Chief Spokesperson of the Government, Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu), has stated that discussions are underway to permit technical diving in the Maldives.

He made these remarks at a time when there are concerns following the incident where a number of Italian divers died after diving inside an underwater cave located near V. Alimatha.

Speaking at a press conference held today, Shareef stated that there is currently no law related to tecrec diving or technical diving in the Maldives. Therefore, the government is considering creating such a law, and those discussions are ongoing.

Shareef stated that if such a law comes into existence, it will ease things for people coming from abroad to conduct maritime research in the Maldives, as well as for other technical divers. Shareef also stated that robust regulations regarding the matter would be made and implemented.

"Because tecrec diving is something that cannot be done unless by people who have very specialized diving experience alongside specialist gear, very robust regulations can also be made through this, allowing it to be regulated and carried forward,"

"Therefore, initial discussions are taking place regarding making a tecrec diving law. Through that, God willing, going through stakeholder consultations like I mentioned, we expect that the day a tecrec diving law comes into existence in our Maldives and regulations are made through it will not be too far off, God willing,"

Unlike ordinary dives, a technical dive is a dive conducted by obtaining specific specialized training and using equipment dedicated for that purpose.

The most tragic diving incident to occur in the Maldives in recent history took place recently when individuals without technical diving training engaged in it.

Out of the five Italian divers who went missing while out diving on the 14th of this month, the body of one was found at a depth of 60 meters. The bodies of the remaining four individuals were recovered in an operation carried out at an international level by the Divers Alert Network (DAN) in collaboration with the Maldivian military and police.

The MNDF previously stated that during the operation conducted for four days, their bodies were recovered from inside a cave that is approximately 200 feet deep.

Staff Sergeant Mohamed Mahdhee, one of the most experienced divers of the MNDF Coast Guard, also passed away while involved in the operation to find the people.

The maximum depth permitted for diving in the Maldives is 30 meters.