Omanta Scuba Diving Academy (OSDA), a brand of Discovery Investments and Diving LLC, is Oman’s 1st Scuba Diving Academy and newest PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Dive Center located in the lush green lawns of the InterContinental Hotel, Muscat with 270 rooms facing the pristine coastline and unpolluted beaches of the Arabian Sea. Our Dive Center has a large retail outlet for dive equipment, a compressor room, rental equipment booking office, management office and a multi media classroom for up to 12 students plus a smaller classroom for extra capacity if we overflow. A Gift Shop, an Omani Majlis for relaxation, seating facilities on the manicured lawn with a petanque pitch and table tennis table for fun. All our confined water sessions are done in one of the two pools in the grounds of the hotel.

With its focus on education, OSDA strives promote the highest level of recreational, technical and professional dive training currently available in Oman. OSDA is dedicated to provide services and a facility that is committed to serving divers, whether they are professional, advanced or novice. It is our purposes to manage a facility that will help divers of all levels develop their skills and be the only “One Stop Shop” for all your diving needs. The programs candidates will enjoy training in a safe professional and comfortable environment with some of the highest trained dive professionals in Oman.

The vision of Omanta Scuba Diving Academy was started by Stanley Berlin who brought together a group of like minded individuals to partner in this joint venture and Mohamed Al Riyami B.A.(Hons).Pol.Sc, the Consultant who over a decade served his country as a senior staff member of Ministry of Information, with the principal duty of introducing Oman to visiting journalists, writers, artists, radio and television teams from around the globe and a pioneer in sea tourism in Oman. Engineer Said Al Riyamy (B. Eng), a retired Senior Officer, Ministry of Defence, is the Chairman and the Omani Local Partner in this venture. With the rest of the board of investors comprising of Indian national Mr. Divya Kumar (B.B.A), British national Mr. Ian Knowles (Marine.Eng), Indian National Mr. Arun Vasu (B.B.A) and Canadian national Mr. Stanley Berlin (B.B.A) carries with it a wealth of knowledge and broad international vision.

The Team:

Stanley R Berlin (Canadian), a PADI Staff Instructor and Tec Instructor, who first started diving in 1988 in Indonesia. After a 25 year professional career in the real-estate development field, Stanley decided to make a life change and move into the hospitality business. Starting out in diving with opening 2 Dive Centers in India, one being the first in-land Dive Center and the other being the first Instructor Development Center, Stanley quickly identified the requirements for a “One Stop Shop” in Oman. Stanley Berlin has over 23 years diving experience ranging from Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Thailand, Egypt, India and Oman. As a partner and Managing Director of Omanta Scuba Diving Academy, his vision is to see the diving industry in Oman grow and explore and open up new areas.

Jeremy Z Blake (British), Operations Manager, has been diving since 2000 and an instructor since 2004. He is from the UK and first started teaching for Divestyle in his home town Reading, Berkshire. Jez then moved to Andaman Islands India were he became the Diveshop manager/Instructor for a company called Barefoot scuba, and worked there for four years before making the move to Andaman Bubble dive centre on the same island in which he also set up and also managed. Jez became a MI (Master instructor) in 2010 and a Tec Instructor in 2012 and has been involved with Omanta Scuba from the beginning but started working full time March 2012.

Faizal Thani Al Jahdhami (Omani) who started with Omanta Scuba Diving Academy as a Public Relations Officer and Divemaster has since completed his Emergency First Responder Instructor Course as well as his PADI Open Water Assistant Instructor Course and is now moving up the ladder in the diving world. With 4 years of diving experience, superb relations with the ministries and government organizations, and extensive knowledge of the local dive sites, Faizal is a valuable asset to the organization. From teaching students, to guiding fun-divers, getting permits and interacting with government agencies, Faizal can do it all.

Mahmood Al-Bahrani (Omani) joined in 2012 as a PADI DiveMaster to do his IDC (Instructor Development Course) and is now teaching with Omanta Scuba full Time. Mahmood has been diving since 2007 and has many years of experience diving the local sites.

Zakariya Al-Hasani (Omani) joined Omanta Scuba Diving Academy as our boat captain. Zak is a PADI Rescue diver with Emergency First Responded training which is a great asset to his resume. With his hard work and dedication, Zak has become a valuable part of the company.

Munier Bin Abdullah Al Jabri (Omani) joined Omanta Scuba Diving Academy as our Operations Assistant. Munier helps out with the day to day coordination and organization for getting our customers out diving each day. He is also a very capable boat captain and enjoys diving as well. Munier will be part of the full time dive team soon as he aspires to complete his Dive Master Course.

Yousuf (Omani) joined Omanta Scuba as an operations assistant helping out with the day to day logistics of running a dive shop. During his time with the company, Yousuf has also been trained up as a very competent boat captain. With his hard work and dedication, Yousuf has become a valuable part of the company.

We are currently set up at the Boat House in the lawns of the InterContinental Hotel. Our address is Al Kharjiya Street, Al Shati Area, Muscat