This week (Monday 15th July) after 3 years of hard work raising funds, lobbying local authorities, bringing together and training teams, finding & buying the necessary equipment Dive Tribe finally realised their goal of installing eco friendly mooring buoys into the gulf of Thailand to protect the coral reefs. With out the help and generous sponsorship of DRAGON CAPITAL a green investment company, none of this would have been possible, so we would like to start by thanking them for supporting & believing in Dive Tribe's no compromise vision of reef and marine protection in Thailand.
We would also like to thank our partner store Adventure Divers in Pattya for helping us with the installation of our first buoy.

The buoys that will be placed out on the reef will come from the DMCR (Department of Marine & Coastal Resources) , these bouy's will have a tamper proof device and come with a warning that anyone wishing to steal these buouy's will be liable for a 40,000 baht fine. 
The mooring project is as far as we know the largest of its kind in Asia. 
On Koh Sak island alone we hope to place approx 30 buoys. Currently we have positions for 5 buoys which have been generously sponsored by the Amari Orchid in Pattaya andGetinge Group from Sweden. 

INTRODUCTION TO THE MOORING SYSTEM

The mooring system we use consists of a large hydraulic drill head that is lowered into the sea to a team of divers below. The divers then connect the drill to a Helix anchor. A Helix anchor is like a large corkscrew which can vary in length and size from 1.5 meters to 6 meters in length depending on the substrate we wish to secure the anchor to. Once installed the anchor will only have a 2 inch footprint on the seabed. Many systems have been used for mooring line attachments but can cause damage to the reef they are trying to protect such as concrete blocks & tying to rock and coral. 
The helix sandscrew has a massive strain weight so large boats can moor with no worries of them pulling the anchors out and if the reef does start to grow around the anchors we can also remove them and replace them allowing the reef to continue to grow naturally.   

Supporting & Sponsoring

Dive Tribe are always looking for support and sponsors that would like to help us protect the reefs of Thailand. 
Just recently a press article (read here) in one of the local papers which then went on to make international news was quoted as saying that 50% of Thailand's reefs were gone. Although alarming the fact is that with out protection this will continue to get worse and this is why Dive Tribe are out there working on solutions and trying hard to get the necessary funds to help save the natural wonders that are Thailand's reefs. 
The time for talk has long since passed and what we need is direct action, only with your help can we start the process of protection and healing. 
Please help us - If you are a individual or company that would like to sponsor a buoy, a reef or an Island please get in touch with us HERE
If you would like to learn more about this and other projects please take a look at our mooring buoy page HERE