Imagine being seated in a dining room that is gliding under the water, slow enough to let marine life catch up and pass by the windows, which also offer a view of the reefs. The Coral Safari by Heaven on Ocean Tourism, a startup by three born-and-bred Chennaiites, has made this possible, earning the Ministry of Tourism’s National Tourism Award recently.
In it together
The coral safari experience revolves around a semi-submersible, that has both above-water and underwater spaces for tourists to view the sights from.
Acquired from US-based firm Subsea Systems, that mainly manufactures it for commercial uses, the ‘semi submarine’, as they call it, is the only one used for tourism in India. Or so they claim. Ravi VN (47), Gautham Jayaram (43) and Prasanna Veeraraghavan (39) have known each other since they were children. “Andaman is a paradise,” says Gautham, simply. “People go to see the beauty of Nature, to have a dip in the ocean, to look at the corals and underwater life, to scuba-dive and to sea-walk.”
But there are many reasons that deter people from doing what they wish to, he points out, from a fear of water to health and age issues.
This is a bigger problem in Andaman than it is in other beaches around the world, because these islands are primarily a family destination. “So you want to do everything together,” says the 43-year-old, “You don’t want to leave anyone behind.” Coral Safari’s submersible solves this problem neatly, while also keeping in mind safety and environmental factors.
Prasanna (left) and Gautham, co-founders of Coral Safari
There’s a lot you can do when you’ve known your work partners for decades. “It was around three-four years ago that we decided to come together to do business. We are first-time entrepreneurs, except Ravi, who is also the only one of us from a marine background,” says Prasanna.
Ravi has been working in the Andamans for quite a few years now, in the field of offshore services (including ship management and maintenance). His knowledge of both the islands and the shipping industry was a dual advantage.
The other two are management graduates who have worked together in the corporate sector for years. So they knew just how to go about planning the whole thing, including a risk assessment study.
“Safety, comfort and fun are our priorities, in that order,” says Gautham, “We also have marine experts to explain and educate the guests.”
Nature in the details
The round tour is about an hour-and-a-half long, beginning and ending at the same point: one of two designated spaces on Port Blair. The route, though, depends on Nature: tide, weather and winds being some of the factors that determine it. “There are certain reefs that you can only approach at certain water levels. The entire area is a protected area, and only some parts are open to tourists,” explains Gautham, while Prasanna dives into the range of permits they had to get from the Tourism Ministry, the Environment Ministry and a host of other authorities.
“It was a whole new process,” he explains, “We are the first ones to have done this, you see.”
