The Truth About Liveaboard Safety, Part 1: Marine Surveyor - Mick Uberti
Explicit content warning
04/03/25 • 89 min
In this episode of The Scuba GOAT Podcast, host Matt Waters is joined by marine surveyor Mick Uberti to take a deep dive into the realities of dive liveaboard safety—what’s working, what’s failing, and what needs to change. With over two decades of experience in maritime safety, Mick has worked with boat owners worldwide, including the UAE royal family and Richard Branson. As the founder of Maritime Survey Australia (MSA) and an AMSA-accredited Domestic Commercial Vessel (DCV) surveyor, he has conducted vessel surveys across the globe, including some of Egypt’s Red Sea liveaboard fleet. His expertise has led to a collaboration with Taucher.net, a leading German diving platform, which has publicly recommended that dive operators in the Red Sea undergo safety audits by Mick’s team at Maritime Survey International (MSI). This episode is part of a larger series on liveaboards, aiming to provide a balanced and non-judgmental exploration of the industry. While many operators uphold and even exceed safety expectations, others fall dangerously short—often due to a complex web of contributing factors. Mick and Matt discuss legal loopholes, flag states with differing safety standards, lack of enforcement, financial pressures driving a race-to-the-bottom pricing model, inadequate crew training, and the role of divers themselves in demanding luxury at unsustainable costs. By learning from both the best and worst examples, this series aims to equip listeners with the knowledge to identify safe liveaboards and understand the broader challenges at play. Whether you’re a seasoned liveaboard diver or considering your first trip, this conversation will shed light on the unseen forces shaping safety standards in the industry. 🎧 Tune in now for an essential discussion on the future of liveaboard safety!
Do you have feedback or an opinion to share with us? SMS us now.
Love the show?
Reviews help us grow and let us know you're listening - If you can spare two minutes, please leave a review here.
Want to be a guest on the show?
GREAT! - use this link, drop your details & let's get chatting.
Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy... Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!
ShoppingScuba GOAT Amazon Shop - Click here to viewAdvertisingInterested in advertising on the show? Sponsoring an episode or partnering with us? Get in touch today for more details on how we can work together.
🎵 Music: Forever Young by the legend - AudioCoffee | AudioCoffee.net
In this episode of The Scuba GOAT Podcast, host Matt Waters is joined by marine surveyor Mick Uberti to take a deep dive into the realities of dive liveaboard safety—what’s working, what’s failing, and what needs to change. With over two decades of experience in maritime safety, Mick has worked with boat owners worldwide, including the UAE royal family and Richard Branson. As the founder of Maritime Survey Australia (MSA) and an AMSA-accredited Domestic Commercial Vessel (DCV) surveyor, he has conducted vessel surveys across the globe, including some of Egypt’s Red Sea liveaboard fleet. His expertise has led to a collaboration with Taucher.net, a leading German diving platform, which has publicly recommended that dive operators in the Red Sea undergo safety audits by Mick’s team at Maritime Survey International (MSI). This episode is part of a larger series on liveaboards, aiming to provide a balanced and non-judgmental exploration of the industry. While many operators uphold and even exceed safety expectations, others fall dangerously short—often due to a complex web of contributing factors. Mick and Matt discuss legal loopholes, flag states with differing safety standards, lack of enforcement, financial pressures driving a race-to-the-bottom pricing model, inadequate crew training, and the role of divers themselves in demanding luxury at unsustainable costs. By learning from both the best and worst examples, this series aims to equip listeners with the knowledge to identify safe liveaboards and understand the broader challenges at play. Whether you’re a seasoned liveaboard diver or considering your first trip, this conversation will shed light on the unseen forces shaping safety standards in the industry. 🎧 Tune in now for an essential discussion on the future of liveaboard safety!
Do you have feedback or an opinion to share with us? SMS us now.
Love the show?
Reviews help us grow and let us know you're listening - If you can spare two minutes, please leave a review here.
Want to be a guest on the show?
GREAT! - use this link, drop your details & let's get chatting.
Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy... Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!
ShoppingScuba GOAT Amazon Shop - Click here to viewAdvertisingInterested in advertising on the show? Sponsoring an episode or partnering with us? Get in touch today for more details on how we can work together.
🎵 Music: Forever Young by the legend - AudioCoffee | AudioCoffee.net
Previous Episode
Andre Borell: Shark Stop wetsuits
A little over three years ago I interviewed Andre Borell, director of Envoy: Shark Cull, a hard-hitting documentary highlighting the archaic shark mitigation systems employed by the Australian government throughout Queensland and New South Wales. The doco, narrated by Eric Banna, was initially aired exclusively on Stan and three years down the line has a much greater global audience through many other popular media streams including Netflix.
During today's episode, I grab an update from Andre and an excellent insight into his latest project, the Shark Stop wetsuit. Now, in its second round of funding, the Shark Stop wetsuits were originally designed by surfer Haydon Burford, who wanted to find a wetsuit similar to the impact protection for motorcyclists via Kevlar. Through his research and development, he created what we see now as the bite-resistant wetsuit Shark Stop.
Tested by Flinders University on board the Rodney Fox vessel, Andre shares the impressive results and findings, so join me as we delve deeper into the creation, those results, the progress of the business, and the opportunities available for investors seeking to make a change. Please enjoy.
Links:
Watch on The Scuba GOAT Podcast: YouTube channel
Sharkstop website: https://sharkstop.co/
Investment details: Birchall website
Flinders University: Peer-reviewed report
Social links for Andre:
Do you have feedback or an opinion to share with us? SMS us now.
Nomadic Scuba - Your dive travel agencyPromoting liveaboards, Resorts, Group expeditions, Dive shops & hand-picked dive ambassadors.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Love the show?
Reviews help us grow and let us know you're listening - If you can spare two minutes, please leave a review here.
Want to be a guest on the show?
GREAT! - use this link, drop your details & let's get chatting.
Dive Travel with Nomadic Scuba
Everyone needs a solid travel buddy... Founded by Matt, Nomadic Scuba is an online booking agency for scuba divers. Chances are, Matt himself will sort out your trip - he’s a bit of a planning geek (and loves it!). Check out Nomadic Scuba today and Breathe life into your adventure!
ShoppingScuba GOAT Amazon Shop - Click here to viewAdvertisingInterested in advertising on the show? Sponsoring an episode or partnering with us? Get in touch today for more details on how we can work together.
🎵 Music: Forever Young by the legend - AudioCoffee | AudioCoffee.net
The Scuba GOAT Podcast - The Truth About Liveaboard Safety, Part 1: Marine Surveyor - Mick Uberti
Transcript
Introduction:
Over the past five years there has been 16 liveaboard dive vessels that have caught fire or sunk claiming lives and raising urgent questions about safety at sea what standards exist? How are they enforced and what are the barriers to a globally recognized standard for this ever-growing industry?
This is the start of a series of episodes focused on liveaboard safety currently there are no specific global regulations for liveaboard vessels and dare say that this is unli
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/the-scuba-goat-podcast-228174/the-truth-about-liveaboard-safety-part-1-marine-surveyor-mick-uberti-88626643"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to the truth about liveaboard safety, part 1: marine surveyor - mick uberti on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy