News

It saddens me to write that our colleagues and good friends at Worldwide Dive and Sail have lost the Oriental Siren when they were forced to abandon the boat in storm on the way to Layang Layang. The boat took on water in heavy, but manageable, seas and eventually the main engine died. At that point, the captain and cruise director decided to the boat. Both the crew and passengers were safely evacuated to the emergency life rafts and nobody was injured, which speaks volumes to organization of the operation. 

This news comes only months after the Siren fleet lost the Mandarin Siren to a fire, and just weeks before they  were set to launch vessels in Fiji and Palau.

Full report from WWDS below.


During the morning of 7th June 2012 the S/Y Oriental Siren, owned by Samui BP Holdings and operated under Worldwide Dive and Sail’s Siren Fleet, had to be abandoned by guests and crew.


The yacht was making her way from Labuan to the remote Spratly Island chain for a 10-night diving safari at Layang Layang, Malaysia. Prior to departure, weather reports from both the Malaysian and Thai meteorological departmentswere checked. Both stated that whilst some swells of 1.5-2.5m were to be expected, the storm was passing and fair weather was predicted. Swells such as these have been very easily managed in the past when the yacht has made trips around Thailand, Burma and the Andaman Islands.

At approximately 5am, local time, just 12 nautical miles from reaching Layang Layang, water was seen by the on board engineer in the bilge; the yacht had begun to take on water. Emergency petrol powered pumps were employed and the yacht remained under power and continued to make headway towards the shelter and safety of Layang Layang Island.

The Cruise Director contacted the operations team who in turn contacted the Malaysian Naval Services stationed on the island. Meanwhile the guests on board were roused and brought to the muster station in preparation for the possibility of evacuation. At approximately 6am, local time, a report was given that the water had risen and disrupted the electrical systems and subsequently the main engine had lost power. In the interest of passenger and crew safety, the decision was taken by the Cruise Director and Captain to evacuate the guests and crew into the emergency life rafts. All guests & crew had been fully prepared with clothing, life vests and their documentation; however other personal items were left behind in the interest of safety. All the guests reached Layang Layang Island safely after evacuation.

No one, either guest or crew member, was injured during this incident and we commend all aboard for their management of this situation.

All guests are currently at the local resort on Layang Layang Island and an air transfer to Labuan or Kota Kinabalu is in process. The crew was able to salvage a few personal items of the guests prior to abandoning the yacht and the operations team is preparing personal kit bags with clothes & toiletries for all.

The team in Thailand has been busy contacting embassies and notifying the families of those on board. Meanwhile yacht owner, John Bethell, and co-owner of Worldwide Dive and Sail, Mark Shandur, have flown to Malaysia to meet the guests and ensure they are safe and get to their homes quickly.

If you or your guests were due to travel on the S/Y Oriental Siren, the Worldwide Dive and Sail reservations office will be contacting you shortly with an update. We would like to thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.