Itinerary

The Hermes Adventure offers "Ten Tec Dives" over Five diving days.

For Open Circuit;

We provide, 12 ltr X 2 AL luxfer twin cylinders with isolator manifolds for back gas air, S-80 / S-60 stage cylinders with 50% nitrox for staged deco starting at 21 m (Optional 3 ltr cylinder with Oxygen filled up to 120 bar). If adequately TEC 50 certified, similar gear twice a day.

For CCR;

We have 3 ltr cylinders and 2 ltr cylinders for rent (US$ 50 per week for a pair)

Sofnolime can be supplied 5 ltr can cost US$ 60

Trimix certified?

Trimix fills of grade 4.5 or 5.5 are available on request (1 ltr of helium cost US$ cents 10 - 12).

• Our Tec dives will be guided by Feli, who comes with over 950 tec dives on the HMS Hermes alone.
• All divers are required to be present the evening/night before to obtain/check gear and to run through formalities.
• On the day, divers are kindly requested to be present at 0630 hrs, whilst the 1st dive is scheduled for 0700 hrs and the 2nd at 1130 hrs.
• Surface interval will be at the deep sea resort dive centre for dive two preparations, starting at approx. 0930 hrs.
• Divers will be transported to the site by one of three 20 ft hull fibre boats, powered by 40 HP Yamaha out board motors (approx. time to site 15min).
• Proof of diver insurance and certification is required at the time of confirmation,
• All dive boats and crew for the Hermes adventure are supplied by dive partner along with emergency O2, back up gas etc.
• Non diver price is US$ 550/- (Sharing).
• One night stay in Negombo if it is a late arrival or drive to Deep Sea Resort Batticaloa.
• All air con coach transfers throughout the trip.
• Plenty of sea food at our inhouse restaurant.
• Free WIFI

Pre Dive Day:

• Transfer from Colombo City/Airport and check-in to Deep Sea Resort by 2:00 pm.
• Be present at the Deep Sea Resort dive center by 5:00 pm to obtain/check gear and make due on dive formalities with our dive partner.

Day 1/Sat:

• Arrival at the dive center at 6:30 am for a final check and to load gear.
• The boats depart by 7:00 am for the 1st Hermes exploration dive of the day (time to site, 15min).
• Return to the dive center by 9:30 am to freshen up, have tea/coffee, snacks, and prepare for dive 2.
• The boats depart after an adequate surface interval at 11:30 am for the 2nd Hermes exploration dive.
• All Hermes dives are scheduled to end by 2:00 pm at the latest, to avoid rough sea and wind conditions that are a norm in our waters.

Day 2-6 (Sun-Thu Afternoon):

• Further to the above Hermes dive routine:
• 2 exploration/focused dives at the HMS Hermes (Day 2).
• Focused dives at each section of the large shipwreck over the next three days, totaling to a maximum of 10 dives on the HMS Hermes.

Day 7/Fri:

• Check-out of Deep Sea Resort by 12:00 pm.
• Transfer from Trincomalee to Colombo City/Airport.

HMS Hermes

The world’s first purpose-designed aircraft carrier, HMS HERMES, was sunk along with her escort HMAS Vampire by the Japanese during World War II on Thursday, 9th April 1942. This attack followed their initial assault on Colombo on Easter Sunday, just four days prior, and was considered one of the most pivotal moments in the attack on ‘Ceylon’, referred to as "the Japanese attack on Ceylon" and, in the words of Winston Churchill, "the most dangerous moment of the war."

HMS Hermes is the only diveable aircraft carrier to have sunk in battle; the USS Saratoga, USS Oriskany, and Graf Zeppelin of the same era were artificially sunk. Hence, the fact that the Hermes is an incredibly unusual, unique, and intriguing world-class wreck in the world of technical diving.

Berthed in Trincomalee on 8 April following warnings of an imminent Japanese raid, she set sail south with no aircraft onboard. She was spotted by a Japanese scout plane the following day near Batticaloa and was caught by aircraft from the Japanese Carrier Fleet comprising Soryu, Hiryu, and Akagi—the same ships which had attacked Pearl Harbour. She was attacked by several dozen dive bombers and quickly sunk. Out of 566 sailors, 307 lost their lives, and it is dedicated as a war memorial shipwreck.

Four other ships were lost later that day: the British Sergeant, HMS Hollyhock, MFA Athelstane, and the SS Sagaing all met their fate from 0700 to 1430 and now rest at the bottom of our ocean. We offer Liveaboard adventures that consist of these shipwrecks in our "WWII Adventure" itinerary.

The Hermes dive itself is spectacular despite deterioration. She rests on her port side between 42m at the hull and 53m at the sandy bottom. All six days of diving are dedicated to the exploration of the Hermes only.

This dive is only for the very experienced due to the challenging conditions at the site. There is significant water movement, ranging from an average of 1 knot to strong water movements of up to 2 knots.

Diving with a computer is mandatory, and solo diving is not permitted.

Divers are recommended to wait for 24 hours before flying after their last dive.

The exact route and sites visited are subject to change based on local regulations, guest experience, weather, and logistics and are at the Captain's discretion.

All maps are for illustrative purposes only.