Master Divers celebrates four decades of marine experience

Cake cutting of 40 years celebration

• Sri Lankan company among the largest marine, offshore, underwater services and ship salvage companies in the world

Master Divers Ltd, the renowned marine services company which is also the organisation behind W.A. Tucker, celebrated four decades of marine experiences and pioneering speciality in underwater projects, under the theme ‘Greater Together’. 

The event was attended by an esteemed gathering of Master Divers’s value chain, including maritime stakeholders, services stakeholders, business partners, staff and other dignitaries. 

Master Divers engages in offshore and harbour-based marine and maritime construction activities in Thailand, the Maldives, India, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. 

It owns its own fleet of vessels and equipment and is the only marine organisation in Asia to do so. It also owns the largest savage tug in the region and the largest hull cleaning machine in the world.  “As the oldest and most prestigious underwater services and salvage company, our mission is to deliver a full range of industry standards compliance nautical maintenance and value-added services to Sri Lanka. We have been focusing on saving the Sri Lankan shipping industry and our next step is to service demand in the remaining parts of South Asia, which we have been serving since 1978. Our success story is due to the high standards of service that we offer our clients. Our wealth is our staff, who are talented, well-trained and dedicated to a common goal, which is evident in our delivery. 

“While celebrating 40 years in the industry, we promise to keep on increasing the benchmark we have set in the shipping industry. Master Divers Ltd. takes this opportunity to extend our heartfelt gratitude towards all business partners, maritime stakeholders, financial institutions and staff who have been invaluable contributors in our four-decade journey,” stated Master Divers and W.A. Tucker Founder and Chairman Ariyaseela Wickramanayake.

“I hope we will achieve our vision of becoming South Asia’s foremost diving and marine service provider. Hence, each year we keep on raising the bar higher for optimal work efficiency. This has been the key ingredient in our results. Hopefully, with that, we may be able to extend our horizons and reach beyond the shores of South Asia, with innovative technology and enhanced services in the coming years. As such, Master Divers plans to venture into new businesses such as logistics, bonded warehousing in Trincomalee, Hambantota and Colombo along with many other new services within the next five years to provide more turnkey and value-added services to our customers,” added Wickramanayake.

Master Divers is engaged in towage, salvage, marine engineering, civil engineering, shipbuilding or any other connected services. As such, Master Divers is mostly responsible for making Sri Lanka independent in comprehensive marine services.

Master Divers was established in 1978 and has been a part of many of Sri Lanka’s historical moments, with professional divers from Master Divers carrying out an emergency dive at the Victoria Dam when it was completely flooded, with its outlets jammed, and helping preserve the Victoria Dam for future generations. Master Divers also transported the 390 megawatt Muthurajawela power plant as well as the Puttalam power plants from the Colombo harbour to their present locations.

The company is the proud owner of two self-elevating maritime platforms, which are capable of working in the open sea in exposed areas. These are utilised for deepening the port canals and creating yacht marinas and deep water ports in rocky coastal areas. The Master Divers shipyard, located in the Port Colombo, has also developed major capabilities in dry docking (medium to small crafts), ship repair and the conservation of ships and afloat repairs. It is also equipped with 11 seagoing supply and services vessels, two large deck barges, anchor handling barges and water barges.