The defendant worked as a vessel master for a company that provided recreational diving activities.
On 30 January 2022, the defendant left ten divers and a dive instructor unattended in the ocean, approximately three nautical miles from shore, at the ex-HMAS Brisbane dive site. The defendant took the divers’ surface support vessel back to shore because another diver was suffering from a serious medical issue, and in doing so the defendant left the other divers at sea unattended for a period of around 30 minutes.