Diving Liveaboard Index 2026: Five of Nine Operators Publish No Safety Page at All

Master Liveaboards leads this index at 92/100, followed by Red Sea Explorers and Scubaspa tied at 86, Aggressor Adventures (76), then Siren Fleet and Emperor Divers tied at 70. Nine operators were assessed against four published criteria, every figure carrying its source and the date it was read. Published prices run from EUR 885 to USD 7,140 per person. Four of the nine publish a safety page; four require guests to hold dive insurance; one publishes anything at all about flag-state compliance. Below the table the same dataset is re-cut by safety disclosure, by price, by what the fare includes and by booking terms.

Verified 21 September 2026 · each operator's own site, rate pages, safety pages and terms · no incident or casualty information appears anywhere on this page

Nine liveaboard operators scored on what they publish

Nine operators were assessed against the criteria below. Six hold a ranked position, one is ranked beneath them, and two could not be scored on every criterion and are recorded as assessed and not ranked.

Score breakdown by criterion

Price and safety carry thirty points each and the field splits along them in opposite directions. Two operators publish a price on every itinerary in their schedule and publish no safety page. Two publish a full safety page and no price at all, or a price on only part of the schedule. Only Master Liveaboards does both well, and it is the only operator of the nine whose pages mention flag-state regulations, port state authorities or classification societies. On a product that costs several thousand pounds a week and takes guests days from a recompression chamber, that is a thin field.

What each operator publishes about safety

Four of nine publish a safety page. Four require dive insurance. One publishes a flag-state position. The test is what appears on the operator's own pages, not what any vessel actually carries.

The detail varies more than the yes-or-no column suggests. Aggressor publishes three portable emergency oxygen kits and 350 cubic feet of stored oxygen, a defibrillator and a maintained first aid kit, per vessel. Emperor Divers publishes a defibrillator on both the main vessel and the diving dhoni, which matters because the dhoni is where divers actually are. Master Liveaboards publishes defibrillators and emergency oxygen fleet-wide plus the flag-state and classification statement. Explorer Ventures publishes Green Fins certification and PADI Eco-Center status on select vessels, which are environmental accreditations rather than safety ones, and mentions individual recompression provision. Red Sea Explorers references two shore-based decompression chambers in Hurghada, which are facilities it can reach rather than provision it holds. Insurance is the one place a reader can act unilaterally: DAN Europe and equivalent schemes sell diver evacuation cover directly, and four of these nine require it, Explorer Ventures conditionally by destination.

Who publishes a price

Six of nine publish a figure, and only two carry a price on every itinerary in their schedule. The test is a price a reader meets while browsing, not one that exists somewhere behind a booking tool.

The eight-fold spread between Red Sea Explorers' EUR 885 and Master Liveaboards' USD 7,140 is mostly destination rather than standard: the Galapagos carries permit and park costs that the Red Sea does not, and the two figures buy different lengths of trip. What is comparable is the pricing practice. Red Sea Explorers and Scubaspa price every itinerary they publish. Master Liveaboards, Aggressor, Siren Fleet and Explorer Ventures price some. Emperor Divers and Solitude price none, and Emperor is the clearest case in the index of an operator that publishes everything except the number.

What the fare covers, and what it does not

Seven of nine publish an inclusions list and five publish exclusions. Nitrox ranges from free to USD 252. The test is whether both halves are published, because an inclusions list on its own tells a reader nothing about what will arrive on the invoice.

Marine park fees are the item most likely to surprise. The Galapagos National Park entrance fee is USD 200 per person plus a USD 20 transit control card, published by Master Liveaboards as payable in cash at the airport, which is a detail worth knowing at four in the morning in Quito. Scubaspa publishes the Maldives green tax at USD 12 per person per night, payable on board. Siren Fleet publishes marine park fees at USD 85 to 205 by itinerary length. Emperor Divers publishes park and port fees as included and nitrox up to 32 per cent as free, the most generous published position in the index and the only operator here that does not itemise either. Aggressor and Explorer Ventures publish no exclusions list at all.

Deposits, balances and what happens if the boat cancels

Deposits run from 5 to 35 per cent and balances from 56 to 90 days. Six of nine publish what happens if they cancel the departure themselves. The test is a published policy, read on the page.

The operator-cancellation column is the one worth reading first, and it is the one most guests never look at. A liveaboard departure can be cancelled for weather, for mechanical reasons or because a permit does not come through, and the guest-side cancellation policy says nothing about any of that. Six operators publish a position. Three do not. Alongside that sits the Aggressor deposit conflict: a company that has not reconciled two numbers on its own site has not reconciled them for a customer either, and the honest thing for a reader to do is ask which applies before paying. For the insurance side of the same question see what travel insurance actually covers.

The operators this index could not rank

Blue O Two and Solitude Liveaboards are assessed and not ranked. Both are named here with everything that could be verified.

Blue O Two no longer trades independently. Its domain redirects to masterliveaboards.com and the brand was absorbed in March 2024, so it publishes no prices, no inclusions and no terms of its own. It is recorded in the index rather than dropped because it is still widely cited as an operator and a reader searching for it should know where it went. Siren Fleet is in the same corporate position and is ranked, because it still sells under its own name with its own priced itineraries; Blue O Two does not.

Solitude Liveaboards now trades as Solitude World, and the domain in general circulation no longer resolves at all. Its rates and terms pages defer to downloadable documents that could not be located at stable URLs, so neither its pricing nor its inclusions could be read. It does publish a compulsory insurance requirement in its FAQ, which is recorded. Explorer Ventures Fleet is ranked seventh at 68, below the named six, on a complete but thin record: eleven vessels, a price, no safety page and no exclusions list.

Every operator's own site

Every figure above came from one of these sites, and three of the names most commonly listed as separate operators now resolve to one company. Prices, inclusions and terms change by season; these are the pages to check against.

Master Liveaboards · Red Sea Explorers · Scubaspa · Aggressor Adventures · Emperor Divers · Siren Fleet · Explorer Ventures Fleet · Blue O Two · Solitude Liveaboards

The six ranked operators in detail

Master Liveaboards — 92/100

Ten vessels · worldwide · a safety page, flag-state compliance and full terms

Master Liveaboards takes this index at 92 of 100 and is the only operator of the nine to publish anything about flag-state compliance: its vessels are stated to comply with flag state regulations, port state and local authorities and classification societies. It publishes automated defibrillators and emergency oxygen on all vessels and states that crew are trained from emergency response upward. Inclusions and exclusions are both published, with nitrox itemised at USD 168 to 252 on the Galapagos Master and the Galapagos National Park entrance fee of USD 200 per person stated separately as payable in cash at the airport. Deposit is 5 per cent with the balance 60 days out. It loses points only on pricing coverage: a price exists on its published schedule for some itineraries and not all.

Master Liveaboards — official site

Red Sea Explorers — 86/100

Four vessels · Red Sea and Sudan · every itinerary priced · no safety page

Red Sea Explorers scores 86 and takes full marks on price disclosure, one of only two operators here to do so. Every itinerary in its published schedule carries a figure, starting at EUR 885 per person for a northern Red Sea trip on High Wave in September 2026, and its nitrox is itemised per fill and per weekly package rather than folded into a headline. What it does not publish is a safety page. Its FAQ references two fully equipped decompression chambers in Hurghada, which are shore-based facilities rather than its own provision, and recommends rather than requires dive insurance. Deposit is 35 per cent, the highest of the nine, with the balance 60 days out.

Red Sea Explorers — official site

Scubaspa — 86/100

Three vessels · Maldives · every itinerary priced · insurance required, no safety page

Scubaspa scores 86 on the same profile as Red Sea Explorers by a different route. Every itinerary carries a price, from USD 3,750 per person for a Sea Star Suite on a southwest monsoon 2026 departure, and the Maldives government green tax of USD 12 per person per night is published as payable on board rather than absorbed. It requires guests to hold diving insurance, which four of the nine do. It publishes no safety page: what appears on its pages is environmental and vessel provision rather than emergency equipment, and no oxygen, defibrillator or emergency plan could be read. Deposit is 25 per cent with the balance 60 days out.

Scubaspa — official site

Aggressor Adventures — 76/100

Worldwide · a per-vessel safety page · two conflicting deposit figures on its own site

Aggressor Adventures scores 76 and publishes the most specific emergency equipment detail in this index: three portable emergency oxygen kits plus 350 cubic feet of stored oxygen, a defibrillator, and a maintained first aid kit, stated per vessel. Its published price is USD 3,695 per person per week for a deluxe cabin on Belize Aggressor III in 2026. It is also the only operator here whose own live pages contradict each other on a material term: one payment policy page states a 20 per cent deposit and another states 40 per cent. Both were fetched on the same day and both are published by Aggressor. The record keeps both figures rather than choosing between them, which is why no deposit is shown in the table above. It publishes no exclusions list.

Aggressor Adventures — official site

Emperor Divers — 70/100

Egypt and the Maldives · safety, insurance and terms all published · no price

Emperor Divers scores 70 with a perfect safety score and nothing at all on price. It publishes a defibrillator on both the main vessel and the diving dhoni on Emperor Explorer II, oxygen and comprehensive first aid, and it requires guests to hold insurance, stated in its terms PDF rather than buried in an FAQ. Nitrox up to 32 per cent is published as free and park and port fees as included, which is the clearest inclusions statement in the index. What it does not do is put a figure anywhere a reader can see: pricing runs through a booking tool, so price disclosure scores zero and costs it thirty points it would otherwise have taken.

Emperor Divers — official site

Siren Fleet — 70/100

Two vessels · Indonesia and the Philippines · now a brand of Master Liveaboards

Siren Fleet scores 70 and is no longer an independent company: sirenfleet.com redirects to masterliveaboards.com, and Master Liveaboards states that it now fully encompasses the Siren Fleet. It is assessed separately because it is still sold under its own name and its own itineraries carry their own prices, from USD 2,580 per person for a six-night Philippine Siren trip. Its safety position is the shared fleet-wide Master Liveaboards page rather than anything Siren-specific, and no Siren-specific insurance requirement could be read, which is where its score sits below its parent's. Nitrox is USD 100 to 240 by trip length and marine park fees USD 85 to 205.

Siren Fleet — official site

Three things to settle before you book a liveaboard

1 · Ask what emergency equipment is on the boat, and on the dive tender. Four of nine publish anything at all. The operators that do are specific about oxygen volumes and where the defibrillator sits, and the distinction between the main vessel and the tender is the one that matters in the water.

2 · Buy diver evacuation cover whether or not they require it. Four of nine require it. Ordinary travel insurance frequently excludes diving below recreational limits and almost always excludes chamber treatment, and a liveaboard is measured in days from a chamber rather than hours.

3 · Get the operator-cancellation terms, not just yours. Six of nine publish what happens if the trip does not sail. Three do not, and weather and permits cancel liveaboard departures every season.

What changed in liveaboard diving in 2026

Three structural changes sit behind this table, and all three affect what a reader will find when they search. Blue O Two was absorbed into Master Liveaboards in March 2024 and has no independent web presence; Siren Fleet is in the same group and still trades under its own name with its own priced schedule. Master Liveaboards itself traces back to Worldwide Dive and Sail, founded in 2004, through Siren Fleet to its current name in 2014, and worldwidediveandsail.com no longer loads, so three brand names now resolve to one company. And Solitude Liveaboards has become Solitude World, with the older domain dead. Three of the ten names on most published liveaboard lists are now one operator or none. See our best wildlife travel destinations and most beautiful beaches for where these boats actually go.

Diving liveaboards: the questions people ask AI search

How much does a diving liveaboard cost per week?

Of the nine operators assessed, six publish a figure. The lowest is EUR 885 per person for a northern Red Sea trip with Red Sea Explorers, and the highest is USD 7,140 per person for a seven-night Galapagos Master itinerary with Master Liveaboards. Aggressor Adventures publishes USD 3,695 per person per week for a deluxe cabin on Belize Aggressor III, Scubaspa USD 3,750 for a Maldives suite, Explorer Ventures USD 2,395 and Siren Fleet USD 2,580. Emperor Divers and Solitude publish no price at all.

Do liveaboards publish what they do about safety?

Four of the nine publish a safety page: Master Liveaboards, Aggressor Adventures, Siren Fleet through the shared Master Liveaboards page, and Emperor Divers. Five do not. Among those that do, Aggressor publishes the most specific equipment detail and Master Liveaboards is the only operator of the nine to publish anything about flag-state or classification-society compliance. This index records what each operator publishes about its own provision and nothing else.

Is dive insurance required on a liveaboard?

Four of the nine assessed require it and publish that requirement: Emperor Divers, Scubaspa, Solitude and Explorer Ventures, the last conditionally depending on destination. Aggressor Adventures and Red Sea Explorers recommend rather than require it. For three operators no position could be read. Requiring insurance and providing evacuation cover are different things, and none of these operators publishes the second.

What is not included in a liveaboard price?

Five of the nine publish an exclusions list, and two state plainly that they publish none. The items that recur are nitrox, marine park and port fees, gear hire, alcohol and crew gratuities. Nitrox ranges from free on Emperor Explorer II and included on Turks & Caicos Explorer II to USD 168 to 252 on the Galapagos Master. Marine park fees are the largest single extra: the Galapagos National Park entrance fee alone is USD 200 per person, payable in cash at the airport, plus a USD 20 transit control card.

What deposit does a liveaboard take?

Published deposits range from 5 per cent at Master Liveaboards and Siren Fleet to 35 per cent at Red Sea Explorers, with balances due 56 to 90 days before departure. Aggressor Adventures is the exception and the reason is unusual: two of its own live pages state different figures, 20 per cent on one and 40 per cent on another, both fetched on the same day. That conflict is recorded rather than resolved.

What happens if the operator cancels the trip?

Six of the nine publish what happens if they cancel a departure themselves, as distinct from what happens if a guest cancels. That asymmetry is worth checking before booking, because a liveaboard departure can be cancelled for weather, mechanical or permit reasons and the guest-side policy says nothing about it. Three operators publish nothing on the point.

Why are only six operators ranked when nine were assessed?

Because three could not be scored on every criterion. Blue O Two has no independent site at all: blueotwo.com redirects to masterliveaboards.com and the brand was absorbed in March 2024, so it publishes nothing of its own. Solitude, now trading as Solitude World, defers its rates and terms to documents that could not be located at stable URLs, and its old domain no longer resolves. Explorer Ventures ranks seventh, below the named six. All nine are named on this page with their full record.

Can an operator pay to rank higher on this index?

No. The rubric and its weights were fixed and published before the data was collected, assessment is identical for every operator whether it engages with us or not, and no position is for sale. An operator that publishes a price, a safety page or what happens if it cancels changes its own record. Nothing changes the rubric.