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The Latest Dive News   What's this?

Seven Dive Boats Lost in the First Quarter
TSA Bans Lithium Power Banks in Checked Bags
Ever Made a Free Ascent?
Going Caribbean Diving this Fall?
Another Invasive Species?
Coral Bleaching Worsens
Every Dive is a Deco Dive. So Why Not Read a Book?
Ocean -- the Latest Attenborough Film
Tell Us About Where You Have Been Diving

Seven Dive Boats Lost in the First Quarter.   May 20, 2025

On the night of April 27, the MY Golden Dolphin caught fire at the Sun Beach hotel jetty in Safaga, Egypt. Operated by Safari World, it was once a popular liveaboard relegated to day boat duties. No passengers were onboard. Other liveaboards that have been lost this year include MY Emperor Seven Seas, and an unnamed vessel yet to be commissioned in Egypt, MY Putri Papua, MY Maluku Explorer, and MY Ocean Pure I in Indonesia, and MY DiveRACE and MY Davy Jones Locker in Thailand. MY Sea Story capsized in Egypt at the end of last year, with 11 lives lost.

TSA Bans Lithium Power Banks in Checked Bags.   May 20, 2025

If you pack a power bank in your checked luggage, the TSA will confiscate it and may fine you up to $17,000. However, you can still travel with them, but only in your carry-on, which can be monitored if they heat up (they are a fire risk). It’s the same with any item with a Li-ion battery. But board your plane early. If the bins are full and your carry-on has to be gate-checked, you'll need to put them in what you carry to your seat or leave them behind.

Ever Made a Free Ascent?   May 20, 2025

Have you ever had to make a free ascent because of a failure or emergency? PADI calls it a Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent (CESA). Noting how many of our members are diving alone (Undercurrent November, January, and March), it seems a necessary skill. Do you practice it? Do you think it should be taught in training? Were you taught how to undertake an emergency ascent in your certification training? If so, was the exercise more than perfunctory? From how deep do you think it's feasible? Let us know what you think. Write to BenDDavison@undercurrent.org

Going Caribbean Diving this Fall?   May 20, 2025

Before you send your deposit, keep in mind that September through November is serious hurricane season, and early predictions are for more than usual (up to 21) named storms, 10 hurricanes, and 5 major hurricanes. As our Belize feature story in last month's issue demonstrated, under gray storm skies, the reefs are colorless, the fish dull. As our story on Little Cayman in January revealed, in severe weather, you're confined to your room. Farther south, Bonaire and Curacao aren't affected. NOAA will issue its final prediction on May 22.

Another Invasive Species?   May 20, 2025

If you have always wanted to see fish of the Western Pacific but have never been there, you may now be able to see a Longfin batfish in the Sea of Cortez. It's a brackish-water fish with elongated and large fins, and a compressed, disc-shaped body. It's not good news, because it's probably there after being released by an aquarist. For now, what effect this fish will have on endemic species is anyone's guess.

Coral Bleaching Worsens.  May 20, 2025

This year, harmful coral bleaching has affected more than 84 percent of the ocean's reefs in the most intense event in recorded history, reports the International Coral Reef Initiative. It's the fourth global bleaching event since 1998, surpassing the destructive bleaching that hit two-thirds of the world's reefs between 2014 and 2017. It's unclear when the current crisis, which began in 2023, will end. As we all know, it's caused by the unleashed burning of fossil fuels, which has warmed oceans far too rapidly for coral to adapt. (AP)

Every Dive is a Deco Dive. So Why Not Read a Book?   May 20, 2025

Well, some divers like to entertain themselves during pauses during deco-stop dives. Extending a dive past the No-Stop time requires deco stops at depth. (Be sure to have adequate gas supplies.) These stops can be tedious, but essential to your health. Here's an Undercurrent writer reading a book to while away the time during one such stop after an extended dive on the fabulous wreck of the San Francisco Maru in Truk Lagoon. The deco bar is courtesy of the liveaboard MY Odyssey.

Ocean -- the Latest Attenborough Film:   May 20, 2025

Arriving in time for his 99th birthday, a new documentary narrated by Sir David is presented in the context of his remarkable life and career, studying and thinking about the oceans as the only part of the world yet to be fully explored and understood -- and despoiled. A visual marvel, like all his work, it is absorbing and compelling, and governed by his matchless authority as it strikes a balance between warning and hope. It will be released in theatres in June to celebrate the UN's World Oceans Day.

Tell Us About Where You Have Been Diving.   May 20, 2025

Your independent Readers' Reports are the lifeblood of Undercurrent. They are essential reading for anyone booking a dive trip and are an opportunity to tell everyone about the trip you experienced. You can tell both the good and the bad and everything in between. Unedited and unmoderated, your reports will brief other subscribers about dive resorts you've visited and liveaboards you have taken. Don't hold back. Over 11,000 entries have now become essential reading for traveling divers. You can post photos too. It's easy to post a report of your last dive trip. And your fellow divers will be thankful. File your report at www.undercurrent.org/SubRR, and we will also include it in the year's Chapbook, which will be sent to readers next December.

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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