World's Top Diving Site: A Look At Life Aboard A Decommissioned Oil Rig

Semporna, a small coastal town in the Malaysian section of Borneo’s northeastern coast, attracts many visitors for only one thing: the spectacular diving and snorkelling opportunities it offers. While there are seemingly infinite customisation options for island hopping, diving and snorkelling trips being sold in every other shop in town, there is one trip that remains a premium offering: scuba diving at Sipadan Island, the world's top diving site.

Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia. While all other islands in the region are continental islands—meaning they were once a part of the continental landmass that slowly split to form islands—Sipadan is the only one that was born directly from the ocean bed like a pinnacle atop an extinct volcano. Rising from a depth of 600 m, the oceanic nature of Sipadan allows for some extremely favourable conditions, making it one of the most coveted dive destinations in the world.

Ever since Sipadan found its fame after Jacques Cousteau’s visit aboard the “Calypso,” the island has topped lists of the best dive sites in the world over the years. Ask any avid diver about their bucket list diving goals and the word “Sipadan” is sure to slip out. As a relatively new diver of only three years and 50 dives old, I had heard and read about Sipadan myself. So, when I found a cheap deal on flights to Malaysia that aligned with the dry season over the Celebes Sea, I knew exactly where I wanted to go.

Finding A Fully-Fledged Dive Resort

My preliminary research threw up some curveballs: no one is allowed to stay in Sipadan anymore since it was declared a protected site two decades ago. Most divers now stay at the nearby islands of Kapalai or Mabul, with some preferring Semporna.

There is also only a limited number of Sipadan dive passes available each day to protect this ecologically important site. While I was figuring out ways to navigate these terms, my search threw up a promising recommendation: the Seaventures Dive Rig.

Seaventures is the first and only “dive rig” in the world. A former oil rig from Panama, it was decommissioned in the 1980s and was later brought to this part of the world to be turned into what it is today: a complete dive resort.

A Pilgrimage To See Barracudas

A 45-minute boat ride from Semporna finally brought me face to face with Seaventures’ enormous beauty. When I first saw it appear on the horizon, the mighty metallic hunk stood tall on barnacle-encrusted iron pillars. Alighting from the boat, I stepped onto the rig’s mechanical lift to go up to the main deck. It whirs all day long to ferry divers and dive equipment up and down; during my four days there, it was the first and the last sound I would hear every day.

Before dawn would break, a boatful of divers, including myself, would kit up and get ready for the diving we had travelled from across the world for. (In my case, over 5,000 km!) The Barracuda Point dive site on the northern tip of Sipadan would often be our first target of the day, winds and currents allowing. There is no point in guessing what awaits at Barracuda Point, but its enormity would always take us by surprise, regardless of how many times we went to dive there.

Barracudas are long, slender, metallic-looking fish with torpedo-like bodies and razor-sharp triangular teeth. A battery of at least a thousand of them would swarm in circles around us divers, close enough to count the number of stripes on their silver bodies. The experience made me understand why people make a pilgrimage to this corner of the world.

After surfacing from our dawn dive, the Seaventures staff would have an elaborate breakfast picnic ready for us hungry divers. We were spoilt for choices with eggs, hash browns, Malaysian rice, sandwiches, cakes, tea, coffee, hot chocolate… the list goes on. If not for diving, I would peg Sipadan as the best breakfast location in the world, the views of soft powdery white sand beneath and the endless blues of the Celebes Sea in front notwithstanding.

Dive, Eat, Rest, Repeat

Our post-breakfast dive site would be Staghorn Crest on the west of Sipadan. At shallower depths of 5-10 m, the bumphead parrotfish here school in such large numbers that the sharks visible at deeper depths pale in comparison. So unafraid are these coral-eating parrotfish of us that one can get close enough to see the algae that accumulate on their beak-like front teeth.

After a long, eventful day of diving, a massive lunch buffet featuring fresh seafood and exotic dishes like conch meat and a freshly stocked dessert fridge would await us back at Seaventures. The staterooms were spacious, with portholes for windows overlooking the ocean, a massage room offering Bornean therapies, and an entertainment room for playing table tennis, pool, mahjong or a variety of board games.

Evenings were usually spent at the top deck watching the sun go down, accompanied by beers. For those uninterested in happy hour, divers were offered unlimited dives at the Seaventures “House Reef” just under the rig for a chance to see frogfish, scorpionfish, stonefish, crocodilefish and other residents. And if that was not enough, a night dive could also be booked in advance to pay a visit to anaconda-sized moray eels, colourful nudibranchs, flying gurnard fish and the sleeping turtles of Kapalai Island.

It may take a minimum of two flights, one short road trip and one boat ride to reach Semporna, but if you fancy yourself an all-inclusive liveaboard-style experience with added perks at one of the best dive locations in the world, Seaventures is worth the trip.