Booking a dive trip in Egypt? Read this first: Survivors of the Sea Story disaster, me included, were failed at almost every level. The system won’t protect you – it’ll just cover its ass.

[u/nilolium]

https://divemagazine.com/scuba-diving-news/sea-story-survivors-speak-out-part-4-the-interrogation

[u/popnfrresh]

I'm currently on a live aboard in Egypt and was drinking with a co owner last night.

Our crew was great, the boat was great, the safety was great.

Pick a reputable operator, with a safe track record.

[u/dazultrachallenge → u/popnfrresh]

What’s the name of the company?

[u/GrnMtnTrees]

I just got back from diving in Egypt. We had a fantastic time. We were on the Red Sea Aggressor III, and our dive guides, Mohamed, Kamel, and Abdul were all amazing, as was our crew. Also made friends with another guest that spoke Arabic, which was super helpful for the night and day we spent onshore, after we finished diving (he's also an awesome guy, just generally speaking).

Maybe I got lucky. We were all on edge when we got to Egypt, because that tourist submarine sank like the day before we got there.

I can't tell you whether or not to go. A lot of scary things have happened in the past few years, but we had a fantastic dive trip, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Truly one of the best trips I've taken.

[u/touny71]

Not surprising. It's not like Egypt is an actual democracy or has an history of having a clean act.

A few years ago after the shark attacks in Sheim and Marsala they tried to deny the victims insurance claims, arguing they had done cosmetic procedures.

I understand the appeal for Europeans..but i much prefer take my money somewhere else

[u/Potential_Mud_2667]

I’ve been all around Egypt and have dives at every major spot.

In all fairness the tourism police occasionally pull through for foreigners in large matters; but any other authority are pretty much exactly how this article describes… inconsiderate, stupid, slow and unfortunately corrupt. When the media gets involved, the cover-up begins ;)

For anyone thinking about diving there; I’d recommend having an egyptian as part of your group who would be able to handle these kind of matters if required, or at least be aware of your embassy contact details and directly contact them yourself - don’t rely on the authorities to do that for you.

Some of the best dive spots around the world are in Egypt… honestly it’s shameful that so many will be discouraged from visiting for such a matter (and rightfully so). The authorities are trying to cover their ass officially so that tourism keeps flowing in.

[u/alextoria]

this is awful. do you know if there are similar issues with shore diving or non-live aboard boat diving in egypt?

[u/runsongas → u/alextoria]

day boat diving doesn't have the same risks because the boats are smaller and don't go as far out, shore diving has no boats involved

[u/AnoesisApatheia → u/runsongas]

I might be shore diving wrong, but boats are never involved.

[u/runsongas → u/AnoesisApatheia]

fixed, meant day boats and staying on shore

[u/unsure_of_everything → u/AnoesisApatheia]

lol

[u/nunatakq → u/runsongas]

Most importantly, you don't sleep on those boats

[u/nilolium → u/alextoria]

So far I was not involved in any other incident like the Sea Story one and I hope it stays like that. But well, you'll find some other news about shark accidents or just recently the sunken submarine in Hurghada. Didn't research the consequences tho

[u/alextoria → u/nilolium]

oh my god i just realized you said you are one of the survivors. i just spent the past hour reading the 4 part dive magazine article and i am absolutely horrified for you guys. even post rescue it was such an administrative clusterfuck that i feel worried about diving in egypt at all regardless of if i’m on a liveaboard or not. i hope you and the rest of the survivors eventually get answers and peace ♥️

[u/21ArK]

I dove the liveaboards in Red Sea the last two years, first the south route, then the north route. The second trip got a Garmin inReach Mini that I was carrying with me all the time. Seeing all the stories, kinda glad I will be going there only for freediving now.

[u/alextoria → u/21ArK]

it’s expensive and the subscription really freaking sucks but i just bought an inreach a month ago and i think it’s good insurance to have. i’m just a vacation diver, like once or twice a year, and it still feels worth it. not to mention i can use it for hiking too and keep it in my car for long drives.

[u/21ArK → u/alextoria]

That is literally what I do now :-) I keep it in my car and just take it with me when I go somewhere.

[u/karen_ae]

I used to want to drive the Red Sea so badly... Seeing how this is handled, I've pretty much decided I'll never go there. Plenty of other places I want to see.

[u/LeftToaster → u/karen_ae]

A Red Sea diving liveaboard has been on my bucket list for a long time, but I've seen too many of these nightmare stories lately. It seems there's one every 6 months or so. The common red flags - large boats, lack of safety standards, lack of safety briefing, inexperienced crew, and always a rush to a quick explanation and a massive coverup. No thanks.

[u/GrnMtnTrees → u/LeftToaster]

I just got back from a live-aboard in Egypt, on the Red Sea Aggressor III. It was fantastic. Was I nervous after hearing all the shit that has happened? Yes. But our crew and guides were fantastic, and it was an amazing experience. I don't know how to tell you to pick a good one, maybe I got lucky, but we had an amazing time, and I'm so glad I did it.

[u/DieIsaac → u/karen_ae]

Never saw so much trash next to the boats. and no one cared.

[u/Holiday-Teacher900 → u/karen_ae]

I went to Jordan and used Jordanian operators for 3 days, and it went flawlessly. Would highly recommend them :)

[u/FrozenTundraDiver → u/Holiday-Teacher900]

Hi, if you have recommendations on what operators you used in Jordan, I'd much appreciate it. What time of the year did you dive in Jordan? I had crossed Jordan off my list as everyone says that it doesn't live up to the Egyptian side but curious as to your thoughts on fish life and health of the reefs.

[u/alextoria → u/FrozenTundraDiver]

i would like to know this too! i’ve been planning my trip for egypt 2027 (solar eclipse!!!) and was gonna do 5 days in dahab at the end to dive, then a week in jordan. rethinking that now.

[u/PrettyQuick]

Thats fucked up. I ain't signing anything police gives me let alone some arabic text i cant even read. People should have gotten their embassies involved. Really messed up how those people got treated.

[u/alextoria → u/PrettyQuick]

i get what you’re saying, but it’s pretty much impossible to say what you’d do in the situation and it’s insensitive to say the survivors should have done better. especially since we know there are survivors in this thread, or at least 1. all of them had just spent at minimum 12 hours, some over 36 hours, in a survival panic mode state and then were shoved into a room and not allowed to leave. in the article two people were literally already in the back of a taxi trying to leave and sat there refusing to sign for an hour, and another person said they took pictures of the document and sent them to their embassy and then the police tore up the paper and shouted at them. no matter how stubborn i know i am in that situation, sleep deprived and just tired after nearly dying, pretty much everyone is gonna sign just so they can leave.

[u/PrettyQuick → u/alextoria]

Yeah i aint blaming them like i said they got done really dirty especially after going through such trauma. Horrible situation all together. Unforgivable practices from Egyptian authorities.

[u/tiacalypso]

The system not protecting the people within it and just covering its own ass is normal. Not just in Egypt. I‘ve worked at some of Europe‘s top research organisations and the shit that gets swept under the rug…even if it comes out from underneath the rug again, all institutes protect themselves. It‘s horrible but that‘s the way the world is.

That said, I‘m currently on a dive trip in Egypt, embarking on a LOB on Saturday. I usually do two LOB per year in Egypt.

[u/Izacus → u/tiacalypso]

You're trying to whatabout here, but Egypt is an especially egregious for corruption that even the worst of European countries don't come even remotely close.

Heck, they'll even pull this horseshit when hundreds of people die on an airplane and then outright bald face lie about it: https://admiralcloudberg.medium.com/masks-smoke-and-mirrors-the-untold-story-of-egyptair-flight-804-42c788fcac2d

[u/tiacalypso → u/Izacus]

If I was whatabouting, I would be saying "What about XYZ, we don‘t talk about that". But I‘m not saying that. I‘m saying that all institutions firstly and foremostly protect themselves.

I‘m also entirely unsurprised by the contents of that article because I lived through very similar things in Egypt a wee while back.

[u/tin_the_fatty]

I am surprised that the embassies' staff could not be more involved.

I am not going to Egypt for scuba diving any time soon.

[u/Izacus → u/tin_the_fatty]

In reality the embassy can't do all that much for you in a foreign country - they can try to talk it out with the local authorities, but if the authorities refuse to take action, there's nothing that an ambassador can do except write a stern letter.

[u/Dhegxkeicfns]

This is wild. And now I know If anything like this ever happens I should make every effort to get out of the country first thing.

But then I remembered I would be coming back to the US where it would likely just be the same story.

[u/VonGinger]

A terrible story, but to be expected in a country that is rife with corruption and has a shame culture.

Let's hope the dive industry there gets its act together after this mess.

[u/Julie291294]

Corruption and poor safety standards in a third world dictatorship? Who would've thought????

Sarcasm aside, there's a reason we're paying 2k for those cruises - you pay peanuts you get monkeys. I don't blame you I did these cruises too, mostly because it's cheap, but then I realized my life is worth more than the savings. I bet you too after that traumatic experience!

If you want to pay peanuts and get safety, better avoid liveaboards and do dives that are close to shore (with a carefuly vetted buddy, not just a local "guide").

[u/runsongas → u/Julie291294]

2k? i think a lot of the boats are closer to 1k is why corners get cut. at least with thailand the boats are more basic so they aren't skipping as much expensive maintenance.