Passengers Board, but this Aggressor Doesn't Sail

What do you do after journeying halfway around the world to join a liveaboard for a long-awaited trip only to find that the harbor master has banned large vessels from departing, so your trip turns into a stay aboard a liveaboard that doesn't go anywhere?

Well, that's what happened to passengers booked on the Indo Aggressor in March, who expected to depart Labuan Bajo for Komodo.

Passenger Jason Hsieh (Los Angeles, CA) told Undercurrent that after the passengers boarded, Aggressor declared that the trip had started, though they were going nowhere and refunds would not be forthcoming.

How could that be? British passenger Phil Close told Undercurrent more: "After we arrived, the [crew of] Indo Aggressor played out a charade by getting us to board the boat and then told us that they were negotiating with the port authority for us to leave on March 12th.

"We were then informed by the cruise director around 8.00 pm on the 11th that the trip was canceled and we could stay or leave because we may or may not sail on March 16th. After this, we received a letter from Larry Speaker of Aggressor Adventures explaining that they were invoking Force Majeure, as the trip had begun.

"By this time, all of the flights out of LBJ were at capacity, and most guests couldn't leave even if they wanted to."

Local news outlet VOI reported on March 10th, "Port Authority and Port Authority (KSOP) Class III Labuan Bajo prohibited tourist boats from sailing to Komodo Island Komodo National Park (TNK) for six days from March 11-16, 2024 due to bad weather."

It's reported that another pinisi-style boat had run aground in extreme weather on March 10th, precipitating the action by the harbor master, who then only allowed small maneuverable speedboats to leave for the open sea.

Nautilus Adventures invoked Force Majeure as protection against reimbursing those who had paid in advance for canceled trips after the Mexican government closed Guadalupe Island for great white shark cage diving (Undercurrent August 2023). It's a clause written into most, if not all, liveaboard contracts. We may see it invoked more often in the future as liveaboard operators get wise to the vagaries of weather.

Indo Aggressor is a name adopted by the vessel when it became part of the Aggressor franchise. The vessel will be registered in Indonesia under its local name.

Do you think it was fair of the Indo Aggressor operator not to warn the embarking passengers beforehand? What was the alternative for unfortunate passengers, having arrived at the harbor? Please give us your opinion. Write to BenDDavison@undercurrent.org and let us know your town and state.

- John Bantin