Focussed on diving excitement, adventure and education, the internationally acclaimed OZTeK Diving Technologies Conference and Exhibition continues to be an inspirational forum catering to every aspect and level of diving interest.
Featuring an international cast of speakers and presenters drawn from the among the world's most accomplished divers, a full-scale diving exhibition showcasing the very best that the world of diving has to offer together with non-stop workshops and seminars, OZTeK'07 is again poised to push back the boundaries of diving knowledge and establish a new standard of excellence for Dive Events.
Speaking at this years OZtek is Samir Alhafith. Founder and team leader of the, The Sydney Project - an association of technical divers involved in researching and discovering important historical wrecks in depths between 75 and 135 metres on the NSW south coast of Australia - Samir Alhafith (born in Baghdad, Iraq) began diving in 1995.
Quickly progressing from his early role as Divemaster at a Sydney dive store, he is an accomplished diver who uses both rebreather technology, (the APD 'Inspiration') as well as open-circuit mixed gas to advance scientific knowledge of the underwater world.
Apart from cave diving in Mount Field, Tasmania, as well as the Jenolan Caves west of Sydney, Samir's major interest is in furthering The Sydney Project's on-going mission to discover and document the historically significant wrecks lying off the New South Wales coast.
These have included the Liberty ship, William Dawes, lying in 135 metres, (the second deepest wreck to be dived in Australia) as well as the recently discovered, 'Iron Knight', sunk in 130-metres of water by a Japanese submarine during WWII.
These have included the Liberty ship, William Dawes, lying in 135 metres, (the second deepest wreck to be dived in Australia) as well as the recently discovered, 'Iron Knight', sunk in 130-metres of water by a Japanese submarine during WWII.
A gifted filmmaker whose videos and images document cave and wreck exploration - and whose work was recognised with the First Place Award in the OZTeK4 Video Competition - Samir is regularly called upon to film underwater events for various TV news and current affair channels.
Based on a policy of sharing information about their discoveries, The Sydney Project enjoys a strong working relationship with many government departments such as the NSW Heritage Office, the Water Police and the Navy. It's a policy that, in 2005, culminated in the Sydney Project receiving an Award from the Heritage Office for their exploration work on the South Coast of New South Wales.
Now currently working with other Sydney Project members to uncover two new wrecks, Samir is also involved in work on a documentary film due for release within the next year. In 2007, he will be the main underwater cameraman on the expedition to explore and document the ANZAC submarine, AE2, sunk during WWI in Turkey.
