Arrive & check gear
- Transfer from Colombo City / Airport and check in to Deep Sea Resort by 14:00.
- Be at the dive centre by 17:00 to obtain/check gear and complete formalities.
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◆ The Wreck Chart · Off Batticaloa
HermesAdventure
Ten technical dives · The only diveable aircraft carrier ever sunk in battle · A war memorial resting at 53 metres off Batticaloa.
The Flagship on the East
One wreck, five days of diving
HMS Hermes is our flagship — the world's first purpose-designed aircraft carrier, resting on her port side between 42 and 53 metres. Five full days of diving are dedicated to her alone.
Trace the route — tap any marker to open its log.
Batticaloa
Off Batticaloa
Wreck Chart · Chart N°04
5 nautical miles
Port and dive-site positions are approximate — not for navigation. Coastline © OpenStreetMap contributors.
N°011942 · 42–53 mWreck
HMS Hermes
The world's first purpose-designed aircraft carrier, HMS Hermes was sunk along with her escort HMAS Vampire by the Japanese on Thursday, 9 April 1942 — four days after the Easter Sunday raid on Colombo, in what Winston Churchill called “the most dangerous moment of the war.”
She is the only diveable aircraft carrier to have sunk in battle; the USS Saratoga, USS Oriskany and Graf Zeppelin of the same era were artificially sunk. Together, her history, depth and condition make HMS Hermes one of the world's most compelling technical wreck dives.
Spotted near Batticaloa with no aircraft aboard, she was caught by the same carrier fleet that struck Pearl Harbour and quickly sunk by dozens of dive bombers. Of 600 sailors and 100 airmen, 307 lost their lives, and she is dedicated as a war memorial shipwreck.
She rests on her port side between 42 m at the hull and 53 m at the sandy bottom, and all five diving days are dedicated to the Hermes alone. This is a dive for the very experienced — currents run 1 to 2 knots, a computer is mandatory and solo diving is not permitted.
Photography: Dharshana Jayawardena
Notes to Mariners
Your Journey Begins Before You Fly
- 01This is an open-water wreck between 42–53 metres and strong currents.
- 02All Tec equipment requirements need to be communicated in advance.
- 03Diving with a computer is mandatory; solo diving is not permitted.
- 04Wait 24 hours after your flight.
- 05Exact route and sites are subject to local regulations, guest experience, weather and logistics — at the Captain's discretion.
Experience required
- Minimum Tec 45 / Deco procedures (one deco gas).
- Tec 50 / Extended range — 7 minimum logged dives above 50 m.
- Experience with moving water of 1 knot.
