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Cozumel Diving Accident Sparks Blame Game
Cocos Island June Shark Scuba Expedition
Aussie Dive Operator Fined for Leaving Divers Adrift
Hollis 2000 LX Regulator Recalled
The Saga Continues
Divers discover Well-preserved Roman Shipwreck
Little Cayman Shark Bites Photographer
Your Fellow Divers Need a Report on Your Last Dive Trip

Cozumel Diving Accident Sparks Blame Game:   February 24, 2026

Manuel Zepeda, a popular Cozumel divemaster, was struck by the Maranatha 4 at Yucab reef last July, suffering serious injuries to his leg, knee, and ankles, and is on a long road to recovery. At the time, it was reported that Zepeda, leading six divers, inflated his red ascent buoy upon surfacing. Seeing the speeding boat coming, he deflated his BC and pushed a diver close to him out of the way of the boat's two propellers. Maranatha 4, not respecting the four-knot speed limit at diving and snorkeling reefs, ran over Zepeda, who was regarded as a hero for his sacrifice. As a result of the accident, three boats with the same owner as Maranatha 4 were seized by authorities Now, Fernán Salazar, the owner of the Maranatha 4 and the leader of the boat operators in Cozumel, is blaming Zepeda, saying that the divemaster did not deploy a surface marker buoy and surfaced 300 yards from his dive boat. We have reported many incidents in Mexico of divers getting hit by boats owned by influential people. It seems the cases get buried, and the injured divers fail to achieve justice. (See Undercurrent, August 2025, for the story.)

Cocos Island June Shark Scuba Expedition:   February 24, 2026

Join Turtle Island Restoration Network for a 10-day research-driven liveaboard expedition aboard the Sea Hunter to Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica. Photograph sharks and contribute to groundbreaking conservation science at one of the world's top dive sites. This mission supports ongoing shark monitoring, turtle tagging, and policy-oriented conservation science, with evening discussions with Turtle Island's founder, Todd Steiner, and others. June 25 – July 5, 2026, seven full days of diving (21 dives) with great meals, US$7,804 (much of this may be tax-deductible). Info at https://seaturtles.org/event/cocos2026. Contact Todd at tsteiner@seaturtles.org (415-488-7652).

Aussie Dive Operator Fined for Leaving Divers Adrift:   February 24, 2026

Perth Diving Academy has been fined roughly US$14,000 following an investigation into an incident in March 2025, when two divers were left behind by the dive boat Wildcat. The pair surfaced to see their dive boat on its way back to Perth, leaving them drifting two-and-a-half miles offshore after a dive near Rottnest Island. The brothers inflated a surface marker buoy to signal the dive boat, but it apparently ran over the buoy and severed the diver’s SMB line before it set off without them. They were adrift for around an hour before being rescued by a passing ferry, sustaining injuries while being taken aboard a vessel not designed for divers. Wildcat returned after approximately 95 minutes and took one injured diver aboard. (More information in Undercurrent for March) www.undercurrent.org/UCnow/upwellings20250326.shtml

Hollis 2000 LX Regulator Recalled:   February 24, 2026

Huish Outdoors has received reports of internal components within some Hollis 200LX regulator second-stages separating or fracturing before or after a dive. Some units may fail if the second stage is dropped or struck on the adjustable inhalation knob. In these cases, damage to the inlet tube assembly could render the second stage non-functional. While Hollis says no incidents have been reported during an active dive, this condition could pose a drowning hazard if it were to occur while in use. Do not dive with the affected regulator until Huish corrects the problem. For more information, go here.

The Saga Continues:   February 24, 2026

The affidavit of the arresting officer in the case of 12-year-old Dylan Harrison's death states that dive instructor William Armstrong was on land without diving gear when Dylan Harrison drowned and gave contradicting statements to investigators on his location when first responders arrived. It also states that the child was improperly weighted before she submerged. Armstrong, who was Harrison's scuba instructor, a member of a dive recovery team, and a peace officer, had a duty to act in case of emergency. He admitted to being awake for 29 hours and working three jobs before Dylan's tragic death. Armstrong was arrested on February 6. The Dylan Harrison Law Suit Filing

Divers discover Well-preserved Roman Shipwreck:  February 24, 2026

Off the coast of Puglia, in south-east Italy, Italy's Financial Police (with jurisdiction over illegal trafficking of cultural property, maritime-law enforcement, and organized crime) detected an anomaly last June during routine scanning of the Ionian seabed. Scuba divers sent down to investigate discovered a large merchant vessel dating from the 4th Century AD. Its well-preserved cargo was hundreds of amphoras, the terracotta jars thought to have held in particular garum, the fermented fish sauce highly prized in Roman cuisine, as well as oil, wine, and other goods. The site is being kept secret to protect it from looting.

Photo: John Bantin

Little Cayman Shark Bites Photographer:   February 24, 2026

Berkley White, founder of Backscatter, the California-based underwater photo equipment supplier, was working at Little Cayman's Nassau Grouper Spawning Aggregation site off Little Cayman, after sunset on February 6, when a juvenile tiger shark bit him on the thigh. He sustained "relatively minor puncture wounds" that a nurse treated at Little Cayman Beach Resort before he was flown to Georgetown. Thousands of endangered Nassau grouper assemble off the western tip of Little Cayman after the February full moon to spawn, an annual aggregation, which also draws the attention of reef sharks. The bite was described as a "momentary mistake by the shark.

Your Fellow Divers Need a Report on Your Last Dive Trip.   February 24, 2026

The unedited reports of your and other members' dive trips form an ever-growing resource, with more than 11,000 entries in the Undercurrent database, for other divers who may follow in your fin strokes. By November 30, please share with your fellow divers where you have been diving, conveying both the good and the bad, as well as everything in between. Your reports will brief other subscribers about the dive resorts you've visited and the liveaboards you've taken. Don't hold back. You can post photos too. File your report at www.undercurrent.org/SubRR, and we will include it in the year's Chapbook, which will be sent to you and all readers in December each year. We appreciate your support.

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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