News Desk
A Maldivian diver is preparing for a journey that no one in the country has attempted before. Shafraz Naeem, a veteran of the country’s diving world, is setting out to travel more than 450 kilometers underwater, a feat that would place the Maldives in the record books and recast its image as an ocean nation built on endurance, curiosity and deep cultural ties to the sea.
The expedition, called Across Maldives, is the most ambitious underwater journey ever attempted in the country. It will unfold over more than fifteen days, with Naeem completing roughly fifty‑five dives and spending more than ninety hours beneath the surface, propelled by a diver propulsion vehicle, a sleek underwater scooter designed for long‑distance travel. The project is backed by Visit Maldives and supported by Ooredoo Maldives as its technology partner.
The idea is simple but bold. The Maldives has long been known for its beaches and overwater villas, but Naeem and the organizers want the world to see something deeper. They want to show the country as a place where the ocean is not a backdrop but a living archive of culture, memory and identity. The expedition will pass through three atolls, with planned stops on selected islands where Naeem will meet local councils, community groups and young people who have grown up watching the sea rise around them.
Naeem is not new to extraordinary undertakings. In 2022, he set the Asian record for the longest scuba dive, staying submerged for fifty hours in a livestreamed event that drew national attention. Before that, he spent decades as a military diving instructor and later worked with international underwater film crews, gaining a reputation as one of the most technically skilled divers in the region.
Across Maldives is his most sweeping project yet. Organizers describe it as a hybrid of scientific expedition, cultural storytelling and environmental advocacy. Along the route, Naeem and a support team will collect ocean data to help researchers understand how climate change is reshaping the archipelago’s reefs and currents. The journey will be filmed for a documentary planned for release in 2026, part of a broader national campaign to elevate the Maldives’ global visibility through adventure‑based storytelling.
The Maldives is often portrayed as fragile, a chain of islands at the mercy of rising seas. This expedition offers a different narrative. It presents the country as a place where people have lived with the ocean for centuries, adapting to its rhythms and relying on its abundance. Naeem’s route will take him through communities where fishing traditions remain central to daily life and where the reef is both a source of food and a protective barrier.
The project also reflects a growing movement within the Maldives to reclaim the ocean as a space of national pride rather than vulnerability. Organizers say the expedition is meant to inspire Maldivians, especially young people, to see themselves as stewards of a vast and threatened ecosystem.
For the tourism industry, the timing is strategic. The Maldives is seeking to diversify its appeal beyond luxury resorts, and adventure‑based experiences are becoming a key part of that strategy. By showcasing the underwater world in such dramatic fashion, the country hopes to attract travelers who want more than a beach holiday.
As Naeem prepares to descend into the water at the northern tip of the archipelago, the stakes feel larger than a record attempt. The journey is a reminder that the Maldives is not only a postcard destination but a nation built on water, shaped by it and now fighting to preserve it.
If successful, Across Maldives will be remembered not only for the distance covered but for the story it tells about a country trying to define its future beneath the waves.
