Travel Yourself: Sipadan Island, Malaysia

Sipadan Island is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 2,000 feet or 600m from the seabed. It is located east of Tawau (Borneo), in the Celebes Sea. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem.

Rare diving scenes such as schools of greenback turtles and hawksbill turtles nesting and mating, schools of barracuda & big-eye trevally in tornado-like formations, pelagic species such as manta rays, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks can be seen here.
A mysterious turtle tomb lies underneath the column of the island, formed by an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles.

In the past, the island was at the centre of a territorial dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia. The matter was brought for adjudication to the International Court of Justice and, at the end of 2002, the Court awarded the island along with the island of Ligitan to Malaysia, on the basis of the "effective occupation" displayed by the latter's precedessor (Malaysia's former colonial power, Great Britain) and the absence of any other superior title. The Philippines had applied to intervene in the proceedings on the basis of its claim to Northern Borneo, but its request was turned down by the Court early in 2001.

In year 2004, the Government of Malaysia ordered all on-site dive & resort operators of Sipadan to move their structures out of the island by the 31st of December 2004. This move is mainly to conserve a balanced eco-system for Sipadan and its surrounding. Diving will continue to be allowed in Sipadan for divers who are ferried in and out by dive & resort operators from the mainland and surrounding islands.

On May 15, 2006, a barge carrying thousands of tonnes of building material breached on the island, destroying a portion of reef between the old pier and Barracuda Point, said to be about 372sq metres. Thankfully the damage is limited to a small area and is difficult to spot underwater. The purpose of the building supplies (mainly concrete and gravel) was apparently for a USD1.3 million tourist facility including resthouse, toilets and scuba shop, said the State Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat but denied by the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. Later, it was reported that it was a Federal Government funded project.

Ever since diving celebrity Jacques Cousteau raved about the diversity of marine life, this dive mecca has been indisputably the most famous scuba destination in Malaysia. It is located off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia's eastern most state, and lies on the north-eastern corner of Borneo, the world's third largest island.

The Sipadan diving legend has passed through the world's dive community to the extent that all divers with an interest in visiting the best sites in the world, have this small island near the top of their wish list.

Sipadan Island was at the top of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine Gold List for (The Top Dive Destination in the World) In fact the island shared its top spot with two other destinations known for the amazing diversity of their marine life - the Galapagos Islands.

he list of attractions is quite staggering and all the more exceptional as it involves big fish encounters, something very rare in Asia these days - at Barracuda Point you can find yourself surrounded by a spiralling vortex of barracuda, so large that the sunlight is often clouded out. At South Point there are scores of reef sharks, large schools of passing trevally and herds of massive marauding bumphead parrotfish. When diving in Sipadan everywhere you turn you'll see turtles, munching on the sponges and algae, or lazing on the wall ledges. If you take the time to look closely at the walls you'll see a wealth of macro life and fish species to rival most destinations, although this is often overlooked due to the other major attractions vying for your attention.

Sipadan Island, Malaysia