GENERAL INFORMATIONS FOR CERTIFIED DIVERS AND STUDENTS

- Seafarer Divers and MV Andaman Seafarer are insured in Thailand with 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 Euro).

- Divers must show their dive certifications and logbooks and sign a waiver of claims before boarding a day dive boat or a liveaboard vessel.

- Nitrox 32 is available for Nitrox certified 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 liveaboard cruises. The beginning of the high season (November up to the middle of December) and the end of the high season (March to the end of April) are 2 perfect periods with little wind.

- Divemaster/Instructor supervision is provided on our day dive trips 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 Divemaster/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 Divemaster/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 bought or rent at Seafarer Divers dive center.

- 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.

- Seafarer Divers has limited, aboard MV Andaman Seafarer during overnight liveaboard cruises, its number of passengers at 14 passengers (Divers and non-divers alike) and avoid peak periods during the day to avoid diving cattle-boats.

- 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, wine and delicatessen 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 4.7m 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 or TDA/CMAS Nitrox Diver Courses may be taught during ou liveaboard dive cruises.