Technical Diving

Technical Diving (sometimes incorrectly called deep sea diving) is the ultimate diving extreme, requiring more complex equipment and intensive training. Master Divers offer full technical dive training through "Tech Thailand" aboard the MV Trident; a fully equipped, steel-hulled tech vessel that can take you to Thailand’s top wreck diving destinations, from a 110 metre US submarine to a vast 7000 tonne Japanese Maru, all with an abundance of extraordinary marine life.

Many thanks to Richie Kohler (Deep Sea Detectives, Shadow Divers) and Chris Clarke (Ace Marine Images) for some of the photos on this page.

Tech Diving Courses:

Want to learn how? With MV Trident you learn more...

Aside from the course you've signed up for, we're happy to teach you GPS Navigation, how to read sonar, search techniques, nitrox and trimix blending, and more. You'll also find that many of the world's most experienced divers choose to dive with us, so you'll pick up lots of tips and advice from the diving elite.

The Trident team, Jamie and Stewart, teach instructor level technical courses, both SSI and DSAT, to TMX Instructor, e.g.

DSAT Tec Deep - 12 dives, 8 days minimum, includes live-aboard
DSAT Tec Trimix - 6 Tmx dives, 4 days minimum, includes live-aboard
SSI Tech Foundations - 8 dives
SSI Deco Procedures - 6 dives, includes live-aboard
SSI Adv Deco Procedures - 4 dives, includes live-aboard
SSI Entry - Trimix, includes live-aboard

For more information on the courses, visit the MV Trident's dedicated website www.techthailand.com

Tech Live-Aboard:

MV Trident runs regular technical diving live-aboard expeditions (normally twice a month), departing from Master Divers in Koh Tao, and also from Koh Samui for Southerly destinations.

The Gulf of Thailand was heavily patrolled by US submarines, and in 1945 they sank numerous ‘marus’; Japanese freighters and tankers carrying everything from equipment and supplies to prisoners of war. Using the submarines’ logs as a starting point, each of our expeditions include exploratory dives with a good chance of diving virgin WW2 wrecks.

All trips are fully catered, a mixture of Thai and international cuisine. The Trident has a fully stocked bar and a large BBQ. You definitely won’t go hungry or thirsty!

For more information on a tech diving live-aboard, visit the MV Trident dedicated website www.techthailand.com

Wreck Wednesday

The Trident operates day trips on Wednesdays, to which experienced recreational divers are also welcome. This can be just for fun or part of a PADI or SSI wreck diving specialty.

The day includes two great wreck dives, breakfast, lunch, and an unforgettable experience aboard the best boat in Koh Tao.

For more information on Wreck Wednesday, visit the MV Trident dedicated website www.techthailand.com

Seen the MV Trident somewhere before?

The combination of painstaking research, detailed local knowledge gained over the last seventeen years and a special relationship with local fishermen (who occasionally snag their nets on wrecks) has made the Trident team the undisputed champions at discovering virgin wrecks in this largely uncharted area. Some of these finds are designated war graves, and are treated with immense respect.

The most famous of these discoveries is the USS Lagarto, a 110 metre WW2 US submarine. The Lagarto was lost with all hands, and was the last US submarine lost in these waters to be accounted for. Discovering the Lagarto, and the subsequent investigation into the circumstances of its loss (in association with the US Navy and John Chatterton and Richie Kohler from the History Channel show Deep Sea Detectives) is the subject of several television programmes - watch out for them on the Discovery Channel. Only the MV Trident is permitted to dive here.

The Trident is regularly featured in dive magazines, including Undersea Journal (PADI's quarterly dive magazine), Wreck Diver Magazine, Diver, etc.