• Value SubtractedA
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    1 year ago

    I have no sympathy for Stockton Rush whatsoever, but search and rescue services are basic, essential, and should never be provided at a cost.

    • Erk@cdda.social
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      1 year ago

      Search and rescue does not normally include anywhere near the extent of services given to looking for a lost private submarine.

      • Value SubtractedA
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        1 year ago

        What, then, is the appropriate amount of resources to spend on five people lost at sea in a fairly well-defined area?

        • Erk@cdda.social
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          1 year ago

          Why are you asking me? I don’t know anything about the field. However, a quick search shows this was one of the most expensive S&Rs of all time, comparable to efforts in rescuing 33 stranded miners in chile, who were victims of an accident rather than their own decisions. My point is only that saying “search and rescue is important” doesn’t really work as well when we’re talking about people who consciously got themselves into an incredibly dangerous and unrescuable situation. I’d fully support sending out normal coast guard searches as we would for a lost boat, for example.

          Put differently, if five people took a sailboat out into rough waters and lost contact, would several countries spend tens of millions of dollars looking for the wreckage? If not, then why would we do it for this case?

          This is entirely notwithstanding that there’s immediate comparable evidence that the S&R was because the passengers were rich, since the coinciding disaster with the refugee boat near greece didn’t merit even a fraction of that amount of resource expenditure, so it’s pretty hollow to act like this was the normal response.

          • Value SubtractedA
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            1 year ago

            My point is only that saying “search and rescue is important” doesn’t really work as well when we’re talking about people who consciously got themselves into an incredibly dangerous and unrescuable situation.

            When it comes to search and rescue of human beings, the circumstances don’t matter. It’s a last resort situation - a literal safety net.

    • FaceDeer@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I could see a good case being made for rules that charge the rescuees a fine or fee if they were doing something knowingly and deliberately stupid that put them into the situation that required rescue, such as trespassing into clearly marked off-limits areas.

      Whether this sub counts as that would be a matter for the courts, if such a rule existed.

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        1 year ago

        I believe it’s international waters, and there are no laws surrounding submersibles, so I don’t think any laws would apply.

        If the company can be nailed for gross negligence, I’m all for it, but that’s separate from charging for rescue.