Commercial Diving in Sri Lanka Has Potential

17th July 2011, www.sundayobserver.lk

There is huge potential for commercial divers and I would like to invite the educated young to become divers, said Managing Director DeepSea Commercial Ltd Buddhi Wickramanayake.

He said that most youngsters don’t think there is potential in diving but there is huge potential and the young and educated should take to it as a profession.

He said that the peaceful atmosphere in the country will make many ships call at Colombo and therefore we should be ready to provide services needed by them in a timely and efficient manner.

If we don’t provide a good service to ships they will go to another port.

DeepSea Commercial is the only commercial diving operator in the country to reach depths of 350 feet. High altitude dives are conducted at locations upto 8,000 feet from sea level. “We are the only mixed gas decompression dive team in the country”, he said.

The team at DeepSea Commercial is certified by the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and Technical Diving International, USA.The company is the pioneer in offering side scan sonar services to monitor the seabed, subsea infrastructure and subsea engineering structures.

Wickramanayake said that they are the sole service provider for SEA-ME-WE-4 (Southeast Asia-MiddleEast-West Europe-4) optical fibre cable system and a preferred service provider for DSCN (Dhiraagu Submarine Cable Network) Optical fibre cable systems in Sri Lanka and in the Maldives. SEA-ME-WE4 is a 20,000 km long network running from France to Singapore carrying Internet, voice and data among 16 nations.

DSCN network runs from Colombo to the Maldives and inter-islands. Wickramanayake has a dive record of 341 Feet (104 metres), done with Trimix and Nitrox gases. The dive was in Thailand, for a cave exploration project. He is a mixed gas commercial diver as well as a Hyperbaric Chamber Operator. Wickramanayake is also a commercial pilot with multi engine and instrument rating.

Related Info :

• Diving in Sri Lanka. Hundreds of Fabulous Dive Sites and Famous Ship Wrecks

• Sri Lanka is Asia’s Best Surf Destination of the Year 2010 - Floating Asia Magazine

• Kalpitiya - Focus of A Mega Development Project

Diving in Sri Lanka. Hundreds of Fabulous Dive Sites and Famous Ship Wrecks

24th July 2010, www.divesrilanka.com

Welcome to Sri Lanka, a beautiful paradise island with hundreds of fabulous dive sites. Come dive the dozens of famous ship wrecks dating back to the colonial era and also visit coral reefs, under sea caves & rock formations all around our island.

For millennia, paths of travelers from strange lands beyond and yonder have fallen across a small island of paradise in the Indian ocean that will one day be known as Sri Lanka. Traders and invaders have come and gone; remnants of their legacy evident only by the infusion to the islands culture and the derelict remains of their transportation, once mighty symbols of trade, commerce and imperial power, now mere echoes from the past resting beneath the waves of the coastal seas. These are the ancient ship wrecks of Sri Lanka, testimonials of a rich and long cultural history and portals from the present to a bygone era that once were.

Based on historical records there are over 200+ estimated ship wrecks around the coast of Sri Lanka. Many have been located and the search continues to this day using advanced resonance scanning technology. Five hundred years of trade, commerce, conflict and war from the times of the Portuguese, Dutch and the British resulted in vast amount of shipping traffic all around the coast of Sri Lanka and thus the reason for the proportionately high number of wrecks.

FAQ: Diving in Sri Lanka

Which regions in Sri Lanka can I dive? When is the best to dive there? Sri Lanka is an island! Which means you can dive almost every where! But we have two major seasons which dictates which side of the island we can dive. These are the West Coast Season (November-April) and East Coast Season (May-October).

Look at this Dive Calendar for more information on dive regions and when to dive

What type of diving do you get in these regions? We have several popular regions for diving.

Kalpitiya - Rocky/Coral Reefs including the Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary (Snorkel)
Negombo - Rocky/Coral Reefs and great marine life
Colombo - Rocky/Coral Reefs and Ship Wrecks
Beruwala -Deep rocky outcrops and Coral
Bentota - Rocky outcrops and Coral
Hikkaduwa - Rocky outcrops, Coral Reefs and Ship Wrecks. Can Snorkel in Lagoon
Unawatuna,- Rocky reefs and Ship Wrecks
Weligama, Shallow Rocky/Coral Reefs
Tangalla - Not explored and documented by us yet
Basses - Fantastic limestone reef with ship wrecks and amazing fish life
Trincomalee - Rocky/Coral Reefs
Batticaloa - Rocky/Coral Reefs and shallow & deep Ship Wrecks

Are the dive shops qualified and to standard? The major dive centers located in reputed hotels and run by PADI certified professionals with years of diving international dive experience but with intimate knowledge of local dive sites.

Are there shore dives? How do you access dive sites?
Shore dives are a rarity. Operators generally have small boats (for about 6 divers). Some do have larger boats for about 15 divers. Most dives are before noon and, depending on the operator, could mean a two tank dive or a trip back to the shore to reload for the second dive. The boat trips are pretty quick ranging from 10 minutes to 45 minutes depending on the location.

All most all major dive operators have an on board supply of pure Oxygen in the unlikely event of a Decompression Illness emergency. The boats are also equipped with radio and cell phones to activate Emergency Medical Services if required. The dive objective could change depending on what you encounter on the way! Sometimes the visibility is so good that you would see interesting rock formations on the way and wish to dive then and there, or the boat could bump into a Whale Shark or Manta Ray and everyone will forget all about diving and snorkel with the beast for the rest of the morning!

Can I get my PADI certifications in Sri Lanka?
Most of the reputed dive centers offer certifications up to Instructor. The Open Water, Advanced and Rescue Diver courses may take about 3 to 4 days each at costs ranging from EURO 350 to EURO 450.