Despite the current status of Hikkaduwa as a coral sanctuary, years of fishing boat damage and the burning of coral for lime has taken its toll, particularly close to shore. In an attempt to help the coral within the lagoon regain its former glory, the International Diving School, with the help of Professor Ekaratne of Colombo University, has begun a coral restoration project. Using his years of experience in underwater construction Somey and his team created an artificial reef from specially made concrete blocks and ‘planted’ them with coral harvested from distant sites out of reach of the coral vandals.

Updates
beautiful corals in the Dutch Bay Sri Lanka
We explored a cave on the side of Swami Rock, which we found only a few meters long. The beautiful corals in the Dutch Bay are still there to be seen and admired, though, it was reported that the tsunami had destroyed some of them. Only about 4-5 meters deep, one can snorkel or even see them from the boat itself.
29th & 30th May 2005 – Diving in Kalmune
Our diving trip to Kalmune was successful. We could dive in 02 shipwrecks, located within a 5 minute boat ride to the shore, both around 12 meters deep. There was excellent visibility and one could clearly see the wrecks from the boat itself. The first wreck we dived,
Diving in Great Basses Reef
16th April 2005
We dived in the “bottle ship” near Great Basses light house. This has been a ship that was carrying soda bottles to Sri Lanka in late 19th century. Fragments of glass bottles still can be seen in the site. The two anchors are clearly visible.

Our well trained and experienced staff use the latest equipment to make your diving experience a good one. The director R.K Somadasa de Silva (or Somey as he is commonly known) is well reputed in the region as a commercial and professional diver. He has over 30 years of experience in the diving industry and is qualified both as a UDI/CMAS instructor and a PADI assistant instructor, with more than 500 foreign students to his credit and innumerable local divers. In addition to teaching, Somey is qualified as a commercial diver and has worked on a number of underwater construction projects, both for private and government institutions. The school is now managed by Somey's beloved son Sachin (Another great diver of course!) who has great implemented plans to improve your diving experience.
Obviously Somey is not the only member of staff. The two divemasters, Ishan and Dharshana, are both PADI assistant instructors and have many thousands of dives in their logbooks, having been diving here for over 10 years. Our chief boatman, Sarath, is both certified by the Sri Lanka Port Authority and very experienced on the open seas (we swear he uses natural GPS!). As well as these friendly and experienced fellows we have a number of other dive guides and boatmen, all keen to help you enjoy your dives.
As a family run operation, the International Diving School is well known for its welcoming nature and many of our customers return time after time, becoming friends within a few dives. So come diving with Somey and the team at the International Diving School, Hikkaduwa and prepare to dive here again and again.