Saving Racha Yai: Inside Thailand's 3D-Printed Coral Reef Project
← Blog

Saving Racha Yai: Inside Thailand's 3D-Printed Coral Reef Project

6 เมษายน 2569

Discover how 3D-printed artificial reefs are reviving marine life and transforming Racha Yai into a thriving center for conservation and scuba diving.

Thailand's marine conservation efforts are making waves at Racha Yai Island in Phuket, where an innovative 3D-printed coral reef project is breathing new life into the underwater ecosystem.

Spearheaded by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), Chulalongkorn University, and SCG, this initiative uses eco-friendly concrete to create lifelike artificial reefs. These structures provide immediate shelter for marine life and feature calcium phosphate coatings that encourage natural coral growth. For scuba divers, Racha Yai has long been a favorite destination. The addition of these 3D-printed islands not only restores biodiversity but also creates exciting new dive sites.

← กลับไปหน้า Blog

Gallery

Saving Racha Yai: Inside Thailand's 3D-Printed Coral Reef Project — image 1Saving Racha Yai: Inside Thailand's 3D-Printed Coral Reef Project — image 2Saving Racha Yai: Inside Thailand's 3D-Printed Coral Reef Project — image 3Saving Racha Yai: Inside Thailand's 3D-Printed Coral Reef Project — image 4

บทความแนะนำ

BCD Basics: Choosing, Fitting, and Using Your Buoyancy Device

BCD Basics: Choosing, Fitting, and Using Your Buoyancy Device

Everything divers need to know about BCDs — from jacket vs back-inflate vs wing, to getting the right fit, underwater technique, and long-term care.

Your First Dive in Phuket: What No One Tells You

Your First Dive in Phuket: What No One Tells You

Never dived before? Here's the honest lowdown on Discover Scuba in Phuket — what day 1 really looks like, what to skip, and how to pick a shop that won't scare you.

Richelieu Rock Diving Guide: Best Site in Thailand 2025

Richelieu Rock Diving Guide: Best Site in Thailand 2025

Discover Richelieu Rock, Thailand's crown jewel of scuba diving. Whale sharks, manta rays, seahorses and world-class biodiversity await in the Andaman Sea.

25 Metres, Zero Bar, 4 Seconds to Decide

25 Metres, Zero Bar, 4 Seconds to Decide

Insufficient gas triggers 41% of dive fatalities. Four risk factors at depth decide which emergency ascent gives the best chance of surfacing safely.

Diving Thailand Month by Month: The Two-Coast Strategy That Beats the Monsoon

Diving Thailand Month by Month: The Two-Coast Strategy That Beats the Monsoon

Thailand has two dive seasons on opposite coasts. Here's the month-by-month guide to picking the right side so monsoon never ruins your trip.

PADI Open Water Course: What It Involves Day by Day

PADI Open Water Course: What It Involves Day by Day

A day-by-day breakdown of the PADI Open Water course — theory, pool sessions, open water dives, required skills, and what to expect at each stage.

Nitrox Diving Guide: Benefits, Risks & MOD Explained

Nitrox Diving Guide: Benefits, Risks & MOD Explained

Master Enriched Air Nitrox diving — understand MOD calculations, oxygen toxicity risks, EAN32 vs EAN36, and how Nitrox extends your bottom time safely.

Koh Ngam Yai Diving Guide: Chumphon's Wild Granite Island

Koh Ngam Yai Diving Guide: Chumphon's Wild Granite Island

Koh Ngam Yai is the quiet Chumphon dive site Koh Tao crowds never reach. Anemone fields, whale shark odds, and small boats — here's how to dive it.

Pattaya's Sunken Warships: How Navy Wrecks Became Thriving Coral Reefs

Pattaya's Sunken Warships: How Navy Wrecks Became Thriving Coral Reefs

Decommissioned Royal Thai Navy ships off Pattaya are now covered in coral and teeming with marine life. Here's what you'll find 18–30 meters below the surface.

A Heart-Shaped Reef and a Royal Inscription at Koh Lang Ka Jiw

A Heart-Shaped Reef and a Royal Inscription at Koh Lang Ka Jiw

Koh Lang Ka Jiw hides a heart-shaped reef, a Rama V inscription, and hundreds of thousands of swiftlets inside Mu Koh Chumphon National Park.

Why Elephant Head's Granite Tunnels Demand a Second Dive

Why Elephant Head's Granite Tunnels Demand a Second Dive

Elephant Head Rock hides a 40-metre granite labyrinth of swim-throughs between Similan Islands 7 and 8 — and one dive is never enough to see it all.

What Happens When You Move Both Tanks Off Your Spine

What Happens When You Move Both Tanks Off Your Spine

Sidemount configuration shifts 16 kg off your lumbar spine and onto your hips — here's how the mechanics work and five drills to build the muscle memory.

How Scuba Diving Rewires Your Brain (And Why You Can't Stop)

How Scuba Diving Rewires Your Brain (And Why You Can't Stop)

Discover the science behind why scuba diving reduces anxiety, builds unshakable confidence, and creates a community you never want to leave.

Hin Yai: The Gulf Pinnacle Where Sharks Patrol at 14 Metres

Hin Yai: The Gulf Pinnacle Where Sharks Patrol at 14 Metres

A submerged granite pinnacle off Samae San, Hin Yai rises from 32 metres to a coral-covered plateau at 14 m — drawing blacktip sharks, nudibranchs, and rare clownfish to one of the Gulf of Thailand's best offshore dives.

Where Mantas Queue at Koh Bon's 24-Metre Ridge

Where Mantas Queue at Koh Bon's 24-Metre Ridge

Koh Bon's submerged pinnacle hosts a manta cleaning station where reef wrasses service roughly 20 photo-identified rays each season -- here is how the site works and when to dive it.

Aow Leuk Koh Tao Diving Guide: The Island's Best Beginner Bay

Aow Leuk Koh Tao Diving Guide: The Island's Best Beginner Bay

Aow Leuk on Koh Tao's southeast coast offers shallow reefs, juvenile blacktip sharks, and easy shore diving — the perfect beginner bay on the island.

90 Seconds to Act When Your Regulator Free-Flows at Depth

90 Seconds to Act When Your Regulator Free-Flows at Depth

A free-flowing regulator can drain your tank in under two minutes at 30 metres. Three practised steps turn that noise into a controlled ascent.

Boonsung at 18 Metres: The Reef a Tsunami Built

Boonsung at 18 Metres: The Reef a Tsunami Built

A tin dredger sunk in 1984, split into five pieces by the 2004 tsunami, now hosts one of Khao Lak's densest reefs. Here is what grew back.

Triangle Pinnacle Diving Guide: The Gulf's Quietest Granite Site

Triangle Pinnacle Diving Guide: The Gulf's Quietest Granite Site

Hin Sam Liam is the Gulf of Thailand pinnacle that does not show up on the standard Koh Tao board. Big groupers, anemone gardens, and almost no crowds.

The Alien Jaws Hiding in Every Crevice at Richelieu Rock

The Alien Jaws Hiding in Every Crevice at Richelieu Rock

Giant morays carry a second set of jaws in their throat — the only vertebrate alive with this mechanism. Richelieu Rock hosts five species in one reef.

ทริปแนะนำ

Vela Liveaboard
liveaboard

Vela Liveaboard

MV Vela / Vala — massive 43 m steel-hull liveaboard with only 20 guests max for ultimate space and privacy. King and twin AC en-suite cabins, large dive deck, indoor saloon and rooftop sun deck. Highest international safety standards.

Hug Ocean Boat
daytrip

Hug Ocean Boat

Discover Phuket's Andaman Sea aboard Hug Ocean — a luxury 3-deck dive yacht for 80 guests with a thrilling water slide, sun-soaked top deck, and PADI-certified diving at Racha Yai and Racha Noi.

Aquarian Liveaboard
liveaboard

Aquarian Liveaboard

MV Aquarian — striking 2021-built red steel liveaboard, 31.4 m × 7.5 m, max 28 guests in 14 cabins. Free unlimited Nitrox via Coltri Sub membranes, one of Thailand's largest dive platforms, and full premium-hotel comfort.

Issara Liveaboard
liveaboard

Issara Liveaboard

MV Issara — high-end Thai steel-hulled liveaboard built 2016–17, 28.5 m × 6.5 m, 4 decks, max 22 guests in 11 hotel-style cabins. Indoor saloon, jacuzzi sun deck, full-board buffet dining.