Watersports companies clash over cut submarine communication cable

Two watersports’ companies are at loggerheads over a recent incident involving the Down Under submarine and a company called Shaggy’s Personalised Diving.

A criminal complaint was recently filed by the manager of the Down Under Submarines Company. The matter relates to an incident that occurred while the submarine was diving near the Doc Poulson shipwreck. The VHF communications cable that trails behind the submarine and which is connected to the surface by a float, was intentionally cut by a dive company owner James (Shaggy) Thomson, forcing the submarine to abort the dive with customers on board.

Andrey Alexeenko, who manages the submarine operations and who was also captaining the sub at the time, said, “We were diving on the Doc Poulson dive site and while we were underwater, ‘Shaggy’ cut the communications cable which connects from the submarine to the buoy on the surface. For safety reasons, we had to abort the dive because we cannot operate without this cable, which allows us to communicate with the support vessel on the surface.”

Alexeenko added that he had to fly a technician in from Spain at a cost of over $3,000 to get the cable repaired.

Thomson defended his actions when he spoke to the Cayman Compass. He showed a video of the incident that clearly shows the cable and float by the stern of his diving boat.

“I thought he was going to sink my boat,” he said, adding, “Normally, only one dive operation is on a dive site mooring at a time, and when I saw him approaching and starting to submerge, I waved him off because I had some of my divers in the water.”

Thomson added, “Next thing I see, the submarine is passing less than 10 feet under my vessel, and then the cable that connects to the submarine and which drags behind it, got tangled up in my engine and my boat is being pulled along by the submarine. I was concerned for the safety of my boat and customers, so I didn’t hesitate. I wasn’t going to allow my boat to be dragged underwater by a 62-foot submarine that weighs over 60 tons, so I cut the cable.”

He said, “I was surprised when I got a call from the police later that day and so I went down to the West Bay police station and showed them video of what happened, and why I believe I was forced to cut the cable.”

Thomson added, “Frankly, it should have been me that called the police or coastguard, because this was a very dangerous situation, but I wanted to give the guy a chance and I know full well that working on the water is not easy.

“At the time, I really expected he would just call me and apologise and that would be that.”

Thomson says he does not plan to pay for the cable repair and he remains convinced that he did what he had to do, to protect his boat and to keep customers safe in the circumstances.

Alexeenko disagrees.

“I really don’t believe he had to cut that cable,” he said. “It was completely unnecessary. He could have pushed the cable and the float out of the way of his boat, and everything would have been fine.”

He added that, following the incident, he has decided to invest in a small dingy that will now ensure the communications cable and buoy do not approach other nearby vessels on the surface.

“I just think it is a misunderstanding,” Thomson said. “I have been working in the diving industry in Cayman for 15 years and he (Alexeenko) has not been here in Cayman for very long, so perhaps he doesn’t know yet that you have to be very observant at all times. And the watersports operators respect each other, and one of the ways we do that, is by not coming onto to the same dive site when there is another operator already tied up to the mooring, and if they do, they at least call on the radio first and ask if it is okay.

“I was also concerned that the sub came close to my customers while they were underwater and, while I am not certain, it seems possible they might have got sucked into the thrusters of the sub. I just think we all need to respect each other and always put safety first.”

Chief conservation officer Mark Orr said that while the Department of Environment is responsible for installing and maintaining the dive buoys around the islands, there is nothing specific in their legislation that states that more than one watersports operator can, or cannot, share the same dive site at the same time.

“It is more about etiquette,” Orr said. “Typically, only one operator uses a particular site at a time, and the other operator will stand off and wait until the mooring becomes available. However, under the Port Authority Law, a vessel can legally approach within 200 yards of a vessel, even if it has a dive flag up and divers in the water, but only if it is travelling at less than five miles an hour. Obviously, they need to be highly observant about swimmers and divers in the area.”

Orr said he has seen video of the incident and referred the matter to the Coast Guard, but he is not aware if any additional action will be taken, or if Thomson will be charged for cutting the cable.