Sipadan could be one of the world’s Seven Wonders

Sipadan could be one of the world’s Seven Wonders

Date Posted: 16 Mar 2009

KOTA KINABALU: More people from around the world are turning to Sabah’s Sipadan island for scuba diving.

Training and Customer Service cum vice president of PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructor) Americas James Morgan, who was in Sabah on his 12th visit, said: “I have had many opportunities to go scuba diving in many places in the world and when people ask me what my favourite place is, I would say that Sipadan is at the top of my list.”

Morgan recalls a previous experience he had in Sipadan where he had the opportunity to observe 23 turtles, 19 sharks and a school of barracuda.

“Having quality support dive operators in Sipadan definitely makes it easier for divers to enjoy themselves too,” he said.

PADI Asia Pacific Marketing, Education and Business Development vice president Henrik Nimb said he was very fortunate to have been in Sabah and to dive in its many underwater destinations.

He regards Sipadan as one of the top spots in the world and said it could be easily chosen as one of the Seven Wonders of the World in the island category.

Nimb said some 16,000 divers in the country were trained last year. There are some 500 PADI members in the country.

(Source: New Sabah Times, 15 Mar 2009)

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Wikipedia :

Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea east of the major town of Tawau and off the coast of East Malaysia on the Island of Borneo. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem.

Normally rare diving scenes are frequently seen in the waters around Sipadan: schools of green and hawksbill turtles nesting and mating, schools of barracuda and big-eye trevally in tornado-like formations, pelagic species such as manta rays, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks.

A mysterious turtle tomb lies underneath the column of the island, formed by an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles that have become lost and drown before finding the surface.[1]

History

In the past, the island was at the centre of a territorial dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia. The matter was brought for adjudication before the International Court of Justice and, at the end of 2002, the Court awarded the island along with the island of Ligitan to Malaysia, on the basis of the "effective occupation" displayed by the latter's predecessor (Malaysia's former colonial power, the United Kingdom) and the absence of any other superior title. The Philippines had applied to intervene in the proceedings on the basis of its claim to Northern Borneo, but its request was turned down by the Court early in 2001.

Diving at Sipadan

Diving will continue to be allowed in Sipadan for divers who are ferried in and out by dive and resort operators from the mainland and surrounding islands. However, tourists and keen divers should be warned that the number of permits available for Sipadan each day is limited to 120 spread between 12 resorts and allocated by the local authorities using unknown criteria. For example, a resort such as the Sipadan-Mabul Resort (SMART) may have 70 guests on any given day and only 10 permits available. A visit to Sipadan is not only not guaranteed for guests at the resort, regardless of the length of stay, but it is highly unlikely for those who stay less than a week or who want to snorkel rather than dive. Please keep this in mind to avoid disappointment.

If you are lucky enough to get to dive at Sipadan, you'll experience world class diving, and maybe the most known diving spot is the Barracuda Point, where during the morning dive you'll often encounter a very large school of Barracuda or Big Eye Trevallies. This is only one of many rare experiences you'll have diving the reef off Sipadan island. There will be a lot of Green Turtle, Hawkbill Turtle and Whitetip reef shark and even the rare encounter of Hammerhead sharks.