Columbia Dive Adventure’s ship, Ferox, is an 11-meter steel hull that once lived as an ice-class Swedish Navy Ship. Now, it travels to Malpelo Island in Columbia with 12 guests. It has been repurposed into a sustainable ship with low-fuel engines and a wastewater treatment plant. Guests are transferred to the ship through Cali’s international airport (CLO). Constructed from steel, the cabins are large, private, and built with safety in mind. Each cabin has an ensuite bathroom, hot water, individual air conditioning, a smoke detector, and emergency lighting. The cabins range from queen beds with three port holes to full or single beds with one port hole. There is a lounge, sun deck, and shaded deck.
With year-round diving, experienced divers are drawn to Malpelo for the hammerheads, eagle rays, moray eels, and schools of fish. There are typically three dives daily across seven-, 10-, and 11-night trips. There are 28 dive sites ranging from wall, reef, drift, pinnacle, and swim-throughs, all with varying currents that tend to be strong. The itinerary starts in Buenaventura, where guests will be transferred to the ship. After, they will spend the rest of the week diving around Malpelo, with a dive briefing before each trip.
The dry season from January to April brings colder waters, reduced visibility, and schools of hammerhead sharks. They can be spotted close up, even in 10 meters of water. The wet season, running from May to December, brings warm waters, clear visibility, and whale sharks, Galapagos sharks, and manta rays.
Ferox recommends a five- to seven-millimeter wetsuit and a hood. They provide 12-liter tanks with INT valves as well as regulator adapters. Divers must have 50 logged dives, at least 35 at sea, and Advanced Open Water certification. Diving with Ferox includes small groups of up to six divers per guide on rigid inflatable boats (RIB). All dives take place from the RIBs, which only go a short distance from the main ship. The RIBs have dive ladders, a GPS, an automatic identification system, and a VHF radio. All dive gear stays on the RIBs, and cylinders are filled here. The liveaboard provides a personal locator beacon (McMurdo S10 PLB), clean towels, storage space, and a camera table on the dive deck. The Ferox offers nitrox for EAN-certified divers but does not support technical diving or rebreathers.
Rates include meals, snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, transfers, nitrox, a personal locator beacon, surface marker buoys, and dives. Rates do not include national park fees, alcohol, gratuities, satellite phone communication, and rental equipment.
Narrative text and photographs courtesy of Colombia Dive Adventures.