Would you like to explore the unexplored?
Join one of our Burma cruises and dive in the Burma Banks!
125 km offshore from the southern town of Kawthaung, the secrets of the Burma Banks are waiting to be discovered. On the edge of the central Myanmar continental shelf and hidden in the depths of international waters (in an economic zone claimed by Myanmar) lie a collection of undersea mountains little known to humans. Starting at depths of over 300 m, these massive sand dunes rise all the way up to a diveable zone 15-30 m below the surface of this unassuming sector of the open ocean.
There are 6 documented peaks—Big, Coral, Heckford, Rainbow, Roe, and Silvertip banks—and countless unnamed peaks that start even deeper than 300 m and rise to depths that are too deep for recreational divers. Thankfully the visibility is so good that you can usually still see them from above even if they are too deep to actually get up close and personal. Being so tricky to access, they are veritable uncharted territory, yours to discover.
Until the ’90s, the Burma Banks were only known to some fishermen and boat captains, but their exact location remained undocumented. Pioneering scuba divers at this time couldn’t quell their curiosity and began visiting these sites more regularly. Before then, tourism was not widely practiced in Myanmar, but with the surrounding countries becoming more and more trodden by foreign visitors, it became an increasingly popular destination for those seeking an exclusive diving experience.
The banks have become more easily accessible recently, but there are still roads less traveled that continue to beguile the most adventurous. The scuba diving world is notoriously curious, and some very lucky divers have been able to venture out into the Indian Ocean to experience something that is still fairly unique at the Burma Banks. The Smiling Seahorse is the leading specialist in diving in Burma and is one of the very few diving companies that venture that far out to sea to these truly one-of-a-kind dive sites.
The Mergui Archipelago is already a place where you can enjoy the thrill of diving all by yourself at sites that few divers have ever visited, but the Burma Banks take exclusivity to another level.
We visit the Banks on every cruise, weather permitting. It takes a whole night of travel to reach them from North Twin, the closest dive site where we usually dive before heading out to the Banks. To make the long journey worthwhile, we spend an entire day diving these sites—and sometimes even two days when conditions are spectacular—before returning overnight to Mergui Archipelago.
Don’t go to bed too early during these crossings, as one experience you might never forget is seeing a pod of dolphins bathed in bioluminescence at the bow of the boat.
During a black moon, we often treat our guests to a bit of a show by stopping in the middle of the endless sea and turning off the engine and all the lights on the boat. With no sound or light pollution, we get cozy on the top deck and gaze up at one of the most brilliant displays of stars you will ever have the chance to see.
Approaching the Burma Banks is eerily serene. Surrounded by an endless, unobstructed sea with not another boat in sight, you will feel like a Renaissance explorer sailing toward the edge of the world. You may not even notice that you’ve arrived, as the only hint that there is anything around is the shimmer of the schools of fish visible from the surface.
The season for diving in Myanmar is from October until May, but we prefer visiting the Burma Banks mid-season when the weather is nothing but clear blue skies and mirror-esque seas. In Myanmar, we experience predictable 6-hour tidal changes that affect the currents based on the phases of the moon. In the Burma Banks, however, currents are far less tidal and much more variant, as they are so far offshore. The mildest currents flow during the mid-moon, and they get significantly stronger during the full moon and new (black) moon. Water temperatures are consistently between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius, and the water clarity here is regularly up to a staggering 40 m of visibility. At this particular site this is especially useful, as you can still see the features clearly while hovering several meters above and don’t have to forfeit precious bottom time. In February, there is commonly a coral blooming event, which can reduce the visibility but make the chances of an encounter with large pelagic species skyrocket.
The Burma Banks are particularly special to this region for several reasons, and this makes this a great site to throw a little variety into your cruise. Species of both marine creatures and coral found abundantly here are not found commonly in other nearby diving destinations.
In the rest of Myanmar and the Mergui archipelago, the predominant coral varieties are soft and full of color and fluffy textures. At the Burma Banks, you will find many more hard corals than anywhere else in the area. There are barrel sponges so big you could sit inside of them and enormous coral bummies that would make a bus look like a child’s toy. The topography here is really very different from anything else you will see throughout your dives and will set a magnificent background for marine life encounters. As the banks are really large underwater sand dunes made up of endless coral-covered sloping sides and topped with a vast plateau, there are no walls or drop-offs, making them fairly unique as dive sites.
Another special feature of the Burma Banks is the regular sighting of several species of sharks thanks to its exposed open ocean location. There are good chances to spot sharks on many other dive sites in the area, but none are quite as impressive as this shark lover’s paradise.
Since we have begun visiting more regularly, we have spotted 9 different species of sharks here, including silvertip, whitetip, and blacktip reef sharks; nurse sharks; leopard sharks; whale sharks; and even the more elusive tiger shark.
Considering the particularities of the banks, there are some procedures that we would like you to be aware of. Because of unpredictable currents and the fact that we are in the open ocean with no land or boats anywhere near, it is incredibly important to carry an SMB with you on any dive here.
Make sure to strictly follow the buddy pair system in this amusement park. These currents can spread a group apart quite easily, so make sure to stay close enough to your buddy to reach them quickly if you ever get separated from your guide.
We often try to plan the dives to maximize bottom time and safety here. The first two dives we often descend into the blue a little ways from the banks and allow the currents to carry us back to the main site. It can be quite exhilarating to know that there are several hundred meters of water below you, but it can also be disorienting. Make sure to focus on a reference like your rising bubbles to combat vertigo, and most importantly, watch your depths!
On subsequent dives we often descend over the plateaus on the top of the banks, which are shallower and a bit more friendly to dwindling bottom times after multiple dives. The visibility allows us to hover several meters over the bottom and pick and choose which features you would like to descend to get a closer look. We love bouncing from bommie to bommie to peek at a nurse shark, turtle, or ray hiding underneath.
Explore the Surin Islands, Richelieu Rock and the Similan Islands.
Prices in Thai baht (THB), per diver. The 10% discount is already applied.
