Samaesan Hole
| Samaesan Hole | |
|---|---|
View of Samaesan Hole from the surface. Looking towards the southern tip of Koh Samaesan island. | |
| Location | Samae San Island, Thailand |
| Waterbody | Gulf of Thailand |
| Coordinates | 12°32.314′N 100°57.616′E / 12.538567°N 100.960267°E |
| Dive type | Technical |
| Depth range | 85 to 100 m (279 to 328 ft) |
| Entry type | Boat |
| Bottom composition | Sandy Bottom |
| Water | Salt |
| Nearby sites | Sharkfin Deep Drop (85m), 1/4 Mile Mouthpiece Drop (72m), Thunder Bowl (65m), Narcosis Colosseum (50m), Koh Rong Nang Training Buoy (37m-50m), Hardeep Wreck (36m) [1] |
The Samaesan Hole is a technical diving site is located in the Gulf of Thailand, Samae San Island, in Sattahip District, Chonburi Province. The local vicinity is renowned for its technical diving and has numerous entries on the List of deepest dive sites in the Gulf of Thailand, with the deepest being the Samaesan Hole, with a recorded depth of 85m to 100m.[1][2][3] The dive site lies in the vicinity of the shipping lanes between Koh Rong Nang and Koh Samaesan by the area named Explosives Dumping Ground on local sea charts.
Diving History
The first successful recorded descent to the bottom of the Samaesan Hole occurred in 1998 by technical divers Steve Burton and Claes Martinsson.[2]
Diving Site Hazards
The Samaesan Hole has gained popularity due to the number of hazards associated with this dive site.[2][3][4] Specific documented risks include the following...
- Depth - hypoxic trimix required
- Strong and unpredictable currents including down currents & vortex
- Unexploded ordinance on the seabed
- Low Visibility
- Darkness below 60m
- Situated within a busy commercial shipping lane
Media
Due to the high number of risks, media tends to report this as dangerous location and dive site.[5][6] More specifically it is recognised by Red Bull as one of the most extreme dive sites in the world,[7] whilst Under Current Dive Magazine recognised it as a "deadly" dive site, alongside the Blue Hole (Red Sea).[8] Renowned technical diver Mark Ellyatt referred to it as the "Black Hole of Death" by virtue of its "dark and horrible" nature combined with a number of recent victims the hole had taken when he dived there.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Diving in Pattaya - Gulf of Thailand's best tec sites". Thai Tec Diver. 14 February 2026. Archived from the original on 19 February 2026. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ a b c "Technical Dive Sites - Thailand". Thai Wreck Diver. Archived from the original on 19 February 2026. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ a b "Samae San Hole – Technical Dive Site Report". Tec Pattaya. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ "Samaesan Hole". ThaiTecDiver. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ "The dangerous places humans shouldn't venture to (but sometimes do)". Channel 9 News (Australia). Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ Neikirk, Todd. "These 10 Scuba Diving Sites Are Among the Most Dangerous in the World". Outdoor Revival. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ "9 of The Worlds Most Extreme Scuba Diving Locations,". Red Bull. Archived from the original on 21 February 2026. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ^ "Two Deadly Dive Sites (where Americans rarely go, thankfully)". Under Current. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ Ellyatt, Mark (2005). Ocean Gladiator: Battles Beneath the Ocean. United Kingdom: Emily Eight Publication Ltd. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-9551544-0-9.