New Ireland Province dive sites

Fly from Port Moresby to Kavieng on Air Niugini, with daily flights taking approximately one and a half hours. Kavieng is a small town with basic but adequate tourist infrastructure. Several established dive operators offer multi-day packages including accommodation, diving, and airport transfers. Liveaboard boats also visit the Kavieng area as part of broader New Ireland itineraries. The town is safe and welcoming, with a strong tradition of marine conservation supported by local communities.

While Kavieng's other sites like Suzie's Bommie offer reef diving and macro life, Albatross Passage is a high-current channel dive focused entirely on pelagic encounters. The narrow passage concentrates tidal flow, which in turn concentrates the sharks and large fish that feed in the current. The dive requires specific current timing and is only offered when conditions are suitable. It represents the big-animal alternative to Kavieng's calmer reef sites and is the site that visiting advanced divers specifically request.

Advanced Open Water certification is the minimum, with documented current diving experience strongly recommended. Most operators require at least 50 logged dives and experience with drift and channel diving. The current in the passage can be very strong, requiring hook use and confident buoyancy management. The depth combined with current makes this unsuitable for developing divers. Operators brief thoroughly on entry timing, hook deployment, and emergency procedures before every dive.