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Last updated: 12 Jan 2004
Diving with Mako A wet wedding Visit to NMHC
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was created in July 1998
This page was last updated on 11 December 1998
Where is Anambas?
Anambas is a small group of islands located in the South China Sea.
The Udang oil platforms are located on the north-east corner of this group of islands.
These oil rigs descend to a depth of over 300 feet. The oil rigs became popular as a diving spot fairly recently because of the rich, practically teeming fish life that can be found there.
It is a half-day's boat ride to reach the
Anambas group of islands from Singapore. The oil
rig, located at the north-east corner of the charts to
this area, takes about one and a half days to reach by
boat. The "Jonassis", operating out of
Singapore, is a popular boat covering this area.
Beware of Pirates in this area
I remember being told of one hair-raising close shave encountered by one group of divers. However, I think the bigger pirates are the Indonesian customs and police officers...
For your own awareness, click here to read a report about pirates. Education and vigilance may just save your dive trip.
The waters at the oil rigs are deep, out in the deep blue sea. Don't become another statistic! There have been accidents and fatalities at the oil rig already.
When diving around the oil rigs:
- before diving, plan your dive profile and max depth (according to your dive tables or dive computer)
- during your dive, beware of your depth and air supply; check your depth gauge/dive computer frequently and observe the pre-planned dive limits; ensure that you have adequate air remaining to perform your ascent and safety/decompression stops.
- during ascent, watch your ascent rate, and execute a safety stop and observe all decompression obligations
All photos Copyright © David Goh, All rights reserved
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There are two
Udang oil platforms: Udang "A" (the one
with the long boom) and Udang "B" (the
smaller one). They are only a short
distance apart (about 5 to 10 minutes by boat). When you arrive at the Udang platforms , the waves can be quite an experience, especially if you tend to get sea sick... but all that fades away once you are in the water. |
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Just as I got
into the water, the school of barracuda came by
and swirled around me. Practically escorting me
into the rig, they accompanied me for about 5
minutes. |
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The clarity of
the water is fantastic. Even at a
depth of 130 feet looking up, one can see the
flare of light from the sun! Fish here are "shy"... they shy away from large groups of divers. So when approaching the rig, it is best to dive in individual buddy pairs... and not as a pack or gang! |
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Seen at 130 ft, these huge "giant trevallys" in the middle of the picture (right) are at least 4 feet long! I managed to approach them alone... until the rest of the pack of divers descended on me.... then the fish descended even deeper to avoid the group... @#$%&*!!! |
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The richness
of the life along the legs of the rig is
astounding. Resting here peacefully in
amidst the currents, the soft coral has encrusted
the rig. In turn, the coral hosts much fish
life! The coral has grown here undisturbed till now. I hate it when I watch divers with relatively poor buoyancy control reach out and (gasp!) hold the coral for support... only to break the soft coral in their hands...   |
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Alas, all good
things come to an end. Here, divers
reluctantly pull back, taking a safety stop
between 20 and 40 feet... a bit deeper as the
surge above makes the usual 15 to 20 feet stop
too uncomfortable. It was quite an experience... a must-visit-again sometime-soon-in-the-near-future type of site. |
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Here is
another look: I have merged two images to
give an idea of the tremendous visibility and
size. The visibility is easily over 30 metres! |