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Egyptian Authorities hold back information on liveaboard tragedy
Our 30-page booklet on A Surge in Liveaboard Disasters
A Harassed Turtle and Men Behaving Badly
Want to Own Your Own Dive Resort?
A Child Goes Missing Underwater
Why Subscribe to the Undercurrent newsletter? Serious Divers Find It Essential
Marine Scientist Injured by Shark in Costa Rica
This last October in Undercurrent

Coverup? Egyptian Authorities hold back information on liveaboard tragedy.   November 22, 2025

More than two years after the liveaboard MY Hurricane was destroyed by a fire, which took the lives of three Brits, a British Coroner is still having difficulty obtaining information from Egyptian authorities. Coroner Katrina Hepburn said that despite prolonged efforts, the Egyptians have not provided information and evidence that might assist her investigations. At the time of the incident, the Egyptian authorities and police said they were launching an investigation into the cause of the fire, but answers have been few.

Our 30-page booklet on A Surge in Liveaboard Disasters   November 22, 2025

is yours free if you subscribe to Undercurrent now. In the last 20 years, 40 diving liveaboards have caught fire, capsized, hit an object, or run aground. Our report describes these disasters, and we've added a special section on the 2001 Belize Wave Dancer hurricane catastrophe, which led to the death of 17 members of a Richmond, Virginia, dive club and three crew members. To subscribe for just $19.95 for a seven-month subscription and get your free Special Report, A Surge in Liveaboard Disasters, Click Here.

A Harassed Turtle and Men Behaving Badly.   November 22, 2025

A viral video showing Malaysian tourists roughly handling a turtle has triggered widespread outrage with strong complaints that irresponsible tourism is endangering the country's marine life. The 20-second clip shows some snorkeling jerk repeatedly grabbing the turtle by its shell and neck off Redang Island, part of a popular marine park. The Tropical Research and Conservation Centre Borneo stated, "This behaviour is deeply disturbing and concerning, and should never be endorsed," which, we think, is too polite to convince many people to behave. (South China Morning Post)

Want to Own Your Own Dive Resort?   November 22, 2025

The Paradise Taveuni dive resort in Fiji is for sale. It's one of the best-known in-demand resorts with easy access to Rainbow Reef and the Great White Wall, but resort management and the owner are seeking additional investors, though one can buy the entire property (which has been on the market for a year) for about US$5.5 million. If you have the cash, try persuading Warren Buffett to get interested in scuba diving. DAN will still insure him. For more info, contact allan@paradiseinfiji.com.

A Child Goes Missing Underwater.   November 22, 2025

It was during an Open Water Diver class in a Texas lake last August when Dylan Harrison, aged 12, went missing in water where the visibility was no more than the length of an arm. Her body was recovered not long after. Did the instructor take too many students in the water at one time? Why was Dylan Harrison, a young girl, buddied with another child of similar age instead of with a suitably qualified adult? Why was there a delay before she was searched for? Why were dive computers not downloaded immediately after the incident? Why did the accompanying Divemaster's computer conveniently go missing shortly after? Why did the Kaufman County Sheriff's office attempt to close the case with inordinate haste? Complacency, conspiracy, or plain stupidity? Undercurrent issued a special report for our paid subscribers, but for a short time we'll let our non-subscribers download the report here, free.

Why Subscribe to the Undercurrent newsletter? Serious Divers Find It Essential.  November 22, 2025

We cover subjects that other dive publications avoid for fear of upsetting their advertisers. You see, we don't accept advertising. We are accountable only to divers. Our travel reviews are written by undercover authors who pay their own way. Our stories cover equipment problems, liveaboard safety, the ins and outs of tipping, how dive insurance can fail you, and much, much more. When you subscribe, you can immediately access The Travelin' Diver's Chapbook, filled with hundreds of travel reviews by fellow subscribers. Not only that, you have full access to more than 11,000 Undercurrent independent readers' reports -- opinions and impressions posted without fear or favor by those who have stayed at the resorts or have been on liveaboards worldwide. To subscribe for just $19.95 for a seven-month subscription and get your free Special Report, A Surge in Liveaboard Disasters, Click Here.

Marine Scientist Injured by Shark in Costa Rica.   November 22, 2025

For a brief second, a shark wrapped its mouth around the head of 48-year-old Mexican marine biologist Dr. Mauricio Hoyos, who was tagging sharks off the remote Cocos Island marine reserve. It occurred on September 27 at the Dirty Rock site (Roca Sucia). Hoyos suffered injuries to his scalp and the left side of his face as well as damage to his air hoses. He made an emergency ascent. The site is best known for hammerhead and marble ray sightings. The crew controlled the bleeding and stabilized him for the 340-mile, 36-hour journey back to Puntarenas. Hoyos was reported to be in stable condition and good spirits. The last fatal incident at Cocos was in 2017, when U.S. scuba diver Rohina Bhandari died in a tiger shark encounter.

This last October in Undercurrent:   November 22, 2025

. . . Diving from Atlantis Adventurer at Tubbataha and shore-based at Puerto Galera in the Philippines . . . Weather in the Philippines explained . . . Bora Bora -- diving in French Polynesia . . . Those dangerous errors divers might make . . . Safety issues plague Egyptian Red Sea liveaboards . . . A SIPE incident hits the news again . . . Free-diving depth competitions in the dock? . . . Did you find gold while diving? . . . A fright worth only $20? . . . And much, much more.

To read this issue and forty years of previous issues, subscribe now for just $19.95 for a seven-month subscription and get your free Special Report, A Surge in Liveaboard Disasters, Click Here.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
BenDDavison@undercurrent.org

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Note: Undercurrent is a registered 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization donating funds to help preserve coral reefs. Our travel writers never announce their purpose, are unknown to the destination, and receive no complimentary services or compensation from the dive operators or resort.

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