Under the special training programme initiated by the Fisheries Ministry to ensure at least one crew member on every fishing vessel is certified as a Rescue Diver, 80 crew members are set to be trained this year, Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam has said.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the longest "single open water dive" event aimed at setting a world record, Minister Shiyam stated that the training of 80 crew members active on fishing vessels under the "Rescue Diver" programme has been included in this year's budget. He added that efforts are underway to see if more divers can be trained, and the hope is to complete this training for one crew member from every fishing vessel in the Maldives within the first three years of this government.
As many divers who dive for bait from fishing vessels face life-threatening and tragic incidents, training a rescue diver for each vessel to reduce such occurrences is a pledge of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. While this training programme commenced on 19 January 2024, 56 crew members from 56 vessels belonging to the southern atolls have been trained so far.
The ceremony held in Hulhumale' this morning to inaugurate the "Across Maldives" event organised by Ocean Six Fifty was officiated by Minister Ahmed Shiyam. Two world records in the field of scuba diving are planned to be set during this event. Across Maldives will proceed in two phases, with the first phase taking place in the Male' area next Wednesday. During this phase, a 70-kilometre dive will be conducted from Male' to Hulhumale'. The second phase will proceed next year, covering the entire Maldives with a total dive of 4,600 kilometres from HA. Thuraakunu to Addu City. This will be the longest dive in the world.
