News

The Captain’s Blog: Safety First!

Published

3 years ago

January 30, 2020

Another Blog from Mike Ball Dive Expedition’s Captain Trevor Jackson…

It’s important, occasionally, to take a good long hard look at yourself. As an individual, you might do this sitting in front of a mirror, or with a spouse. You might want to review your career, your finances or your fitness level (especially after New Years). Sometimes this exercise might seem pointless and then in the process, you discover some things that might need a bit of a tweak. Companies do the same thing all the time, sometimes its a scheduled thing, other times as a result of an external event that requires a company to adapt or strategize in a new direction.

Collecting marine debris on Stanley Island by Gary Farr

For us, such an event took place in California in September of last year, when the dive liveaboard, MV Conception, caught fire in the middle of the night. 33 lives were lost. I think I can say with some certainty that there isn’t a single dive boat in the world that didn’t do some type of self-examination following the Conception fire. Every one of them would have asked the same questions: Could it happen here? What can we do to make it safer?

The answer to the first question has to be yes… otherwise you’re just kidding yourself. The second question is where the thought and effort are needed to be applied.

Coral Hermit Crab by Gary Farr

At Mike Ball Dive Expeditions, the first thing we did was ensure that every system for fighting or preventing fires was compliant with the current legislation and functioning in perfect condition. Spoilsport is immaculately maintained, so that was a fairly straight forward process with all boxes being ticked. Next, we checked procedures, documentation, and training, again finding we were shipshape and squared away across the board.

There wasn’t a single person in the company however, that was willing to accept that we were perfect. There must be room for improvement, a way to make it even SAFER. There was. After some serious, ‘what if’ style reflection, we found that, in exceptional circumstances, there were two areas on board that offered only one escape path should a fire erupt. For us, this presented an opportunity to not only improve ourselves and our vessel but also to make everyone who comes on board even more safe. Some procedures were changed, some new ones were invented, equipment bought and tested, engineering solutions applied. We soul searched… ‘Are we as safe as we can be?’

Indigenous artwork on Stanley Island by Gary Farr

I take Spoilsport to sea for a week at a time. We go 100s of miles offshore. There’s no quick fix for any issue out there. I’m responsible for the ship and its crew. We, in turn, are responsible for you. It’s our job to constantly ask that question of our ship, its crew, its procedures… Are we as safe as we can be? The answer is no. The answer will always be no. If we were ever to say yes, we’d be letting you down. It’s our pledge to the people that dive with us, our duty in fact, that we never stop looking into that mirror and asking, ‘what can we do to make it safer?’

Find the expedition you are looking for at: www.mikeball.com/compare-expeditions

Up Next

Job Opportunity – Marketing Coordinator!

Don't Miss

New Series: Wildlife Winners and Losers – Part 11 (Watch Video)

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions operates exciting scuba diving expeditions on custom-built, award-winning liveaboard Spoilsport, to some of the best dive sites on the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Enjoy spectacular biodiversity on the northern Great Barrier Reef including the world famous Cod Hole, or venture out into the remote Coral Sea for exciting big fish action, shark encounters and excellent visibility. Find out more at www.mikeball.com.

News

Midlands Diving Chamber donates £20k to Bite-Back

Published

8 hours ago

June 9, 2023

Team Scubaverse

Hyperbaric and dive medical experts, Midlands Diving Chamber (MDC), has underpinned its long-term support of Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with a one-off donation of £20,000, as the Rugby-based diving doctors wind down the charitable side of its operation.

The donation represents the single biggest financial contribution made to Bite-Back, delivering a huge boost to its campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products.

Spokesperson for Midlands Diving Chamber, Sally Cartwright, said: “For years we’ve admired and supported the ground-breaking work that Bite-Back is doing to save, protect and celebrate sharks. It’s a genuine pleasure to help ensure it stays at the forefront of shark conservation in the UK.”

Midland Diving Chamber first supported the charity at the inaugural Bite-Back at Cancer event in 2007 and then annually for the next six years. It even hosted its own James Bond-themed party on the Thames to fundraise for the marine NGO.

Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We can’t thank MDC enough for its continued support and now for this massive contribution to our pioneering shark conservation campaigns. It makes us very proud that the country’s premier diving medical experts have chosen to back our campaigns that extend from parliament to primary schools. This financial windfall will allow us to continue to lead the shark conservation agenda in the UK and deliver measurable shark conservation breakthroughs to keep the oceans healthy.”

Bite-Back’s No Fin To Declare campaign to end the UK’s import and export of shark fins is now just months away from achieving Royal Ascent into law and, earlier this month it launched a free 56-page teaching resource for Key Stage 2 & 3 students on the importance of sharks and the threats they face.

Midlands Diving Chamber is based at St. Cross Hospital in Rugby and operates a hyperbaric decompression chamber offering NHS funded recompression to divers with Decompression Illness (DCI) together with other Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) treatments. Any diver with medical concerns should contact MDC on either 01788 579 555 or 07931 472 602.

Find out more about Bite-Back at http://www.bite-back.com/

Marine Life & Conservation

Watch The Real Watergate from Live Ocean Foundation (Trailer)

Published

1 day ago

June 8, 2023

Team Scubaverse

Sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke established Live Ocean Foundation out of their deep concern for health of the ocean and the life in it. Through their sport they champion action for the ocean, taking this message to the world.

Many of the issues the ocean faces are out of sight, but the science is clear, the ocean is in crises from multiple stressors; climate change, pollution and over-fishing. We’re not moving fast enough, not even close.

Live Ocean Foundation supports exceptional marine scientists, innovators and communicators who play a vital role in the fight for a healthy future.

Thanks to generous core donors who cover their operating costs, 100% of public donations go directly towards the marine conservation projects they support.

Find out more at https://liveocean.com/foundation/

WATCH THE REAL WATERGATE AT https://www.realwatergate.com/