Charged with Manslaughter

The skipper of the dive boat which left two American divers behind in the open ocean in January of 1996 was formally charged with manslaughter. Geoffrey Nairn was charged after an inquest concluded that the divers, who were left at sea, had drowned or been killed by sharks.

They took no head count of passengers at the time the divers disappeared, and they only reported their disappearance two days later after the crew found their personal effects in the boat.

During the inquest, the coroner released a slate found five months after the Lonergans disappeared. The message, dated Monday January 26 at 8 a.m., read: “To anyone...can help us. We have been abandoned on Agincourt Reef by the MV Outer Edge 25/1/98 3 p.m. Please help us ...to rescue us before we die. Help!!!”

Nairn’s dive company, Outer Edge, also faces separate charges under workplace health and safety laws. No trial date has been set.