Situated only a few hundred meters of the southern end of Khao Nai Yak, near Tublamu Harbour – the Premchai wreck is a great choice for a half day trip or as an alternative to the sloping reefs and submerged pinnacles of the Similan islands. This old tin dredger sank only 9 years ago and is now a well established nursery for a large variety of marine life. And it seems like every year it attracts more and more fish. Still in one solid piece, you can see the crack along the hull that sank her. Due the massive amount of nets and cables, penetration is not allowed. The wreck lies at an average depth of between 16-20 meters, with the top of the wreck extending to around 15 meters. Because of it’s depth it is ideal to dive on Nitrox. Not a lot of people dive this place so you are almost guaranteed to be the only group on the divesite.
We pick you up in the morning and bring you to the wreck in a comfortable big longtail boat. The total amount of guests is limited and group size is kept to a maximum of four divers per diveguide. We use a line for the descend and spend a nice long dive to explore as much possible of the wreck. Currents vary depending on the tides, but most of the time it is mild. Because of it’s close distance to the shore, visibility tends to be affected by the weather and ranges from between 5-15 meters (18-40 ft). After the first dive we have delicious Thai lunch on the boat and then move to the Boonsung Wreck for the second dive. You will be back in Khao Lak around 14:00 to 15:00 so you have a nice long afternoon left.
Premchai Wreck Marine Life
Premchai is very close to Koh Nai Yak and it acts as a hiding place for lots of juvenile fish. It is surrounded by schools of fusiliers, juvenile barracuda and there are lionfish everywhere. Scorpionfish hide on the wrecks surface and you can find several species of boxfish, angelfish, pipefish and nudibranch. We often see a resident turtle that likes to hang out at the area close to the buoyline. You can find cephalopods like squid and cuttlefish and look in the sand for flounders and gobies. Ghost pipefish have also been spotted around the wreck.
