Hi,
Here's a short report on my experience diving with Seaventures on the Oil Rig in late Feb '18. I booked 5 days on the rig with one guaranteed permit on Sipadan. The rig is well equipped with all your diving needs, even a separate room for cameras. My room had a hot shower & comfy bed...all i needed. The food was excellent, I don't think I had a single meal that wasn't delicious, especially the BBQ on the last day. They even had a fride of cake that you could help yourself to.
All the staff were friendly and professional, and sat down and got some good diving stories and recommendations from a few. The rig has a games room, little gym and some hammocks on the converted helipad up top. You get to the boats via an open external lift and if you're diving the house reed underneath the rig, you can even swim right onto the lift which was nice.
The Diving:
TBH, I had high hopes for Sipadan, maybe a little optimistic perhaps, as I was hoping for lots of big stuff...but as with all big game, they either turn up or they don't. I didn't get any hammers but did get very close to a shoal of barracuda, swam amongst a huge group of Jacks, with the odd white tip reef cruising through it, many green turtles and several bumpheads...but that was about it really, so not great compared to other places I've been. I did get another visit on my last day and saw another barracuda shoal out in the blue but it wasn't my favourite place.
The islands of Mabul & Kapalai, however, yielded far more pictures for me and were the highlight of my diving. I don't think I've ever seen so many huge green turtles, actually encountered 4 in succession, a cuttlefish & squid laying their eggs all in the space of 5 mins...which is pretty damn good. There was an abundance of critters including some great Nudis, Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Mantis Shrimp & Octopus. The sites around Mabul had a mix of natural and artificial reefs, some very large like outdoor climbing frames, some with even little rope bridges, a few wrecks...all in all made for some interesting dives.
I'm glad i stayed on the Rig, never felt like i was missing out on anything and i think if i had been on a resort, i may have got a less personable services as there would be far more divers. When i arrived, i think i was the only white person, everyone else being Chinese or malaysian, but some spoke english and were friendly. Later, some other westerners arrived, but everyone was fun to spend time with. The Rig was definitely a unique diving resort and one I won't forget, so I would recommend it. As for Sipadan, one or even two days probably isn't enough to get the best out of it, then again luck is everything. I came away with about 60 good pics so i was very happy.
