he's heading for a hit on the bow, he really has no option but to engage the engine to manoevre away.

If you don't take the above into account when surfacing (and that's what experience gives you) then there's the chance of an incident like this happening.

Still seems a little early, and short on facts, to apportion any blame. Although by saying this, I'm not putting blame on the divemaster / instructor, but it is essential that when taking first-timers into the water, they maintain absolute close contact at all times, and especially at the point of where they prepare to surface. If, indeed, anything had gone wrong with the victims kit at this stage, the instructor should've been close enough to resolve the matter.

[ScubaBuddha]

Diveboats in the area move around in order to collect the divers from the water at different places. So the prop is nearly always engaged.

There may have been a speedboat involved though.

Take into account there are in general more boats in the area moving around. Divers stay way under the surface, and when they surface they will nearly always use their safety sausage, so all boats know there is a diver at that point at shallow depth.

Some boats have propeller guards, most (by my estimate) in the area do not.

And that is normal operating procedure here in Thailand I am shocked. Any boat that I have operated from has either been at anchor with props disengaged and main engine shut off. When main engine still running I always make sure that there is a big sign hung over the controls that 'DIVER IS IN WATER. Do not engage prop'.

I have never seen a prop guard on any boat in Thailand.

Would never happen in the professional diving world. I have made sports dives here in Phuket a couple of times over the years and the dive boat was ALWAYS at anchor, else I would have never entered the water.

The boat is hardly ever at anchor here, except for Racha Yai, where maybe 50% of the time the boat is at anchor when the divers enter the water. Again hardly ever the divers return to the boat, the boat comes and collects the divers.

Day trip dive boats here don't anchor, they sometimes moor, but I assume that's what you meant. Most the day trip diving here is done from boats under power.

Edited May 6, 2011 by ScubaBuddha

[ScubaBuddha]

I'm surprised the prop was engaged while divers were in the water.

As mentioned, SOP here. Safety is unfortunately not uniform throughout the dive industry around the world. The guides and instructors here (and in many other developing counties) have to really extra pay attention as many boat captains, including some, but not all dive boat captains don't seem to have any issue with running over your bubbles under full power. Speedboats at Raya Yai, for example, run full speed all day long just a few meters from shore right over divers bubbles. Often I see them under full power going in between the dive boat, which is flying a dive flag and the shore 50m away. Highly illegal and dangerous but sadly SOP.

Picture the carelessness of the average Thai driver on the roads here and you get an idea of the behavior of speed boat, longtail, fishing, even on occasion dive boat captains.

I know it's verboten to discuss things which will damage the image of tourism or diving here, and equally verboten to compare certain aspects of Thai culture with that of our home counties, but when I work on dive boats back home the captains always appear to me to be in a safety competition with each other, and if one does something unsafe, it gets quickly corrected and reported. I wish we could get a little more of that here, but we all know what would happen if a Thai man in power like a boat captain looses face, especially if it's lost to a farang. I'm just waiting for the captain to make a claim for his damaged propeller like the last time a boat hit a diver.

[stevenl]

Yes, you're correct, should be mooring, not anchoring. I was merely trying to explain the SOP here. Anchoring does not happen by diveboats in the area, only, when it is full, in Bungalow Bay in high season, nearly exclusively by fishing boats.

In general I trust the captains of the diveboats to watch out for divers, and also the longtail boats are careful. I don't trust the speedboat captains though, they always seem to ignore simple and basic safety issues, like speed close to shore.

Having said that, it is also the responsibility of the instructor to watch out for his students, especially of course on their first open water dives. They tend to ascend uncontrolled on occasion, especially when their tank gets a bit lighter, and also when the controlled ascend is supposed to start, very difficult moment. Pressing the inflator button at that time is a very common mistake, that has to bee rooted out in the swimming pool before going to open water.

And you have to make sure as an instructor, that at those points in time when a mistake is likely to happen, you are in safe waters, as close to shore as possible.

[thaiwanderer]

The boats have to pick up divers due to the inability of many so called instructors and dive masters to navigate.

[kaorop]

I dont know the circumstances  

so this is OT

I have very strong feelings on this The mantra of "You dont even need to know how to swim well to scuba" is a complete and utter farce.  

People with few water skills, in water, in trouble PANIC.  (Thats in shallow water, not 10+ meters down!)  

My point being, letting people who cant swim scuba dive is wrong! Of course its the $ that matter so.  

RIP and condolences to the family.

(please dont account me with endless stories of how nothing untoward happened on a dive with non swimmers.)

Edited May 7, 2011 by kaorop

[stevenl]

The boats have to pick up divers due to the inability of many so called instructors and dive masters to navigate.

Whether or not they can navigate I won't react to, but navigation has nothing to do with the local habit of making drift dives.

My point being, letting people who cant swim scuba dive is wrong! Of course its the $ that matter so.  

So it is good then that there is a swimming test incorporated in the open water course, the course this diver was doing?

[LivinginKata]

Police yet to question crew over Phuket diver death

PHUKET: Almost two weeks after Japanese dive tourist Hitomi Shibata died after being struck in the head with a boat propeller off Koh Racha Noi, police have yet to question the crew of the boat she was on.

Chalong Police Duty Officer Attawat Suwannarat on Wednesday told the Phuket Gazette that he was still investigating the case and had not arrested or charged any suspects.

“I need to question related crew members and [government] officers, as well as ask dive specialists about diving rules and regulations.

“If the law or any regulations state that one diving instructor is required for each student, the diving instructor may be charged for negligence in the care of his student,” he said.

The cause of the accident has yet to be confirmed, he added.

“If it is determined that negligence [on the part of the crew] was responsible, it is considered a criminal case. But if it is determined that the death resulted from negligence on the part of the deceased, the case will be terminated,” he said.

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-05-20