Boonsong Wreck Dive

Also spelled: Boonsung, Boonsoong

The tin dredger Boonsong lies just a few miles off the coast of Khao Lak, near the Tap-Lamu harbor. The wreck is about 20 years old, but was significantly altered by the 2005 tsunami. The wreck can be done as a day trip from the Khao Lak area. Personally, this is one of my favorite dive sites. I can spend an entire dive just going back and forth over one section, discovering new things on each pass.

The Boonsong lies on a flat sandy bottom 18 to 20 meters below the surface. Although the dredger was originally intact, the tsunami broke it into around half a dozen pieces, although each of the pieces is still very large. When I first dived the wreck at night, the encrusted twisted metal seemed more like the bones of some long dead dinosaur than a ship. Everything is covered in barnacles and sponges, with just a few corals here and there. There are also a lot of scorpionfish, so watch where you put your hands if you need to steady yourself. Look carefully and you might find some nudibranchs.

The site is home to a large variety of marine life, from tiny shrimp to the occasional whale shark. Among the most interesting residents are honeycomb moray eels. There seems to be dozens of them making their home on the wreck. In the daytime you will find small juveniles poking their heads out of their hidey holes, while the large adults are generally only found at night.

At night, the wreck seems to be covered in shrimp. Hold your light close to your own eyes, and you you'll see dozens, if not hundreds, of little eyes shining back at you. You'll also find cuttlefish out and about at night.