According to the official, in 2009 all diving centers in Egypt will be required to switch to new standards - ISO certificates developed by the European Underwater Federation and the Austrian Standards Institute, as well as obtain the corresponding CDWS license.
Already by March 31, all diving centers in South Sinai will be required, after going through the appropriate procedures, to obtain licenses that meet the new standards. 'Licensing in Hurghada and El Gouna will be completed by the end of June,' said Hesham Gabr. 'Centers that do not receive the new license on time can obtain a temporary license for one month, which can be extended for up to three months.'
The Chairman of CDWS noted that to combat diving centers that receive complaints from tourists, it is planned to create a marine police that can prevent vessels carrying clients of such centers from going to sea. 'These centers can be punished by closing them for a period of 1 to 6 months,' said Hesham Gabr. 'If a center is proven guilty in the death of a particular person, it can be closed for a period of 3 months.'
According to the official, last year in Egypt there were almost 200 diving-related accidents, resulting in 32 deaths, among which Russians are the leading nationality.
As Interfax notes, the problem of diver safety in Egypt is quite acute. Back in 2007, the Ministry of Tourism created a special organization - CDWS - with the aim of raising the quality and safety standards of services in the diving industry.
In total, Egypt has about 140 special sites for professional sports dives. At least 1.2 million people used the services of diving centers in Egypt last year.
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