REVIEW OF DIVE SHOPS’ OPERATIONS IN OLONGAPO

Olongapo City Mayor James “Bong” Gordon Jr. has ordered a thorough study of the prevailing practices, rules and regulations in the operations of dive shops in Olongapo City.

“Ito ay upang mapangalagaan ang kaligtasan kapwa ng mga lokal at dayuhang turista, partikular ang mga divers na mahalagang bahagi ng industriya ng turismo sa lungsod,” remarked Mayor Gordon.

The directive followed the recent drowning incident involving two (2) divers identified as American Steven Brittain, 47, former US Navy sailor and at the time of his death a diving instructor at Johan’s Dive Shop in Barangay Barretto, and Chinese national Shun Chuen Tin, 39 years old.

Rescuers retrieved Tin’s body on Monday night, July 18, from the shipwreck of the scuttled USS New York in Subic Bay, a day after they were declared missing,while the body of Brittian was retrieved the following morning of July 19.

Another diver, Chinese Fong Long Chow, 59 years old, survived the incident.

Rescuers said the victims were trapped near the engine room, the deepest and most dangerous part of the shipwreck.

The dive sites around Subic Bay offer some of the world’s most incredible shipwrecks, mainly remnants of two wars, the US-Spanish war of 1898 and World War II, aside from breathtaking coral reefs and marine life.