Similan Islands · Thailand · Wreck
Tuna Wreck
Park-scuttled fishing boat ringed by schooling batfish
Area photo: Reinhard Link · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Tuna Wreck is a fiberglass fishing boat that the Similan National Park authorities sank in 2003 to create a new dive site. It lies on the sand just beyond the reef edge off the southeast corner of an island in the chain, and it draws large schools of batfish.
Where it is and how deep
8.5677° N, 97.6482° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
A buoy marks the wreck, which sits on the sand bottom just beyond the reef edge with its top at 28 m and its deepest point at 40 m. Large schools of batfish hang around the hull, and a number of big Kuhl's stingrays are easy to find on the sand around it.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Tuna Wreck
- Type
- Fiberglass fishing boat
- Length
- 30 m (98 ft)
- Sunk
- 2003
- Cause
- Scuttled by the Similan National Park authorities to create a new dive site
- Lies
- On the sand bottom just beyond the reef edge, from 28 m at the top to 40 m
Marine life and season
- Stingrays
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Similan Islands: The park is closed by law from mid-May to mid-October; December to April is the calm high season.
Dive videos
The First Descent: Tuna Wreck, Similan Islands | Blue Solitude · Blue Solitude on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What certification does the Tuna Wreck need?+
Deep training: the top of the wreck is already at 28 m and the sand it rests on is at 40 m.
Sources
- Khao Lak day trips — Sea-Bees Diving
- OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Similan Islands
Reef
A coral-covered rock standing alone on the sand
Wreck
The 27 m liveaboard Atlantis X, bow at 16 m
Reef
Longest reef in the Similans, over 300 coral species
Reef
Big granite blocks with reef sharks and Napoleon wrasse
Coral garden
Morning light on a shallow coral garden off Ko Bangu
Reef
Granite boulder maze of swim-throughs, caverns and morays
Granite arches at the exposed north end of the chain
Drift
Strong-current ridge with soft coral gardens and big boulders
Similar dives elsewhere
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A tin dredger broken into four sections by the 2004 tsunami
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Samaesan's most famous wreck, on her starboard side at 27 m
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