Barracuda City – Havelock Island Dive Site

28m Max

15-35m Vis

boat

Site Overview

Barracuda City is Havelock Island most exciting advanced dive site featuring dramatic submerged pinnacles that rise from deep sand to within 8 meters of the surface creating underwater seamounts that attract massive schools of chevron barracuda and impressive pelagic predators in the clear Andaman Sea waters. The pinnacles serve as fish aggregation points in the open water drawing enormous schools of barracuda numbering in the hundreds alongside dogtooth tuna, giant trevally, and grey reef sharks that patrol the deeper sections. Giant groupers the size of small cars emerge from the pinnacle bases to investigate the bubbles of passing divers while the pinnacle tops support dense coral gardens with anthias, butterflyfish, and surgeonfish in spectacular numbers. The site reputation among experienced divers is legendary with the schooling barracuda formations creating one of the most photographed underwater scenes in the entire Indian Ocean region. The combination of dramatic topography, reliable pelagic encounters, and the adrenaline of diving in moderate to strong currents makes Barracuda City the crown jewel of Havelock Island diving and a bucket-list destination for advanced divers seeking big animal encounters in the Andaman Islands and the broader Indian Ocean diving circuit. The dramatic underwater scenery and reliable encounters with large marine species make every dive here an unforgettable adventure for experienced divers.

Dive Briefing

"A typical dive at Barracuda City begins with a negative entry from the dive boat at the shallowest pinnacle top at approximately 8 meters allowing divers to orient themselves and assess the current before descending to explore the deeper formations. Once established on the main pinnacle divers should swim along the perimeter at 15 to 25 meters depth where the schooling barracuda and pelagic species are most commonly encountered while maintaining excellent buoyancy control and situational awareness of the current direction and strength. Deploy your reef hook on the up-current side of the pinnacle to maintain position and observe the pelagic action in the blue water without exhausting your air supply. The most productive depth zone is between 18 and 25 meters where giant trevally, dogtooth tuna, and grey reef sharks patrol the pinnacle edges while massive barracuda schools form impressive formations above. Monitor depth and NDL carefully particularly below 20 meters on the deeper pinnacle bases and always maintain conservative ascent rates given the distance to the Port Blair hyperbaric chamber. The current can change direction around the pinnacles so maintain communication with your buddy and be prepared to deploy your DSMB at any point during the dive. Conclude the dive on the shallowest pinnacle top enjoying the abundant coral gardens before completing a safety stop at 5 meters."