Who we are

A dive school, not a souvenir stand

We're a PADI dive center built around one belief: the ocean changes people — and everyone deserves a safe, welcoming way in.

Our story

Built around one belief

Mermaid Diving Center was founded to make world-class diving accessible across the UAE. From the calm training bays of Abu Dhabi to the reefs and wrecks off Dubai, we guide complete beginners through their first breath underwater and help certified divers go deeper, sharper, and further.

We're not a one-trip souvenir operation. We're a school and a community — a team of certified PADI professionals who dive these waters every week and want you diving them with us for years, not once.

Whether you're here on holiday, living in the Emirates, or chasing a professional dive career, there's a place for you in the water with us.

PADI Five Star Dive Resort (Member #30699)
Certified professional instructors
Modern, regularly inspected equipment
Qatar & UAE dive operations

A Mermaid Diving Center instructor guiding a diver in the Arabian Gulf

PADI

Five Star Dive Resort

By the numbers

A track record under the surface

PADI: 5-Star Certified Center
0k+: Dives Guided
0+: Dive Sites Mapped
0.0: Average Diver Rating

Why dive with us

The difference is under the surface

Anyone can rent you a tank. We give you a team that takes your safety, your progress, and your stoke personally.

PADI Five Star Dive Resort

Internationally recognized training held to PADI's leading dive-education standards — every course, every time.

Close-up of a coral reef in the Arabian Gulf

In these waters, weekly.

Safety as a habit

Small groups, serviced gear, and rescue-trained guides on every dive. We don't cut corners under the surface.

Two-emirate access

Dive sites and pick-ups across both Dubai and Abu Dhabi — train near home, explore on the weekend.

Small groups, real attention

We cap group sizes so instructors stay with you in the water. You learn faster and dive more relaxed.

Hotel & resort partners

Pick-ups and packages with leading Dubai and Abu Dhabi resorts — diving folded neatly into your stay.

Gear you can trust

Modern, regularly inspected rental equipment in every size — or bring your own and we'll set you up.

Our mission

To turn first-timers into lifelong divers — safely, patiently, and with genuine care for the people we teach and the reefs we dive.

What we stand for

Our values run deep

The principles behind every course we run and every dive we lead.

Safety, never optional

Small groups, serviced gear, and rescue-trained guides on every dive. We don't cut corners under the surface.

Patience over pressure

Nervous is normal. We move at your pace and never push you past where you're comfortable.

Respect for the reef

We dive lightly and teach the same — because the ocean we love only stays worth diving if we protect it.

Real expertise

Internationally recognised PADI training, delivered by professionals who live and dive in these waters.

Our team

The faces behind every dive

Mermaid is a team of certified PADI professionals — instructors, boat captains, and dive guides who live and dive these waters every week.

102 m

Record deep dive

Meet the founder

Yasser Ahmed Al Assal

Owner & Master Instructor

From naval frogman to PADI Master Instructor — the diver who built Mermaid, and still leads from the front of the boat.

Yasser's life underwater began long before the classroom. After graduating from the Arab College in Jordan in 1992, he served as a naval second lieutenant from 1992 to 1994, training in frogmen operations and shock forces — where discipline, calm, and total trust in your team underwater are not optional, they're survival.

In 1997 he turned that experience toward teaching. He earned his Dive Master that year and qualified as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor in 1999, then spent two decades building dive centers across the region — managing Divers International, founding Egyptian Divers in 2000, running Scuba Master in Abu Dhabi, and partnering at Reef Divers before co-founding Mermaid Divers in 2017. He became its sole owner in 2020.

In 2005 he descended to 102 metres — a landmark deep dive that still carries his name. Today he runs Mermaid across Dubai and Qatar, and you'll still find him on the boat, briefing first-timers with the same patience he brings to training the instructors who teach them.

25+: Years teaching
102 m: Record deep dive
2: Countries — UAE & Qatar

PADI Master Instructor
PADI Elite Instructor (2017–2022)
Open Water Scuba Instructor (1999)
Dive Master (1997)
Deep, Buoyancy & Photography specialties
SSI · ESA · NAUI certified

Meet the manager

Shammas

Manager & PADI Master Scuba Diver Instructor

A PADI Master Scuba Diver Instructor and Trimix technical diver — running Mermaid's day-to-day in Qatar from the front of the boat.

Shammas is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Instructor with over 15 years of experience, and a certified Technical Diver in Trimix — advanced training that lets him plan and lead dives well beyond recreational limits.

As the manager of Mermaid Diving Center in Qatar, he's dedicated to providing safe, professional diving experiences and to sharing his passion for the underwater world with every diver who joins us — from first-timers to fellow professionals.

15+: Years experience
Trimix: Technical diver
PADI: Master Instructor