JEDDAH, 6 August 2007 — Two submersed diver-training platforms at a popular beach north of Jeddah have been destroyed in an apparent act of vandalism that is believed to have been committed by a team of divers.
Divers using underwater pipe-cutters reduced the 10-year-old scaffolding structures off Palm Beach (formerly Al-Nakheel Beach, north of Jeddah) to little more than piles of scrap metal.
The discovery came shortly after the wooden pier leading out to the platforms was found to have two six-meter sections smashed out of it. The submersed platforms, which were used as both training areas and for safety stops during decompression dives, were paid for by local sponsors and constructed by teams of local volunteers. Since the construction of these platforms, thousands of divers have learned their basic safety drills at this well-known privately-run resort.
“It’s ironic to think that at least some of the people who destroyed this invaluable safety training area probably qualified (earned their diving certification) on it,” said Dave Bedenham, a British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) Advanced Instructor, and a frequent visitor to the facility since 1992. “Not only was the act illegal, but the damage in public relations terms that an act of vandalism like this does to the growing dive-tourism industry is huge. The message it sends to would-be visitors — local and international — is extremely negative.”
The opinion of divers who inspected the sites, one at six meters in depth and the second at nine meters, is that this was an intentional act of sabotage. The ownership of the beach resort recently changed hands, and it had been closed down temporarily for renovations.
“There must have been a team of experienced divers with special cutting equipment,” said Bedenham who was consulted on the extent of the damage. “This is a result of a planned and focused exercise.”
The divers interviewed estimate that, based on the number of pipes cut, the operation took a cumulative of 10 man-hours, underwater — the more divers used the less time it would have taken — and the team believes that this would have been a job for about four divers.
The destruction of two sections of the wooden pier suggests that the damage to both locations was done after-hours when only invitees are allowed into the beach compound.
Al-Nakheel Beach, as it is still commonly called, has long been popular with the diving community; it has a rigidly enforced marine-conservation policy and one of the best (if not the best) pristine wall-reef environments of Jeddah’s urban-area coastline.
All spear fishing, which with scuba equipment is illegal in Saudi Arabia, is banned on the reef, as is the collection of any marine life or net fishing. The previous owners took great care in monitoring activities on the reef to keep out any harvesting or collecting activities, a common practice elsewhere along Jeddah’s Red Sea coastline.
According to divers familiar with the facility, the crime occurred during a period of several days when the property was transferred to a new owner, Jamal Saga. During that time the beach was relatively unattended.
“The suggestion — which was put forward in all seriousness by a person we suspect was involved — that the damage was done by ‘pirates’ who came in from the sea is laughable,” said Saga.
Pointing out that pirates commit crimes of theft for profit, Saga said the steelwork was dumped on the reef rather than looted and sold as scrap metal.
“Pirates would have at least taken the metal and sold it for a few riyals. This is an act of vandalism and an insult to the efforts the Kingdom is making to promote dive-tourism and to encourage safe and environmentally aware training. I have to ask the question — who were they trying to hurt and why?”
Response to the news of the damage by divers in and out of the Kingdom has been rapid. Offers of help to rebuild the platforms — for many years the only ones on the Red Sea Coast — have been received from divers inside and outside the Kingdom.
“The damage will be repaired, we are determined on that,” said Saga.
Al-Nakheel (now Palm Beach) has gained a reputation for dive excellence over many years. Visited by dive groups, trainers and students from all over Saudi Arabia because of its rigid adherence by the diving staff toward safe diving practices, the resort has never been short of well-qualified volunteers.
The improvement of diving resources and the management of the reef and local ecosystem began over 20 years ago with the arrival of BSAC instructors determined to maintain as far as possible the pristine reef and develop training.
The dive platforms themselves, which were constructed in 1997, became mini manmade reefs with a whole community of fish — some of them rare and unusual species — and other reef-crawlers taking up residence underneath them. Lessons taking place on the platforms have been temporarily suspended as divers stopped to marvel at the occasional passing whale shark, manta ray, or sea turtle.
“Whoever did this for whatever purpose has damaged much more than just a bundle of pipe-work,” said Saga. “They have damaged a developing specialist tourist industry and sent out a message that they care nothing for the environment or safety of divers. It is incredible that the wreckers must have been divers; one has to question their sanity. Why on earth would they want to destroy something as valuable to the community as this?”
