What Is a Liveaboard?

Understanding Liveaboard Vessels

The term liveaboard generally refers to a boat or other vessel where people sleep and spend extended periods aboard rather than returning to shore each day. Liveaboards can take several forms.

Some people live aboard privately owned boats as their primary or long-term residence. In the diving and tourism industries, a liveaboard often refers to a vessel equipped with sleeping quarters, dining areas, and other accommodations for passengers participating in multi-day excursions.

Dive liveaboards, for example, allow passengers to remain aboard while traveling between dive sites rather than returning to a hotel or marina each night.

Because passengers may eat, sleep, travel, and participate in activities from the same vessel, a liveaboard combines aspects of transportation, lodging, and recreation.

Types of Liveaboards

Liveaboards vary considerably in size and purpose. They may include:

• Privately owned boats used as residences
• Sailboats and motor yachts
• Dive liveaboards
• Fishing or adventure charters
• Expedition vessels
• Other boats designed for extended stays

The vessel's use can matter when determining what safety rules, passenger protections, or maritime laws apply.

For example, a privately owned boat used as a residence may present different legal issues from a commercial liveaboard carrying paying passengers on a multi-day diving trip.

Safety Risks Aboard Liveaboards

Spending several days or longer aboard a vessel can expose passengers and crew members to many of the same hazards found on other boats, along with risks associated with sleeping and living aboard. Potential accidents may involve:

• Fires or explosions
• Vessel collisions or groundings
• Slips and falls
• Unsafe stairs, ladders, or decks
• Mechanical or electrical failures
• Falls overboard
• Diving or snorkeling accidents
• Defective safety equipment
• Severe weather or rough seas

The risk can become particularly serious when an emergency occurs far from shore or while passengers are sleeping. Operators may need appropriate emergency procedures, functioning safety equipment, and trained crew members to respond when something goes wrong.

Liveaboard Diving Trips

Liveaboards are especially common in recreational scuba diving.

These vessels allow divers to travel to locations that may be difficult to reach on ordinary day trips. Passengers typically sleep aboard and may complete multiple dives while the vessel moves between sites. Liveaboard diving can introduce additional safety concerns involving:

• Dive equipment
• Entry and reboarding procedures
• Diver supervision
• Propeller safety
• Passenger counts
• Weather and currents
• Emergency response

An accident may involve the operation of the vessel, the diving activity, or both.

Responsibility for a Liveaboard Accident

Determining responsibility after a liveaboard accident depends on what happened and how the vessel was being used. Potentially responsible parties may include:

• The vessel owner
• The captain or operator
• A charter or tour company
• A dive operator
• Crew members
• A maintenance or repair company
• An equipment manufacturer
• Another business involved in the trip

For example, a vessel owner may face questions about inadequate maintenance, while a tour operator could be responsible for unsafe procedures during a diving excursion.

More than one party may potentially share responsibility when several failures contribute to the same accident.

Evidence After a Liveaboard Accident

Evidence can be especially important after an accident aboard a vessel that travels between ports or operates far from shore. Potentially useful evidence may include:

• Photographs, videos, and vessel surveillance footage
• Witness statements
• Vessel and passenger records
• Navigation and GPS data
• Maintenance and inspection records
• Crew training and safety procedures
• Accident or incident reports
• Medical records

For diving-related incidents, dive logs, equipment records, and passenger counts may also help establish what happened.

Compensation After a Liveaboard Accident

Liveaboard accidents can cause burns, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, drowning-related injuries, and other serious harm.

Depending on the circumstances, an injured passenger may be able to pursue compensation for losses such as medical expenses, future treatment, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other accident-related losses.

Fatal accidents may also give eligible family members or the person's estate grounds to pursue a wrongful death claim depending on the circumstances and applicable law.

Morgan & Morgan May Be Able to Help

Liveaboard accidents can involve questions about vessel operation, passenger safety, maintenance, recreational activities, and which maritime laws apply.

Morgan & Morgan's maritime accident attorneys can investigate what happened, preserve important evidence, identify potentially responsible parties, and fight for the compensation you may deserve.

Contact Morgan & Morgan for a free, no-obligation case evaluation. With The Fee is Free®, you pay nothing unless we win your case.