The 2027 Shanghai International Water Sports Expo will be held at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center from March 28 to 30. For this edition, the show has formed a major partnership with ADEX, Asia’s leading diving industry platform, to jointly launch a dedicated diving zone. The collaboration connects the full industrial chain spanning on-water, surface and underwater sectors, bringing together diving gear, liveaboard trips, underwater technology and marine conservation. Focusing on emerging industry technologies, new market trends and safety regulation practices, it creates a professional platform for domestic and international diving practitioners to facilitate business matching, technical exchanges and trend discussions.
Based on the scope of this partnership, we have compiled recent public industry highlights from home and abroad as follows:
Dive Travel: Themed Experiential Diving Continues to Grow
El Salvador Tourism Board has released new diving packages themed around the country’s Pacific waters and volcanoes, featuring two distinctive dive experiences: Pacific volcanic reefs and freshwater dives in the Ilopango Volcano Crater. The destination offers operational advantages including visa-free entry, US dollar circulation and direct flights. The Los Cóbanos Protected Area hosts key Pacific coral reefs in Central America. The optimal diving season runs from November to April. Tours can be combined with surfing and Mayan cultural excursions to build high-value dive travel itineraries, with strong market development targeting North American dive travellers.
Dutch startup DIVR has launched a free dive log app for iOS and Android. Divers can quickly log dive data and capture imagery of marine life. The platform validates and organises observational data in line with international biodiversity standards and connects to marine research databases such as EMODnet and OBIS, converting ordinary divers’ underwater sightings into research-ready datasets. At launch, the database covered more than 4,500 marine species and over 5,600 dive sites worldwide.
Equipment & Corporate Updates: Technical Partnerships and Award-Winning Products
Garmin and DAN (Divers Alert Network) have entered a strategic cooperation. DAN’s emergency hotline is integrated into the Garmin inReach® satellite emergency channel. Once DAN members enter their membership ID in their device account and trigger an SOS alert, Garmin’s 24/7 emergency coordination centre deploys local rescue resources while establishing a direct link to DAN diving medical specialists. This delivers professional diving medical consultation for dive incidents at offshore and remote dive sites and strengthens remote emergency response capabilities for diving accidents.
The Nex N1 Stealth regulator received a recommended rating in ScubaLab testing. The evaluation team conducted multi-dimensional assessments using a breathing simulator in the laboratory and field trials in freshwater springs in Florida. Equipped with an environmentally sealed first stage and adjustable second stage, the regulator delivers smooth breathing and outstanding dry-side protection. Its ergonomic lightweight design was well received by test divers, with only minor limitations observed under extreme high breathing-load conditions. In parallel, several new products including the Spyderco dive knife and Tusa W5 neoprene wetsuit completed industry testing, adding new options to the dive equipment market for the second half of the year.
On September 1, GoPro officially announced its merger with Starman Optical. The deal combines GoPro’s more than 2,500 optical imaging patents with Starman’s optical transceiver technology. Business will expand into AI computing hardware and aerospace & defence sectors, while the consumer action camera line will be maintained. The merged entity will explore underwater optical sensing and underwater optical communications, building technology reserves for next-generation dive imaging devices.
Diving Safety & Industry Regulation Worldwide
From September 8 to 10, the China Diving & Salvage Contractors Association hosted an advanced training course for commercial fishery diving instructors and examiners at Dalian Maritime University. A total of 26 fishery diving instructors from multiple Chinese provinces attended the programme. The training drew heavily on real accident cases to analyse high-frequency risks in fishery diving such as decompression sickness and gas supply failures, interpret existing association standards, and revise the self-regulatory framework for training and assessment. The initiative aims to tackle the widespread problem of rushed and non-compliant fishery diving training in China.
Sanya rolled out a full digital governance programme named “Safe Diving”. A mini-program portal titled “Diving Map” has been launched, publicly displaying information on 13 authorised local dive sites and over 800 certified instructors citywide. Supporting functions include user reviews, complaint submission and advance compensation channels. The scheme implements a unique QR code for each instructor and map-based visualisation of dive sites. Underwater footage will be retained for 30 days to curb unlicensed diving operations.
Marine Conservation Initiatives
As part of the “Partnership for the Pacific 2026” campaign, United States Navy divers, working with local authorities in Koror, Palau, removed and disposed of three abandoned derelict vessels (ADVs). Large volumes of hazardous materials were relocated to eliminate pollution risks from hull leakage and protect local coral reef ecosystems. The project was jointly coordinated by Palau’s National Security Coordination Office and the Environmental Protection Committee.
A wildlife protection incident involving hawksbill turtles broke out at the Piaynemo Marine Protected Area in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Circulated online footage allegedly shows suspects using spearguns to hunt the critically endangered hawksbill turtles and cook them for consumption. The implicated freediving instructor was detained by immigration authorities while attempting to leave the country. Hawksbill turtles are listed in CITES Appendix I as a critically endangered species and are classified as key protected wildlife in both China and Indonesia; hunting is strictly prohibited within protected marine areas. This incident once again reminds diving professionals globally that dive travel must uphold marine conservation principles and strictly comply with wildlife protection laws at travel destinations.
ADEX is one of Asia’s longest-running and largest trade-and-consumer diving expositions. Beyond physical exhibitions, it runs diverse programmes including themed liveaboards, marine forums, underwater film events and ocean science outreach.
In addition to the dedicated zone at the 2027 Shanghai International Water Sports Expo, ADEX continuously organises expos and ocean-themed activities across Asia, such as the annual Singapore Ocean Festival, Tokyo Dive Show in Japan (25–27 September 2026), and Sabah Ocean Summit in Malaysia. The brand also operates themed liveaboard cruises in the Maldives (18–25 October 2026). Past ocean and diving festivals have been held in Chinese cities including Shenzhen, Beijing and Chengdu. ADEX serves as a showcase and dialogue platform for diving manufacturers, tourism boards, dive clubs and marine research institutes.