Silvertip Bank

Silvertip Bank is one of four sandy offshore banks in international waters west of the Mergui Archipelago, located in an area first systematically explored by Phuket-based liveaboards using early GPS equipment before the Mergui Archipelago proper was opened to diving in 1997. It is typically the last of the banks visited on a liveaboard itinerary, partly because its reef reaches closer to the surface than the others.

The bank forms a broad, fairly flat plateau roughly one kilometre in diameter, with the shallowest point reaching to 15 metres and a maximum depth of 15 metres at the reef top; the surrounding water averages 250–300 metres deep. Unlike the other banks, Silvertip has two sloping drop-offs, one on each side, with good coral growth in the shallower sections. Hard corals dominate, and large ancient coral bommies of unusual shapes are scattered across the reef top alongside areas of dead coral and rubble, likely caused by southwest storms or crown-of-thorns starfish. The bottom type is sand.

The marine life suits divers looking for pelagic action rather than macro subjects: humpback whales, tuna, dogtooth tuna, bonito, rainbow runners, trevally, barracuda, and sharks are recorded at the site. The best season runs from December through March. Species diversity is lower than at inshore Mergui sites, and the banks are not considered a destination for small critters.