Safety

Due to the remoteness of both Cocos and Malpelo, safety is an absolute priority at all times. This we have always understood and no dive operation takes it more seriously or is more prepared for all eventualities. Your safety is our first priority. Our Captains all have naval, military backgrounds. They are fully qualified and hold internationally recognized seafaring licenses. Many of our crew are Medic First Aid Instructors or are trained for basic first aid and as DAN O2 providers.
Click here to learn more about the crew safety training program.

All of our boats' crews maintain peak performance skills for all conceivable emergencies including Man Overboard, Lost Diver Searches, Fire at Sea and more. It is company policy that all of our ship's personnel performs these exercise drills on EVERY trip, while our guests relax.

We conduct a short dive briefing with white-board diagrams before each dive. Here the dive master will explain the site's dive strategy and highlight the points of interest of that particular dive. All dives are lead by the same dive master who did your briefing. The buddy-system is obligatory. A 60-minute maximum dive time is enforced.

Since the nearest hyperbaric facility in San Jose is 36 hours away, it is imperative that we maintain safe diving practices within the recreational diving limits. Thus, decompression dives are fare not permitted and a maximum depth of 130 feet or 40 meters is imposed. To increase safety and bottom time while maintaining safe non-decompression dives, the use of Nitrox becomes essential. DAN O2 Emergency kits are present on all of our skiffs as well as on the mothership.

We provide all guests with our Safety Kit that includes an extra-large orange dive sausage, a powerful storm whistle and a special safety light.

Each vessel is equipped with a full set of Nautilus Lifeline GPS systems. Each diver recieves a unit, which is tethered to their BCD. When activated it can communicate with an on-board homing receiver (we use Sea Marshall) that guides the vessel towards the missing diver. These units also transmit the marine international distress signal that is monitored by all ships and coast guard vessels.

Click here to read more about the Nautilus Lifelines

The total isolation of these Islands and our understanding of the prevailing ocean currents play a major roll in our emergency plan and readiness. We are always vigilant for the possibility that a diver might drift away from a dive site. With frequent rain squalls, surface conditions are unpredictable at times. For this reason we only hire and train highly skilled personnel.

As critical crew components, our skiff pilots have the experience and the know-how to keep track of our divers. Head counts are done methodically and our dive-masters and skiff operators quickly learn the names and faces of all of our guest. With full knowledge of local conditions they are prepared to search and locate divers even in the most extreme circumstances.