Oman opens its first ever Scuba Diving Academy

Up until now, and more precisely, this week, those who wanted to learn scuba diving in Oman, in order to become a professional scuba diving instructor and obtain an international certification, didn't have the option and had to resort to moving elsewhere to take the course and get certified. But very recent changes, with the opening of Oman's first ever scuba diving academy, mean that now any scuba diving wannabes can get to the top of a scuba diving career in the sultanate.

Those looking to enrol in a course to become a qualified diver with international recognition can sign up to the new Oman Scuba Diving Academy and learn how to professionally scuba dive along the country's rich coastal waters.

For the first course at the new academy, three Omanis and three British diving hopefuls have signed up and are currently undertaking the course at the academy's main building, located inside the InterContinental hotel, right at the place where verdant gardens meet the golden sands of the beach.

The head instruction behind Oman's first professional diving centre is no other than Canadian-born Stanley Berlin, who has extensive scuba diving experience with an impressive 25-year-long career as a senior certified scuba diving instructor.

Having lived his scuba passion through many diving journeys around the world, Stanley kicked off his diving career during scuba diving holidays in Indonesia, he then moved to India, where he successfully set up two diving centres and later moved on to work in many other places around the globe, particularly around the Far East and now in the Middle East. He has also worked in Malaysia, the exotic Maldives and the Red Sea, with scuba diving holidays in Egypt. He has been the instructor of the rich and famous and now sees Oman as a place with great potential to further develop his career, passion and hobby.

It is in Oman that now Stanley wants to work, with the intention of spreading the art of international scuba diving in the region.
Oman is a great and exotic destination for scuba diving holidays in the Middle East with a myriad of locations for amazing scuba diving experiences. The sultanate is quickly becoming a desired scuba diving destination, as it becomes the third place in the whole region to feature an academy that trains scuba divers at the top level and offers international qualifications. Currently the only two other scuba academies in the Middle East are located in Egypt and Dubai, both being popular destinations for scuba diving holidays.

The main aim of Oman’s new scuba diving academy is to produce divers of the highest quality. Supporting this objective, there are senior retired professionals from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Information, who are keen to see that Oman’s Diving Centre earns a global reputation for the highest standards of teaching. Also on the board are an Omani, Faizal Thani al Jahdami, who has already become an Instructor and British Marine Engineer, Graham Hogg, who has in the past been a prestigious instructor that has taught the rich and famous how to become experts at the art of scuba diving.