Buccaneer Diving was started in 1989 by Bruce Phillips at the age of eighteen, he still owns the company to this day. Bruce's love of diving started as a child in 1977 encouraged by his father who was, and still is, a very keen diver. Initially Buccaneer Diving was very small and had only two members, Bruce as the Instructor and Ropa ( who is still with us) as the boat captain; it operated from the bottom of Bruce's Mum's garden.

Buccaneer's first resort base was opened at Reef Hotel with just twelve sets of equipment and a borrowed boat. Eighteen years later we still run their diving. The Buccaneer Base at Whitesands hotel was opened in 1989, this base is also still operating. Jan Phillips, Bruce's wife, who is also a qualified PADI Instructor joined Bruce in running the company in 1991 when she moved out to Kenya from England.

Buccaneer Diving is now the biggest Diving operator on the Mombasa coast with dive bases at many of the major Mombasa Hotels and booking offices at even more. Bruce became Kenya's first PADI Course director (he is still the only PADI Course Director in Kenya) and in 1997 Buccaneer Diving was made the first PADI 5 star IDC centre in the country, it retains that standing to this day. Buccaneer Diving has also received PADI Service to Industry Awards, a PADI Educational Award and is the East Africa PADI redistributor.

Bruce's love of the Indian Ocean around which he grew up makes him very keen on it's preservation, consequently Buccaneer Diving has been involved in many environmental projects. These include several free training courses for members of the Kenya Wildlife Service and the sinking of the MV Dania by Buccaneer Diving's sister company, Buccaneer Wrecks, in order to create artificial reefs (see Buccaneer Wrecks). Buccaneer Diving also employs a full time marine biologist, Sander den Herring.