Course overview

Build the skills to prevent and handle diving emergencies with the SSI Diver Stress & Rescue course at Sipadan, practising on the calm reefs off Mabul before tackling the region's busier walls and currents. You learn to spot and defuse problems early, manage diver stress and carry out in-water rescues, gaining the composure that makes diving Sipadan and Kapalai safer. It is a key step on the path to SSI dive-leadership training.

What you’ll learn

• Identify and prevent stress-related dive problems
• Apply self-rescue techniques and manage your own stress
• Assist and rescue tired, panicked and unresponsive divers
• Tow and surface a diver and give in-water rescue breaths
• Conduct a missing-diver search and surface management
• Coordinate an emergency response with oxygen and first aid

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 12 (Junior) or 15 for Diver Stress & Rescue
• SSI Advanced Adventurer or equivalent, with the Navigation specialty
• Current first aid and CPR (React Right) provider rating, or take it with the course
• Diver 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
   Theory and first aid

   Diver Stress & Rescue academics plus React Right first aid and CPR if required.
2. Day2
   Rescue skills

   Work through the rescue exercises in the calm Mabul house reef, from tows to surfacing an unresponsive diver.
3. Day3
   Scenarios and certification

   Run the emergency scenarios at a nearby reef and complete the assessment for 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 Sipadan.

Frequently asked questions