Hostel Reef Trips, a Cairns, Australia-based tour operator, was recently fined over the death of a British tourist.
The fine was for breaching workplace health and safety obligations after a supervised snorkeling session from its vessel, Reef Experience, resulted in the death of 25-year-old British snorkeler Cameron Shaw in 2022.
Shaw disappeared while snorkeling at Saxon Reef, about 55 kilometers/34 miles northeast of Cairns, following an earlier introductory dive with friends. The group was in a designated snorkel area monitored by a member of the vessel’s staff. When the party was called back to the boat, Shaw did not return; his friends alerted the crew twice, but no search was mounted on either occasion.
During a lunch break, after the friends raised the alarm a third time, the crew was informed by a private vessel that a body had been found floating roughly one kilometer/0.65 miles from the snorkel zone.
It was determined that Shaw’s death was from natural causes, and the operator was not prosecuted for the fatality itself. In court, Hostel Reef Trips pled guilty to the safety breach. The company’s lawyer described the crew’s failure to search as an “honest error,” and said the operator accepted the penalty and has reviewed its safety procedures.
Prosecutors argued that inadequate procedures and the failure to conduct a timely search placed everyone aboard at risk. The Cairns Magistrate’s Court heard the case with Shaw’s parents watching by video link.
The company was fined AU$60,000/~US$39,596/~€33,909/~£29,483 plus court costs.
In sentencing, Presiding Magistrate James Morton stated:
“A young person has lost his life on a day where he should’ve been enjoying himself. All passengers on that day were exposed to risk, which only became apparent after Mr Shaw’s death. No amount of money or no amount of outcome will replace [Mr & Mrs Shaw’s] son.”
