Ocean Rover

Ocean Rover was purpose designed for comfortable and safe offshore diving. Her thick steel hull is 100ft/30m long and 26ft/8m wide. She is powered by three Hino V10 420Hp diesel engines, driving three propellers for extra safety. Her cruising speed is 10 knots and the top speed allowing us to visit many far-flung divesites in one single cruise. She takes a maximum of 16 passengers.

The aft upper deck -or sun deck- is shaded and is everyone's favorite area for relaxing and socializing between dives. A second refreshments corner is located here and passengers can sit around the large picnic style table or settle down on one of the comfortable lounge chairs.

The spacious salon offers a comfortable dining and sitting arrangement and a fully equipped entertainment center. The interior has been kept light and airy and has a relaxed atmosphere. The salon has a refreshments corner and our extensive marine life library is kept here as well.

Ocean Rover has 8 cabins which are all located on the main and upper decks. Six cabins are identical and have large double beds with single upper berths and large panoramic windows. The two forward cabins on the main deck feature wide upper and lower single berths and have dual portholes. All cabins have private bathrooms, individually controlled air-conditioning and lots of storage space. All beds are 2 meters (6ft 5in) in length so the tallest of passengers can sleep comfortably.

Ocean Rover’s unique feature is the "whale-deck", the lower section of the dive-deck which slopes down to the waterline allowing for optimum ease of diving operations. This whale-deck is where the dinghies are stored when the vessel is underway.

North Sulawesi
Part of each cruise will take place in the Lembeh Straits. The reefs surrounding Lembeh Island offer an immense variety of marine life and have become the destination of choice for underwater photographers in search of unique macro subjects: wasp fish, weedy/lacy scorpion fish, pygmy seahorses, frog fish and nudibranchs to name but a few.

Passengers on our cruises will also spend time enjoying the world-class diving around Bunaken National Marine Park as well as Bangka Island. Here divers will encounter spectacular walls and reefs of hard and soft corals, an underwater environment that has enchanted divers from all over the globe.

Ocean Rover then journeys further north to a chain of volcanic islands, the Sangihe Archipelago: dozens of islands, some of which are over fifteen hundred meters high and densely covered by coconut palms. This area has some of the deepest and clearest water on the planet. Some of the highlights include an underwater lava flow, a natural hot spring jacuzzi and a dive at Mahangatang, an underwater volcano which releases silver bubbles into the sea, an unforgettable sight.

Raja Ampat
The cruises visit the best sites of Raja Ampat. Diving here means diving with current, for that reason we have to remain flexible because if the current, which will be check regularly by the dive guides, is too strong we will move to another location. The next dive site is waiting just around the corner!

On cruise departure day we pick up passengers from the airport or from a local hotel if they arrived a few days earlier. After boarding of all guests we will have a welcome aboard briefing at approx 1800hrs before getting underway.

During the itinerary we will cross the equator several times between longitudes 130°-132°E while enjoying the best of the underwater world of Raja Ampat’s many dive sites, predominately in the north-west region around the islands of Waigeo, Gam, Kri, Wai, Fam and Kawe.

The huge dive-deck has several camera tables and multiple rinse tanks plus a camera maintenance room. Care has been taken to ensure that photographers have safe places to put down their expensive cameras just before and after dives.

In the salon is a camera charging area with 220/110 volts connections.