Dive boat firm charged for stranding Richard Neely and Allyson Dalton


CHARGES have been laid against a north Queensland dive boat operator after a British and American tourist couple were left behind in the open ocean.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland said charges had been laid against Whitsunday dive boat operator AP Vessel Management pty Ltd, who run the dive boat Pacific Star after the stranding last May of the two divers.

WHSQ alleges the company, which trades as OzSail Skippered Yacht Charters, breached the Workplace Health and Safety Act.
It claims the breach was the result of the firm's alleged failure to ensure the health and safety of Richard Neely from the UK and American Allyson Dalton.

The divers were among 20 passengers on the Pacific Star which left Airlie Beach for a drive trip to Bait Reef off the Whitsundays.

The couple surfaced at the end of the dive on May 23, 2008 and could not get back to the vessel.

They drifted for several hours before being rescued next morning after a major search.

The survival story made international headlines after the divers survived a night in what reports said were shark -infested waters.

WHSQ will allege the company did not adequately manage the risk to the recreational divers' safety.