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Well to be fair to the original poster:

They have been through a very scary ordeal and they are far away from home and they don't know what our local procedures are involving accidents. They are from a place where it is standard for businesses to carry insurance and so their expectations are reasonable - where they come from.

Thank God everybody is unharmed.

To every action there is a reaction.
This was a terrifying situation for all! That luckly turned out with out loss of life.Amigo's crew deserve a pat on the back for keeping their wits about them and making sure everyone was taking care of before putting themselves out of harms way.The people on that Boat certainly owe their live to this brave crew and there is no price that could ever cover that.
I am not beating anyone up just stating after one has time to reflect they normally realize how blessed they were.

Okay, it's been a long time since a post but I can't resist this one. My wife has dived with ADM over 250 times in the last 8 years so we are not standing on the sidelines without a clue to the participants.

In my humble opinion the crew on the Melanie (if that still is the tag) did the most remarkable job possible in saving the lives of their clients before considering their own. This was an accident involving a watercraft and we have seen plenty of those in Belize that last 13 years or so. Several have had very tragic endings.

Knowing San Pedro and ADM as well as we do it seems to me that everything possible was done to accomodate the customers lives without the afore mentioned tragic results. That having been said, to whine about not being properly fawned over when returned safe and sound from an incredilble life threatening accident seems to be trivial at the least.

In light of the fact that ADM had lost it's main asset, while focusing on protecting the lives of their clients and employees whom were at great peril, speaks more for the professionalism and dedication of these people than neglecting to grovel for forgiveness over something that had no control over.

I'm sure that the original poster might reconsider after a few good nights sleep.

Bombs away as usual. SP next week.

CC

CanBrit - you and I have corresponded previously, before this disaster. I'm sure you realise that this accident was a great shock to the crew as well as the passengers. Don't expect a measured response in those circumstances. Bear in mind that their radio/satellite phone would have been destroyed by the fire, so communicating with their base will have been difficult.

I share others' concerns at the rather accusatory tone of your post. If you want to make negative comments, make them in a month's time if by then you have cause. As a competitor of Amigos I am totally confident they will do all they can to compensate everyone.

Just imagine what would have happened if the fire had started 2 hours later when the boat was alone and many miles from land. Be grateful that everyone survived uninjured. Possessions can be replaced. The sea is in control.

I'm curious - why do you think think Amigos haven't done everything by the book and filed a police report? Unless you know something you haven't told us that comment is inappropriate.

It is perhaps worth mentioning that all dive boats are required to have a good level of insurance for their passengers, and this is enforced in the annual licensing of tour operators. Belize may bear some similarities to a third world country (!) but in many important respects it's as well conducted as the USA or Europe.

There is a requirement to report incidents/accidents at sea to the Belize Port Authority - I don't know if they must also report to the police.

Some of you it seems have no inclination how a dive operation is ran with regard to insurance and police reports. Have you ever tried claiming without a police report while out of home country?

As for the dive op at no time did I say they were negligent , I also stated the crew were great...do you read English...seems not....

My only critism was for the end of the day on return to hotel.

BTW Simon...your remark about.. pizza's, beer, water and drinks waiting for them.
(T-Shirts were also handed out to the divers so they could cover up (long and short sleeved.)...)must have been a differant fire lol, I was there this morning!!!The only T-shirts we have are the one's we purchased. This morning was purely about insurance claims, lists, email addresses etc. After which all the divers went for a beer or 2.

I get the impression from all this that more is attached to the buisness impact rather than the incident. Most of you miss the point. Every one suffers a loss, owner, crew, and customers. The crew were great..how many times do I have to repaeat that. The dive op is not being blamed for an accident. If it ever happens to you I guess I can tell you to put up and shut up with impunity!!!

Put your own interepretation on it as you wish, I really don't care. Suffice to say all are safe and insurance can take of the deatils now all the paper work is done.

Hear hear...read the post before you post!

My first question would be "Why the hell did you not shut down an engine that had an indication of no oil pressure?????????? I will ABSOLUTELY garantee that there was an indication of an oil pressure loss long before the 30 seconds prior to the "big bang".

Yes I agree that it is a big loss and thank god no-one was seriously hur but there may be training issues here.

CanBrit,

Interesting story, sorry your diving experience was sullied by the events on the boat. However, after reading your account of what happened, I have to ask:

1) What, exactly, did you expect the crew of the boat to do under the circumstances you described? It seems to me that they did everything in their power to make a priority out of insuring, to the best of ability, the safety of the passengers on the boat. What would you have done differently?

2) Along those same lines, you seem to be mostly upset at the loss of your gear. In am emergency situation, gear would be the LEAST of my concerns. Again, what would you have done differently?

3) You say your wife was distressed because she is not a strong swimmer (your words). If that is the case, why is she scuba diving in a unfamiliar place? Scuba diving, by it's very nature, is a very dangerous recreational activity. In fact, it is the MOST dangerous recreational activity one can partake in. Does she count on someone else to come to her rescue should she get into trouble on a dive? Being a diver myself, I know the physical demands of diving, and I am prepared to take care of myself should something bad happen to me.

4) Lastly, you are vacationing in a third-world country. A fantastic place, but third-world nontheless. When visiting such a place, it is my opinion that everyone should be able to look out for themselves, or, at least, not blame someone else when something goes wrong. It is kind of a risk / reward situation. Belize is a beautiful place with wonderful people. The trade off is that it does not have all of the amenities of your typical American vacation destination.

Maybe you folks should stick to San Diego or Hawaii - they are more likely to have the type of baby-sitting you seem to require while vacationing.

CanBrit,

It appears that most of the boarders are more concerned with the reputation of Amigos Del Mar than with a situation that could very well have been life threatening. I'm sure they didn't plan for their boat to burn to the waterline, as I am sure it wasn't how you planned to spend your day. That being said, you have my sympathy.

Luvinlife.........quit smokin whatever you're smokin. and stop being rude