US Coastguard have demanded that the dive industry adopt a standard procedure for accounting for divers after 45-year-old Dan Carlock was left behind by a dive charter boat.

US Coastguard are calling upon the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) to specify an industry standard technique - such as written checklists, or numbered wristbands - to account for the return of divers to charter boats. The recommendation came after it was revealed that a less-than-adequate verbal roll call had been used by the skipper on the boat that left Carlock floating alone at sea for 5 hours.

Such was the confusion that the diver was not noticed missing until after a second dive had been completed in a different location, so search and rescue services were looking at the wrong area of sea for signs of the lost diver.

Coastguard are said to be about to file a complaint of negligence against the dive boat captain involved.

The issue of divers being left behind by dive boats came to widespread public attention in January 1998 when two US divers, Eileen and Tom Lonergan, were believed to have been left behind at St. Crispin's Reef on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The disappearance was only realised when the dive centre found the Lonergan's belongings in a dive locker several days later.

Formal head counts, with divers logged in and out at the start and finish of each dive, were adopted by dive operators after the Australian authorities made it clear that charter boats would be expected to demonstrate that practical steps were being taken to prevent a repeat of the incident.

For example, diving procedures adopted by the University of Queensland, Australia state:
"The Boat Operator / Surface Lookout shall: ...

Conduct a head count prior to leaving any & all dive sites and record & sign the Dive Log"
In the UK, a combination of the major diver training agencies have agreed to adopt safety guidelines for diving from boats. The document goes into detail about what equipment and procedures should be followed, but does not state any specific requirement for logging divers in and out of the water. However, Coastguard diving liaison officer Ken Bazeley told Divernet that the Coastguard expect all diving groups - whether on charter or club boats - to keep a record of who is going and out of the water.
"It is, unquestionably, good practice to keep a dive log. Dive marshalls within clubs and skippers of dive boats have a duty of care to know who is going in and coming out of the water. Any overdue divers need to be reported to us as soon as possible, together with their last known position and the time of entry. Keeping accurate records will help us to find lost divers quickly, failure to keep records could put lives at risk."


Related pages
Diver saved by boy scout
The Combined Diving Associations - Guidelines for the safe operation of member club dive boats
University of Queensland, Australia diving guidelines
Maritime and Coastguard Agency

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