Most diving instructors not certified under Singapore's DiveSafer scheme

ALL content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/only-13-out-of-about-200/807650.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Only 13 out of the estimated 200 diving instructors in Singapore are certified under the DiveSafer scheme administered by the Singapore Underwater Federation (SUF), the national sports authority for diving and underwater activities.

This scheme, launched in April, aims to provide a more comprehensive framework for divers and a high level of quality and safety.

Currently, the diving community rely on various accreditations offered by different authorities such as the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), Scuba Schools International and the British Sub Aqua Club.

The SUF hopes that the DiveSafer scheme will be made mandatory to ensure a uniform standard of safety and allow consumers to make a more informed choice before taking the plunge.

This comes after two Singaporeans died while diving in Tioman last Saturday.

The SUF said DiveSafer offers a standard benchmark to assess dive operators here.

Song Shing Hae, president of the SUF, said: "All instructors come from different dive agencies. What we wanted to do is to put all these instructors into some kind of a common platform.

The SUF also encourages freelance divers and service providers to adopt this new scheme.

Mr Song added: "Those who are on a freelance basis, those are the people who should be aware that there's such a programme.

"Likewise, service providers who are running recreational diving outfits also need to support such a programme because this is where the standards are being laid... The public, particularly the diving public, especially those who want to start to learn diving also have a part to play. They need to discern where the professionals are, have they or have they not been accredited."