Malaysian diver dies after entanglement with boat propeller at Marina South Pier

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) reported receiving a call for assistance at 31 Marina Coastal Drive at around 2:15 PM that day.

A Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesman informed the Singapore state media The Straits Times that the diver became caught in one of the propellers of the supporting dive boat.

The spokesman added that the diver, employed by Dive-Marine Services, was taken to Singapore General Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

MOM is investigating the incident and has instructed the company to halt all diving activities.

According to the police, the diver was unconscious when taken to the hospital, and preliminary investigations suggest no foul play.

In its statement, MOM emphasized that established commercial diving procedures using surface-supplied diving equipment (SSDE) or commercial self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (CSCUBA) must be followed.

“Such equipment and apparatus facilitate coordination and communication between divers and supervisors during operations.”

“Recreational self-contained underwater breathing apparatus must not be used for commercial diving operations.”

It is unclear if the man was hired as a commercial diver.

This is the second workplace diving fatality in five months. On 17 February, a 59-year-old Singaporean commercial diver died after failing to surface while cleaning a ship’s hull at an anchorage off East Coast.

He was working as a freelance diver hired by maritime services company Alphard Offshore.

In a different incident, freelance diver Jake Seet, aged 33, drowned on 5 May 2018, while cleaning the stern of a cargo vessel in the southwest waters near Sentosa.

Investigations revealed that his communication cord had become entangled with the seabed, preventing him from ascending.

In May 2021, a diving superintendent was sentenced to two years imprisonment for failing to respond to Mr Seet’s desperate pleas for help via intercom, among other offences.