White sandy beach and at a stone throw away from neighboring Singapore, Bintan offers marine marvel. Bintan's 8 meter deep underwater ravine at its northern side is always ready to greet divers. For beginners, the ravine is the best place to start exploring Riau Island's largest island.
Bintan, one of the group of 3.000 islands and islets, stretches from Malacca Strait to the South China Sea. It has been a part of a busy shipping route for centuries. A number of dive sites here are ship wrecks. One of the wrecks is of an old tanker.
The Capital of the Riau Island's province, Tanjung Pinang is located southwest of Bintan island's that make up the province are scattered toward the Malay Peninsula, marking the entry to the Malacca Strait. The island's were a transit place for Arabian, Indian and Chinese traders ages ago.
In the 18th century, Bintan was the object of a flight between the Dutch, the British and the Portuguese. Bintan had been part of the Johor- Riau Sultanate. After a series of changes in the rulers over the island, the British and the Dutch finally signed the Treaty of London in 1884, which gave the British an authority over Singapore and areas north of it, while the Dutch areas to the south.
Many pirate stories were told to take stage in Bintan waters during the Dutch colonial era. Many ship had sunk after hitting the reefs or being attacked by pirates.
Although Bintan has a number of diving resorts, many of the dive sites have not been carefully documented. Most of Bintan underwater terrain consists of fringing and barrier reefs and their inhabitants. A number of sites have been regularly prmoted by the resorts.
Dive Sites :
One of the sites is Hassan Rock, a new diving spot that offers a different experience. The spot has a very good distance sight and very shallow waters. Hasan Rock hosts colorful fish that you can find among the beautifully formed coral reefs.
Another site is Payung Island, part of the Pulau Sembilan (nine island) cluster. The other eight islands are Buluh, Agas, Nipas, Lalang, Rumbia, Black rock, White rock and Saga. They are reportedly uninhabited, offering relaxed and peaceful divers. These islands also offer snorkeling, boating and night dive adventures. They boast a wonderful variety os sea inhabitants and coral reefs.
Bintan's seabed hosts remnants of the past. It has wrecks of ship and airplanes from the World War II era, which are now resting in peace. Among the popular wrecks are those of two trading ships and a Japanese bomber plane. Wrecks are often found in shallow waters.
Dispite the rather limited visibility and underwater topography, Bintan offers nice underwater panorama. The distance sight is between 3 and 7 meters. The sea is calm from April to October, the best times for diving and snorkeling. The marine life is most abundant during those months.
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