Search for diver on ship called off

Press, 1 August 1989, Page 2

Search for diver on ship called off

By

RODGER KINGSBURY

in Blenheim

The search for the diver missing on the wreck of the Mikhail Lermontov has been called off by the police.

The man, Mr Martin Greig, aged 19, of Wellington Street, Picton, failed to surface after he became separated from his friend while exploring the wreck on Saturday morning. The search co-ordinator in Picton, Sergeant Allan Kay, said that the decision

to call off the search had been made late on Sunday afternoon after a team of 13 police divers from Wellington had spent two days diving on the wreck from the tender Little

Mermaid. “We have covered all the areas that we consider can be done with safety for our divers. We feel we

can’t achieve anything by staying any longer,” he said.

No trace of the missing man or his equipment had been found. “We would like to emphasise the need for people who are going to dive to observe the New Zealand Diving Association’s guidelines. If divers penetrate a wreck they should use a lifeline back to the surface. "If something happens to them there is a chance of getting them out,” Sergeant Kay said. “We know the area where he was last seen . but if you are in the murk , and can’t see past the end of your arm you do not know whether you are going up or down, sideways or around in circles.” Mr Kevin Bailey, of the

Blenheim Dive Centre, said the group of eight experienced divers, all from Marlborough, had all dived on the Mikhail Lermontov before. Diving started about 10 a.m. on Saturday in excellent conditions. The first Mr Bailey knew that anything untoward had occurred was about 10.15 a.m. when he was on his way up from a dive. He was given a slate message by Mr Greig’s diving partner saying that he was missing. The other divers immediately went down to look for him but could find no trace. They estimated that he still had half a tank of air. Mr Bailey said that Mr Greig and his partner had

apparently been inside a bar-room on the wreck, having entered by a window. They became separated before reaching the window on the way out and lost visual contact with each other because of the clouds of fine sediment stirred up in the water. Mr Bailey, who has dived on the Mikhail Lermontov about 15 times, said the wreck was not dangerous for diving but extra precautions had to be taken. “You have got to be very cautious. It should be ;a controlled dive. It certainly is not, one for the inexperienced,” he said. Mr Greig had had quite a lot of experience in diving on the wreck.