Meet Kasimedu’s divers who are experts at maintaining boats and rescuing sunken vessels

G Underwater Diving Works team in Kasimedu, Chennai, scrapes boat hulls clean underwater with precision and expertise.

C Ganesan’s office smells of grease, rust, and seawater. A refurbished shipping container, it stands near the N4 beach, holding precious cargo: his team’s diving equipment. T-shirts and shorts are hung on a clothesline along a corner, and at the far end, stands an air compressor. Outside, their nameboard reads: G Underwater Diving Works. This team, consisting of seven divers, has been aiding in the maintenance of berthed vessels at Kasimedu for 25 years.

These men are called muzhugali, meaning diver, and their key responsibility is to scrape marine life and barnacles off the underside of boats docked at the wharf. To do so, they swim underwater, kitted in diving equipment and armed with large metal scrapers. There are only four such teams at Kasimedu, and Ganesan’s is among the oldest. “I learnt to dive from my father,” says the 54-year-old, minutes before donning his diving attire on a muggy afternoon.  

His father R Chinnayya who did odd jobs at the wharf, was drawn to the sea. “He learned to dive on his own,” says Ganesan, adding that Chinnayya used to assist the dockmaster and dock engineer. “He would dive underwater to inform the boat operator of the best angle to move their boat so that it slid into the perfect docking position,” explains Ganesan.

Chinnayya eventually trained his sons to dive, and taught them about investing in good equipment as well. Today, they are busy through the year, scrubbing gillnet boats and trawlers that can range from 40 to 80 feet in length. There are around 900 such vessels at Kasimedu harbour.

As we speak, Ganesan’s brother C Raja and cousin A Kathirvel mount an air compressor on to a three-wheeler that snakes its way into the wharf, puttering to a stop. This machine with its long tubes, will supply oxygen to the divers. They use metal plates in place of rubber fins for better mobility underwater. This is especially because they dive holding heavy metal scrapers.

A palm-sized jellyfish floats near a trawler at anchor as the divers do last minute checks before taking off. Jellyfish, that they call kilicha, can give them nasty cuts on the skin, but they are unperturbed. Years of diving has taught them to ignore minor inconveniences.

All that is left to do, is jump and disappear into the inky-blue sea.