GENERAL INFORMATIONS FOR CERTIFIED DIVERS AND STUDENTS

- Seafarer Divers Co Ltd and MV Andaman Seafarer are insured in Thailand with the New Hampshire Insurance Company (AIG) as an inbound dive tour-operator.
- We suggest to all divers to sign up for extra dive travel insurance such as DAN http://www.danseap.org in order to cover travel risks and dive accident. Without dive travel insurance, any dive accident without a third party responsible to cover the charge will be under the full responsibility of the diver (In Thailand: recompression chamber fee may be up to 15,000 €uro).
- Divers must show their dive certification and logbook and sign a waiver of claims before boarding a day dive boat or a liveaboard vessel.
- Nitrox 32 is available for certified Nitrox divers.
- Buddy system is mandatory on all day dive trips and liveaboards and the divers should have a dive computer and a surface buoy per buddy team at least.
- Diving conditions in the Andaman Sea around Phuket or during a liveaboard dive cruise are not like diving inside a lagoon.... Strong currents (moon) and wind (December to February) may change the quality and the safety of the dives; therefore all certified divers must be confident in the water or get additional training before booking dive trips or liveaboards. November until the middle of December as well March and April are two periods with less wind than the period from the middle of December until the end of February.
- Divemaster/Instructor supervision is provided on our day dive trips and liveaboard with local dive guides but the service of a private Divemaster/Instructor guiding during each dive is only provided on request prior to the day dive trip or liveaboard and will be charged an extra fee per diver.
- Since few years, profit oriented business is pushing dive centers to manage large day dive boats and liveaboard vessels with 20-30 divers and crew of 8-12 people on board including Divemasters/Instructors. Promiscuity aboard, dangerous drop-offs of divers by groups of 12-15 divers at once from the stern platform, overcrowded dive sites with 20-30 divers and Divemasters/Instructors from the same boat at the same dive site by those "cattle-boats", destroy the pleasure of the conviviality, privacy and safety of the divers.
- Seafarer Divers Co Ltd provides tanks and weights belt only on day dive trips or liveaboard dive cruises.
- Divers must bring their personal dive equipment such as fins, mask, snorkel, BCD, regulator, dive computer, surface buoy, dive suit (2-3 mm) and torch for night dive. Dive equipment may be rented or bought from Seafarer Divers dive center at Chalong Bay Marina before boarding.
- Diver owning a regulator with Din system must bring a yoke adaptor to fit our K-valves. Din adaptor may be rented or bought at dive center of Seafarer Divers.
- Seafarer Divers does not rent dive torch or U/W camera.

LIVEABOARD DIVE CRUISES WITH MV ANDAMAN SEAFARER

- Many divers have seen a lot of advertising in dive magazines about diving in Burma and asked us the possibility of liveaboard dive cruises in Burma with MV Andaman Seafarer. Today we can confirm that Seafarer Divers will not plan any dive cruise with our vessel MV Andaman Seafarer to Mergui Archipelago or Burma Banks. Comments from divers who had been diving with other dive operators in Burma have confirmed that the visibility (not better than Surin, Phi-Phi or Phuket area), the coral reefs (anchoring and dynamiting), the fish (no more big fish: over fishing and dynamiting) are not as good as at the dive sites at Hin Daeng or Hin Muang, Similan or Surin Islands National Parks, without mentioning the entry/exit problems (Burma closes or opens its border without any warning).
- Chief of the Similan Islands Marine National Park is warning tour and dive tour operators that it is illegal to bring tourists into the marine park during the monsoon season when the seas are rough and dangerous. The park is closing every year from the beginning of May until the end of October.
- MV Andaman Seafarer is a convivial liveaboard dive vessel where each diver may be able to get his/her own privacy with a capacity per cruise of 8-14 divers and 6 crew members at most. Most of our guests enjoy coming back year after year and enjoy sending their friends for those key points to MV Andaman Seafarer.
- Most of the time divers like to bring aperitifs, spirits, whisky, and wine for the late afternoons or evening parties.
- MV Andaman Seafarer has 3 "VIP" cabins and 2 "First Class" cabins. Each 2 "First Class" cabins for 4 persons can be booked as "VIP" cabins for 2 persons per cabin only. Therefore, 10-12 persons will share the whole vessel MV Andaman Seafarer.

Minimum diving level required for a liveaboard with MV Andaman Seafarer:
- For divers' comfort and safety, the drop-offs and pick-ups of buddy teams are made with our 5.5m Avon Rib dinghy equipped with a ladder and an outboard engine of 40 HP. Each dinghy rotation takes 4-5 divers at once. That way, fish are not scared and each diver will get more chance for better encounters.
- Divers must be comfortable in water and be certified at least CMAS 2* Diver or PADI Advanced, equivalence or higher levels with at least 30 logged dives.
- Divers will dive in buddy teams of 2-3 divers.
- Most of our divers booked on a liveaboard dive cruise with MV Andaman Seafarer are experienced ones and are certified CMAS 2* or 3* Diver, PADI Advanced, PADI Rescue, Divemaster, Instructor or equivalence from other diving associations with hundreds of logged dives and most of them are keen underwater photographers.
- Divemaster/Instructor supervision is provided during our liveaboard dive cruises aboard MV Andaman Seafarer but the service of a private Divemaster/Instructor guiding during each dive is only provided on request prior the liveaboard and will be charged an extra fee per diver.
- CMAS 1* Diver, PADI Open Water Diver or equivalent certified diver who can not dive as a buddy diver with their friends will have to book the service of a professional Divemaster/Instructor guiding them during all dives or plan a TDA/CMAS 2* Diver course and/or a PADI Advanced course with a TDA/CMAS/PADI Instructor during the liveaboard.
- PADI Nitrox course may be taught during liveaboard dive cruise.

THAILAND MARINE NATIONAL PARKS AND DIVE SITES

SURIN ISLANDS ARCHIPELAGOS
Marine life: Visibility: 10-25m. Depth: 3-40m.
Coral, such as Needle coral, etc. Fish, such as Damselfish, Wrasse, Butterfly-fish and Midas blenny; Ecsenius midas etc. Sea Turtles, Sea turtles are a very ancient family of animals and their ancestors date back to when Dinosaurs roamed the earth. Although the Dinosaurs are now extinct, the sea turtles are still surviving although their future existence is in doubt. Many species are endangered with several species near extinction. Their principle threat is the loss of their nesting beaches to development stimulated by increasing tourist pressure. This has reduced the number of turtles worldwide to such an extent that positive action must be taken to secure their existence in the future. The principle action is the preservation of their nesting beaches, and the protection of the eggs from theft once laid. Sea turtle still nests on the Koh Surin Islands, with two species coming ashore to lay their eggs, Hawksbill, and Green turtles. In the early 1990’s we also had a few nest of the rare Olive Ridley turtle. Ko Surin Islands are the best place in Thailand for anyone who want to swim with sea turtles. Most visitors have a few chances to get close to them, mostly hawksbill turtle.

RICHELIEU ROCK
Marine life: Visibility: 10-20m. Depth: 3-30m.
This is the world's top listed location for sighting Whale Sharks and Mantas. One of Thailand's best dives, this is a wall-dive around the main outcrop, which is surrounded by smaller submerged pinnacles. Around the corals is a wide diversity of marine life: common residents include Schooling Banner fish, Single-spot and Giant Snappers, Scorpion fish, Moray eel, and colorful nudibranch. As this is the only food source in the immediate area, it is excellent for large pelagic. Rainbow runner, great barracuda, travelly, tuna and jack are frequently observed.

KOH BON & KON TACHAI ISLANDS
Marine life: Visibility: 20-40m. Depth: 3-40m.
Both are tall, rocky islands, and offer varied and beautiful underwater scenery. At Koh Bon, a steep, rocky point, which plunges to over 40 meters' depth, is often a good place to see Leopard Sharks and large rays. Koh Bon is also a good place to see big pelagic creatures; both Mantas and Whale Sharks are seen here with fair regularity. Koh Tachai, a pair of coral-encrusted pinnacles, which are connected by a long, rocky ridge. Currents, which are extremely rich in nutrients, sweep this site and plankton, resulting in outstanding growths of sea fans, whips corals and other filter feeders. This is also a good area for Leopard Sharks and Stingrays, but probably the most over-whelming attraction is the schooling fish action.

SIMILAN ISLANDS ARCHIPELAGOS
Marine life: Visibility: 20-40m. Depth 3-40m.
Beneath the sea at Koh Similan National Park lies a complex ecosystem commonly called the rainforest of the sea: the coral reef. The major residents of the reef are coral and the closely related sea anemones; of the Phylum Cnidaria, Class Anthozoa, which contains all radically symmetrical invertebrate animals. Corals and sea anemones exist as individual polyps living in either solitary or mostly colonial forms. The polyps of hard corals construct communal limestone homes which are built up into a multitude of shapes and sizes eventually giving rise to a coral reef. Soft corals have soft bodies made of large numbers of identical polyps connected by fleshy tissue (Zooxanthallae). These soft corals contain small algae within their tissues which are able to convert the sun's energy into food. This cooperative relationship is known as symbiosis and also exists in hard corals, clams and other marine organisms. There are several factors that support good environment for the reef i.e. temperature, salinity, light, wave and tide, sedimentation and nutrient. Therefore, healthy coral reef can be found easily in the Andaman Sea comparing to the Gulf of Thailand. In Andaman Sea, coral reefs are able to be classified as deep water and medium water. For the deep water coral reef grow down to 30 m. Of course, in this case water allows enough light for the algae. This reef type is mostly found in Koh Similan Islands and Koh Surin Islands. For the rest area, medium water coral reef grows between 8-15 m beneath the surface. Coral can also be classified to fall into these structural categories: massive, columnar, encrusting, branching, foliceaous, laminar and free-living coral. The hard corals found in Koh Similian Islands National Park are deep water species of mostly staghorn coral types (Acropora echinata) and the smaller cauliflower shaped types (Seriatopora histrix). Many other species of marine life co-exist within the coral reef: Gorgonian sea fans, flower-like soft coral, several species of crabs, spiny painted lobsters, squid, sponges, sea cucumbers and giant clams.

SHARK POINT / ANEMONE REEF / KING CRUISER WRECK / KOH DOC MAI
Marine life: Visibility: 10-20m. Depth: 3-30m.
Shark Point area is classified as a Marine Sanctuary (Anemone Reef and King Cruiser Wreck are part of it). Shark Point and Anemone Reef are home to an incredible profusion of sea creatures with soft and hard corals, tropical and pelagic fish with plenty of Leopard-Sharks for great pictures. The density and diversity of marine life here is favorably compared to the best coral reefs anywhere in the world. The King Cruiser wreck is an 80m steel-hulled passenger ferry that had been sunk on May 1997 by striking Anemone Reefs. That huge catamaran rests in about 30m of water on a sandy bottom. Divers can swim through most of the wreck. Koh Doc Mai, which is comparable to the best dive sites in Phi-Phi, offers a dramatic wall dive on the east and south sides while the western side of the island features a steeply sloping reef.

PHI-PHI ISLANDS
Marine life: Visibility: 10-25 meters. Depth: 3-26 meters.
Phi-Phi Islands offers numerous walls, caverns and caves, as well as shallow coral gardens and sloping reefs. Typical sights include both hard and soft coral, nudibranchs, shellfish and many other invertebrates. Fish life is abundant and range from coral reef fish to leopard shark or whale sharks.

HIN DAENG - HIN MUANG
Marine life: Visibility: 20-40m. Depth: 3-40m.
This is one of the best dive spots in Thailand (truly a world-class dive site). The 2 rocks with vertical walls dropping straight down to 50-60m are completely covered with hard and soft coral, sea fans, and sea anemones and attract large school of jacks as well as fusiliers, tuna and barracuda. Hin Daeng is also perhaps the only place in Thailand where Grey reef sharks can be seen in schools of up to 15 sharks. The richness and variety of pelagic fish compares to that found at Richelieu Rock, particularly for the sight of whale shark.

TARUTAO ISLANDS ARCHIPELAGOS
Marine life: Visibility: 10-25m. Depth: 3-40m.
The area of Koh Adang-Rawi Islands contains many coral reefs of high species diversity. Degradation of some reefs by natural and man-made causes is significant but has not affected the overall ecological value of the park. The map insert shows some of the more interesting coral reefs in the park. The damage to some reefs is due to dynamite fishing, storm damage and crown-of-thorns starfish predation. It is estimated that the park contains about 25% of the world's fish species. Some of the more important include members of families such as shark, ray, grouper, eel, carp, catfish, salmon, flying perch, angelfish and butterfly fish. 92 species of coral-reef fish were identified in one study. Among marine mammals which can be spotted in the park are dugong, the common dolphin, the Irrawaddy dolphin, sperm and mink whale. Three species of migratory sea turtles nest on several of the island's beaches from September to April.