Fly-By-Night Training

One reason there are hordes of unskilled divers in Thailand and throughout South East Asia is that many operations offer bogus training, reports the South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong Underwater Association officials are warning of the perils of maverick operators who offer “short-course, cutprice” training. Fly-by-night dive operations have come under scrutiny as part of a wide-ranging investigation following a recent scuba-diving tragedy.

Some operators, mostly working out of resorts in Malaysia and Thailand, are offering short courses and fake qualifications to students for as much as $135. Beginners are being given the bogus open-water licenses after as few as two dives with little or no instruction. Said an HKUA official, “these fly-by-nighters do not care if the trainee diver is up to standard or not. They are giving the licenses to divers who should not be in the water without proper supervision.”