UK-based dive tour operator blue o two has announced their new dive guide team in the Maldives; Gabriel Hermida and Maria Tello, who will be on board blue o two’s fleet vessel in the Maldives M/Y blue Voyager from late July 2016.

Although their careers began in marketing and system engineering, Gabriel and Maria began their diving career 17 years ago when they discovered their passion for scuba diving, taking the huge leap to leave everything behind and follow their dream of beginning their dive careers.

Gabriel says, “Life is too short to have the wrong job, so we have decided to follow our passion in diving. We are very thrilled to be members of the blue o two team and are very eager to share with our colleagues and guests aboard M/Y blue Voyager the fantastic underwater adventures that the Maldives has to offer!”

Becoming PADI Instructors and opening a dive centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Maria and Gabriel gained a huge amount of experience and knowledge, diving in some incredible locations such as Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Thailand, Borneo and many many more.

After leaving their dive centre and moving to Egypt in 2006, as their real dream was to work on liveaboards, they began working in the Egyptian and Sudanese Red Sea for eight years.

Whilst working in Sudan, Maria and Gabriel were able to encourage the Sudanese Government to open new protected marine parks, as well as creating a law against shark finning, due to promoting laws against shark fishing and reef awareness.

With a huge amount of experience on liveaboards, they have taken part in more than 300 trips with more than 4000 logged dives, including 1000 decompression dives, and have worked with a variety of well-known Red Sea fleet companies.

Maria says, “Dive guiding is not our job, it is our passion. We will be waiting for everyone in the Maldives to share with them the experience of the amazing underwater world!”

With a rapidly expanding portfolio of destinations, liveaboards, itineraries and staff, blue o two are currently experiencing some very exciting developments. The recent move of M/Y blue Voyager to the Maldives brings with it a fantastic opportunity for customers to enjoy the blue o two experience in one of the most beautiful and action-packed diving locations there is. Also, the launch of the new itinerary ‘TrukTec with Ahmed Fadel’ offers the perfect opportunity for divers to progress their training and share knowledge with fellow divers, while enjoying some of the best diving that Micronesia has to offer.

For more information about blue o two and their scuba diving holidays, visit www.blueotwo.com. Alternatively, speak to the blue o two team by emailing divingholidays@blueotwo.com or by calling +44 (0)1752 480808.