Sports diving in Singapore: It needs more safety rules

Straits Times Forum 11 Nov 08;

I READ with sadness last Saturday about the death of the sports diver, where causation could not be established ('Trainee diver's death remains a mystery'). The case reminds us of the deficiencies that occur in the sports diving industry.

The sports diving industry comprises dive operators and instructors and recreational divers, and the numbers are on the increase. The industry has been left to self-regulate but it has seemingly failed. There are no clear dive safety standards that dive operators must comply with, nor is there punishment for non-compliance. Safety standards are thus left to the dive operator. There are no figures of registered dive operators with any government authority, nor is it known how many deaths or injuries have occurred to divers. There is also no mechanism to investigate any dive fatality. All this stems fundamentally from a lack of regulatory ownership locally. In such a state, it is no wonder that dive operators have become a commodity where prices (and corners) are cut to attract higher numbers of recreational divers.

In contrast, sports diving is regulated by the Labour Department in Australia (equivalent to our Ministry of Manpower). There are dive standards to comply with, including a compulsory medical examination with registered diving physicians before anyone can dive with its dive operators. All injuries there are monitored and investigated.

One issue in this case is the lack of regulatory means to investigate incidents. An investigation carried out responsively is critical to obtain a true picture of the circumstances and identify negligent areas. The excuse that the incident occurred in foreign waters should be circumvented as the incident occurred under the watch of the dive operator. The other excuse commonly used is that the diver has signed an indemnity form that frees the dive operator from liability in the event of an incident. Dive operators must know that the safety of the trainee divers belongs to the dive operators; it cannot be that safety becomes the sole responsibility of the trainee divers.

It is my strong opinion that there needs to be regulatory ownership on sports diving safety. We need a legal compulsion for dive operators to do risk assessments, and take effective control measures to ensure the safety of their trainees. We cannot wait for another life to be lost.

Dr Gregory Chan