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It's pretty ridiculous to expect anyone to escape through a maze like this. The fact that not even the person sleeping under the escape hatch, escaped, says it all.
Quote:
‘Conception’ Safety Video Shows Tight Quarters of Bunk Room, Escape Hatch
Santa Barbara photographer Ralph Clevenger created the safety video for all three Truth Aquatics boats. He said he finished it the day before the Conception disaster but after it had already embarked on its Channel Islands diving trip.
“This video is designed to run as a loop on the large TV in the dining area during the passenger boarding time before the boat leaves the harbor,” Clevenger said in an email.
It's pretty ridiculous to expect anyone to escape through a maze like this. The fact that not even the person sleeping under the escape hatch, escaped, says it all.
Yet it passed all inspections. Perhaps they need to re-examine requirements for escape hatches and exits.
The hatch is one thing, the fact that both exits essentially egress into the same space - that seems iffy. (Big hatches equal big holes in the deck equals big problems under another set of conditions...) The access to the hatch seems questionable. I'll absolutely wager that the people in that bunk used the space for storage, who wouldn't?
The big black mark is everyone being asleep. That's indefensible - legally and as a matter of elementary seamanship.
Last edited by Dane_in_LA; 09-17-2019 at 11:31 AM..
A crew member who was aboard the Conception when it caught fire and sank on Labor Day, killing 34 people, is suing the dive boat’s owners.
Ryan Sims alleges in a lawsuit filed Sept. 12 that the Conception’s owners were negligent in their failure to properly train crew members, give adequate safety and medical equipment and provide safety rules, among other claims.
According to the lawsuit, Sims was awakened by loud noises and realized a fire had broken out on the boat and was spreading fast. In an effort to escape the fire, Sims jumped from the top deck, breaking his leg in three places and injuring his back and neck, the lawsuit said.
Guy knew boat was unsafe yet still went on it? Isn't he an accessory?
Would be an interesting conundrum if he held a mariner's license of sorts, because those come with professional obligations and - sometimes - liability. But I suspect he's a deckhand with on-the-job training.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it's a suit brought on his health insurer, trying to recoup their costs for treatment of his broken leg.
It's well known that the best defense is an offense. It's his attorney's preemptive strike, no doubt.
There hasn’t even been discussion of charging the crew with anything. Failure to have a watchman assigned would be on the owner. So far though the Coast Guard said the crew seemed to do all they could and aren’t being faulted.
As far as safety of the boat they said the hatch was hard to get to but it passed inspections so why would a crew member think it was unsafe?
There hasn’t even been discussion of charging the crew with anything. Failure to have a watchman assigned would be on the owner.
I think primarily the captain.
If the owner can point to his written instructions and there's no evidence of them issuing other contradictory directives, they're not really liable.
But the captain has a master's license, he's supposed to know the rules and regulations inside out, and not just give orders accordingly, but verify that the orders are carried out. And the need for a nightwatchman is called out specifically in the vessel's COI.
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