At Siyam World Maldives, a former Maldivian tuna freighter has been transformed into one of the country’s newest wreck dive sites, giving adventurous travellers another reason to explore beyond the shoreline. But this isn’t simply about sinking a ship. It’s the story of a vessel that once supported one of the Maldives’ biggest industries before beginning a second life as an artificial reef.
Built in Japan during the 1980s, the vessel spent decades transporting tuna between islands and local canneries before being retired. Rather than leaving it docked indefinitely, Sun Siyam Resorts decided to give it a new purpose beneath the waters of Noonu Atoll.
The idea first emerged when Sun Siyam Chairman and Founder Ahmed Siyam Mohamed envisioned creating a dive experience unlike any other in the region while also contributing to the surrounding marine environment. After several years of environmental preparation and planning, the vessel was transported to Noonu Atoll before being intentionally submerged near Siyam World in late 2024.
The process, however, didn’t go entirely according to plan. During the sinking, trapped air caused the ship to settle upside down on the seabed. Instead of abandoning the project, a specialist local team spent weeks using heavy lifting equipment to rotate the vessel into its intended position, an engineering challenge that has since become part of the site’s story.
Today, divers descend towards the bow at around 10 metres before continuing to the stern, which rests at approximately 24 metres. While the ship itself makes for an impressive underwater landmark, nature has wasted little time taking over.
Schools of jackfish now circle the wreck, reef sharks patrol nearby waters, eagle rays glide overhead and turtles weave through the steel framework. Soft and hard corals have also begun colonising the structure, gradually transforming industrial metal into a thriving marine habitat.
Unlike coral reef diving, wreck dives offer an entirely different experience. Wide-open passageways, towering steel walls and the ship’s dramatic silhouette create an environment that feels part history lesson, part underwater adventure. For photographers, the changing light and scale of the wreck present countless opportunities to capture striking images beneath the surface.
The project also serves a broader environmental purpose. Approved coral fragments will continue to be cultivated directly on the structure as part of Siyam World’s annual Wreck to Reef programme, with marine specialists monitoring coral growth, biodiversity and the development of the surrounding ecosystem over the coming years.
As travellers increasingly seek experiences that go beyond luxury alone, projects like this are changing the way destinations are explored. In the Maldives, that now includes descending beneath the turquoise waters to discover a retired working vessel beginning an entirely new chapter beneath the sea.
