Course overview

Learn to handle dive emergencies with confidence on the SSI Diver Stress & Rescue course in Malta and Gozo. Using the sheltered bays around Cirkewwa and Gozo, you practise recognising stress, managing panic and rescuing both yourself and others in calm, realistic conditions. The certification builds judgment that makes every future dive safer and is a stepping stone to professional training.

What you’ll learn

• Identify and defuse diver stress before it escalates
• Carry out self-rescue and assist a struggling diver
• Tow tired divers and surface an unresponsive diver
• Deliver in-water rescue breaths and manage the surface
• Plan and execute search patterns for a missing diver
• Apply emergency-management procedures and use rescue equipment

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 12 (junior) or 15 for full certification
• SSI Advanced Adventurer or equivalent, with navigation experience
• Current first-aid and CPR certification (such as SSI React Right)
• Medical clearance signed by a physician

What's included · What's not

Probability of sightings · month-by-month

What you're likely to see each month, based on historic operator logs.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   Stress & self-rescue

   Academics on stress recognition plus self-rescue skills in a sheltered Gozo or Cirkewwa bay.
2. Day2
   Rescue skills

   Practise tows, surfacing techniques and unresponsive-diver handling in calm water.
3. Day3
   Rescue scenarios

   Complete full open-water rescue scenarios and certification.

Verified through iDive

Every partner school in the iDive network is vetted on safety, instructor credentials, equipment standards and student feedback. Talk to a iDive dive pro on WhatsApp for current availability and reviews specific to Malta Gozo.

Frequently asked questions