Mergui Archipelago & Burma Banks: The First Dive Trip of the New Season
The MV Smiling Seahorse kicked off the new diving season with a spectacular journey through the remote waters of Myanmar’s Mergui Archipelago and the legendary Burma Banks. Departing from Ranong, our first group of adventurers — joining us from France, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland, the US, and the UK — gathered with excitement at the pier.
After check-in, we completed the usual immigration formalities in Ranong before crossing the border to Kawthung, Myanmar. With passports stamped and smiles all around, we set course towards the mysterious Mergui Archipelago — a place of dramatic limestone and granite boulder islands, lush jungle cliffs, and some of the most vibrant underwater life in the Andaman Sea.
Day 2 — Into the Blue
Our check dive at High Rock was the perfect start, offering calm conditions and an easy descent into a thriving coral reef. Among the swaying soft corals, we spotted oriental sweetlips, butterflyfish, blue damsels, and curious bannerfish darting between the rocks — a beautiful welcome back to Burmese waters.
Our second dive took us to Three Islets (Square), alive with action! Schools of fusiliers and white tongue jacks swirled above the reef, while a tigertail seahorse and an orange-spotted pipefish delighted our macro enthusiasts. Blue-lined snappers, Moorish idols, and a few playful anemonefish added even more colour to the scene.
Dive three at Three Islets (Shark Cave) brought strong surges, so we explored around the island instead of entering the cave. The current carried schools of pickhandle barracudas past walls of soft corals where tomato anemonefish guarded their homes.
For the night dive, we returned to Shark Cave. Under torchlight, we found barracudas cruising the dark, parrotfish sleeping soundly in their mucus bubbles, a seal-face pufferfish tucked into a crack, and a curious pharaoh cuttlefish. We also encountered soldierfish, cardinalfish, and a few colourful wrasses hunting under the beams of our lights.
That night, we set sail towards the famous Black Rock.
Day 3 — The Majesty of Black Rock
At sunrise, we descended on Black Rock’s north side, greeted by schools of bigeye jacks, barracudas, lionfish, and snapper clouds drifting in the blue.
Our second dive on the south side was pure magic — mantas! Not one, but four graceful oceanic manta rays soared through the current, looping and gliding as dogtooth tunas patrolled below.
The third and fourth dives kept the action going, with dense schools of jacks, fusiliers, and surgeonfish swirling through the water column. A leopard moray eel peeked from a crevice during the sunset dive, a perfect finale to a spectacular day.
Day 4 — North Twin Wonders
North Twin Pinnacle — the current-fed site was teeming with barracudas, fusiliers, and red snappers. We admired tiger egg cowries, moray eels, and a few curious dogtooth tunas cruising by.
At North Twin Reef, we met a banded sea snake weaving through coral bommies, an octopus changing colours before our eyes, and a squad of batfish gliding gracefully in the blue. Mantis shrimps and lobsters completed the day’s macro highlights.
After our final dive, the Smiling Seahorse set course westwards for the Burma Banks — a legendary chain of submerged plateaus rising from the depths of the Andaman Sea, located about 180 km offshore. These vast, remote reefs are known for their big pelagic life and pristine coral formations.
Day 5 — The Great Burma Banks
Our first dives at Roe Bank revealed a world of giants — several nurse sharks resting on the sandy bottom, a mangrove whipray, and schooling black surgeonfish weaving around coral heads. Dogtooth tunas patrolled the outer slopes, keeping smaller reef fish in constant motion.
At Rainbow Bank, the spectacle continued — nurse sharks again, a stunning marble ray, three honeycomb moray eels, and a vibrant reef alive with emperor angelfish, surgeonfish, batfish, and butterflyfish. A Maldives sponge snail was spotted nestled among the corals — a treat for our keen-eyed photographers.
Day 6 — Coral and Silvertip Banks
The morning dives at Coral Bank lived up to its name — hard corals in excellent condition, surrounded by nurse sharks, whitetip reef sharks, and a flurry of wrasses, triggerfish, and parrotfish.
At Silvertip Banks, the energy was palpable. Grey reef sharks patrolled the plateau, nurse sharks lounged near coral heads, and a swimming zebra shark passed by through clouds of anthias, surgeonfish, and bannerfish shimmering in the current.
Day 7 — Sea Fan Forest & Western Rocky
Back among the islands, we explored Sea Fan Forest, where enormous gorgonian fans hosted ghost pipefish and schools of fusiliers and trevallies.
At Western Rocky Eagle Rock, large schools of white tongue trevallies and yellowfin barracudas filled the blue, while marble shrimps hid in the cracks.
Our sunset dive in Western Rocky Cave brought us face to face with two Glossodoris nudibranchs protecting their eggs, curious cuttlefish, and colourful reef fish preparing for nightfall.
Day 8 — Western Rocky Finale
We returned to Sea Fan Forest in the morning, spotting lionfish, devil scorpionfish, and a stunning fimbriated moray eel sharing a crevice with squat shrimps and a feisty spear mantis shrimp.
At Western Rocky Cave, a beautiful Chromodoris nudibranch added a pop of colour, while the final dives at Eagle Rock delivered dramatic cuttlefish mating and fighting scenes, plus a rare Pikachu nudibranch — the perfect finale for our photographers!
Day 9 — Farewell Dive
Our last dive at Dendro’s Peak brought one more burst of colour — schools of snappers, fusiliers, yellowfin trevallies, and even a curious yellow boxfish to send us off.
With the dives complete, we headed back towards Kawthung for our traditional Burmese beers and final immigration clearance before returning to Ranong. The first trip of the season set the tone perfectly — thrilling dives, great company, and the magic of the Mergui Archipelago and Burma Banks welcoming us back once again.
See you underwater on our next adventure with MV Smiling Seahorse!
