Green Flash Dive doesn’t compromise safety

One of the biggest attractions of the CNMI to the world is its beautiful dive spots that boasts of healthy marine life, clear visibility, and several dive sites that serve as a time capsule where divers can get a glimpse history specifically ships and plane wrecks from World War II.

Green Flash Dive Inc. owners Joe William “Joey” and Rhea McDoulett know this and believe that diving is a big reason why tourists come to Saipan.

“Although not all the tourists that come here do scuba diving, I am sure one pull on tourists are the underwater pictures that they see of Saipan and the most spectacular ones comes from divers… Green Flash Dive Inc. provides and focuses on services that our local dive and scuba shops need to ensure the safety of the divers,” said Joey who is also a scuba instructor and diving equipment technician

“If we have a diving accident here, it will definitely impact the interest worldwide of coming to Saipan because it is one of the things that you weigh when choosing a dive destination and there are many dive destinations around the CNMI. Some of them are close and inexpensive like the Philippines, so we have to put this industry on a higher level of quality and safety,” Joey added.

Green Flash Dive opened business in 2017 and Rhea saw the islands’ need for the kind of services they offer. “I have been in the dive shop business for 19 years and I realized that there are more dive-guiding businesses than there were people or shops providing services to those companies. We decided it would be smart to provide services as opposed to focusing on guiding,” she said.

“We offer ‘hydrotastic test’ which is mandated by the U.S. Department of Transport and important for scuba diving because it is a way where air tanks can be tested for strength and refill. We also offer rental, air refill, and repair of tanks and equipment. Soon we will have exclusive dealership of the trusted brand ScubaPro on Saipan. We took trainings to acquire accreditations to offer these and it is a continuing education,” she added.

The McDouletts underwent training to acquire accreditation so they can offer the services they have and it is a continuing education. “There is a lot of equipment involved and currently, we have over 200 tanks, two compressors, a generator, and the hydro-testing machines. We keep continuing education maintain skills and get updated,” Rhea said.

Aside from promoting safety in diving, Green Flash Dive also encourages young locals to know about diving through their on-the-job-trainings and opened their pool for children who want to learn how to swim since the Marpi swimming pool closed down.

“We have had some students work for us in cooperation with Sea & Sky Dive Center by giving them chance to advance inside the dive industry and hopefully get in to professional levels,” Joey said.

We have an activity coming up called “Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest that is going to be held on Oct. 26 at Lau Lau Beach open to all certified divers and will soon open a local dive club called ‘Green Flash Mob’… we want to build local interest and give back to the community because we feel that it’s important for Saipan’s environment that our local partners are invested completely as the people here is what keeps us in business and it is what keeps this island beautiful,” Joey added.

Green Flash Dive Inc is located in Chinatown and is open from Monday to Sunday from 7am to 7pm. For more information, call (670) 287-3243 or look them up on FaceBook and Instragram “Green Flash Dive Services” website: greenflashdive.com.