Oman’s scuba diving

Muscat, The Gulf Observer: Oman is known for its natural and pristine scuba diving sites globally. Intrigued by the diversity of its marine life and snorkelling activities, people from across the world throng its natural, white beaches for diving, water sports, including swimming and surfing.

There are professional guides and operators who teach and guide the initiated and the uninitiated alike.In the last few years, however, scuba diving industry in Oman had taken a big hit despite there being a huge potential of offering the visitors the experiences of a lifetime.

One of the reasons, among others, could be that there was acute shortage of professional instructors with the last Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) instructor examination conducted over 7 years ago!In September 2022, the PADI Course Director, who is the only one competent to conduct the Instructor Development Course, and is affiliated with the Gulf Divers Oman, managed to revive the programme.

His arduous efforts bore fruit when all those who had enrolled for the programme successfully sailed through in the instructor examination (IE) too, earning for themselves a PADI instructor certification.Sharing her experiences during the course, one of the candidates said “there are moments when your capacity is tested despite the knowledge and skills that you already have. However, the effort was extremely rewarding and worth it. I have grown as a diver and I can’t wait to continue my professional education.”

The Instructor Development Course (IDC) is made up of two parts, namely, the Assistant Instructor (AI) course and the Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) programme.

Most diving professionals complete the entire IDC and take the Instructor Examination (IE), which is the final step to earn a PADI Instructor certification. The programme can only be conducted at a five star IDC diving center and currently the Gulf Divers Oman, located in Bandar Marina Rawda, is the only diving operator conducting it.