Dive Sites in the Northern Red Sea

Some of the dive sites you may visit include:

SS Thistlegorm: The SS Thistlegorm is the most famous of the Red Sea wrecks. The English cargo ship (423ft (129m)) was bombed by German aviation on 6 October 1941 in the area of Shaab Ali. She was transporting supplies destined for the British fifth army based in Alexandria, as well as armoured MG vehicles, motorcycles, jeeps, trucks, rolling stock, airplane parts, stacks of rifles, radio equipment, munitions, and a plentiful supply of Wellington boots. Now the wreck is an artificial reef on a sandy bottom at 104ft (32m) depth and is home to an enormous variety of marine life with large schooling fish. The wreck provides a hunting ground for giant tuna and snappers.

Rosalie Moeller: The Rosalie Moeller is the sistership of the world-famous SS Thistlegorm. This former 357ft (108m) long cargo ship, transporting coal, was bombed and sunk in October 1941 by a German air attack during World War II. Now the wreck lies in 180ft (55m) depth on a sandy bottom. The main deck is at 114ft (35m) depth, and the mast rises up to 60ft (18m) depth. In the deeper parts of the wreck, the huge rudder and propeller are found as well as the ladders and handrails all along the main deck. Hard and soft corals cover the hull. This artificial reef attracts an interesting variety of marine life including barracudas, tunas, jacks, trevallies, glass fish, scorpion fish, and groupers.

Shag Rock: At the northern side of Shag Rock is a small wreck on the sandy seabed at 50ft (15m) depth. Kingston was a British cargo ship and sunk in February 1881. Exploring the ship starts at the stern, the rests at 50ft (15m) depth. The dive route continues into the hull, easily accessible as the wooden bridge is gone, and the area is well illuminated by sunlight. The remains of the engine room with the boiler still intact are still visible whereas the bow area situated at 13ft (4m) depth was destroyed. The fauna here is particularly interesting and includes surgeonfish, nudibranchs, jackfish, groupers, snappers, sea turtles, whitetip reef sharks, and eagle rays. Pods of dolphins are sometimes spotted in this area as well.

Dunraven: The Dunraven was a Victorian steam and sail ship carrying spices, cotton and timber from India. Dunraven hit the reef during a dispute between the Captain with his wife and his First Mate and subsequently caught on fire. It sank in 1876 beside the reef, upside down, and broken in two parts. Inside the wreck are schools of yellow goatfish and giant morays. The hull is covered with corals and full of marine life, including schools of batfish, nudibranchs, pipefish and the rare ghost pipefish. The wreck rests at 50 - 95ft (15 - 30m) depth.

Ras Mohamed National Park: The park is located at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula. It was declared a protected area in 1983. The jewels in the crown of this national park are Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef. Shark Reef offers the chance to dive with grey and blacktip reef sharks. It is also home to huge numbers of reef fish and some larger pelagics such as tunas. Yolanda Reef is named after the shipwreck. On the plateau, at 32 - 82ft (10 – 25m) depth, are scattered remains of toilets and baths. Anemone City is a wonderful shallow dive at 40ft (12m) depth. The Shark Observatory is awesome with plenty of whitetip reef sharks and huge barracudas. The dive sites in Ras Mohamed offer an abundance of reef fish, scorpion fish, multiple macro critters, as well as hard and soft corals. The whole area is a big fish territory.

Shaab Umm Usk: An awesome coral garden with many different soft and hard coral species. Acropora corals are present in different forms such as antler, table, and spreading formations. There is an abundance of parrotfish, snapper, wrasse, emperor, butterflies, angles, fusiliers, surgeons, and big groupers –the usual spectacular, colorful reef assemblage of fishes. Night dives here provide the potential to meet curious cuttlefish and squid. The lagoon is also popular with bottlenose dolphins. This dive site is at 65ft (20m) depth.

Siyul Kebira: Siyul Kebira is a varied reef composed of dense coral patches with lots to explore. The undulating reef face has furrows, valleys, and depressions. The north side of the Siyul Kebira reef is covered in corals, and both sides of the reef feature a mix of different coral species – hard corals as well as soft ones. The fish life is vibrant and diverse, and Siyul Kebira attracts larger pelagics as well. Nurse and leopard sharks are sometimes spotted on the sandy bottom. This dive site is at 72ft (22m) depth.

Abu Nuhas: Also known as “Ships Graveyard”, Abu Nuhas is located close to the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf of Suez. Four wrecks are lying in a chain on a sandy bottom of a steep sloping reef covered with table corals. The following wrecks are found there:

Carnatic was on the way from Liverpool to Bombay with 27 crew members, 203 passengers as well as a cargo of cotton, copper and 40,000 pounds Sterling in gold. She ran aground in the night 13 September 1869. Now the wreck lies at a depth of 65 - 88ft (20 - 27m). The hull is covered with hard and leather corals.

Ghiannis D was on the way from Rijeka to AI Hudayda at the southern end of the Red Sea, when the bow ran aground on the reef on 19 April 1984. The rear half of the wreck lies on the port side. At the front the funnel is the large letter “D” signifying the name of the shipping company, Danae. In front of the funnel is the bridge deck with different areas, an enormous winch and the bollard. Narrow portholes lead into the engine room. The mid-ship area resembles a scrap heap where steel girders are bent and torn up, and the side panels lie caved in on the bottom. Crocodile fish, scorpion fish, parrotfish, and groupers call the vessel home. This wreck is at 30 - 88ft (10 - 27m) depth.

Chrisoula K started her last trip on 30 August 1981 loaded with cheap Italian tiles. Chrisoula K ran aground due to a navigation mistake of the captain and sank in the same night. The wreck lies at 16 - 80ft (5 - 25m) depth.

Shaab el Erg: Shaab el Erg, also known as “Dolphin House”, is famous for dolphin sightings. The reef drops down to a coral garden at 40ft (12m) deep with marine life like nudibranchs, tunas, trevallies, jacks, scorpionfish and sea turtles.

Carless Reef: Carless Reef is well-known for gorgeous hard and soft corals, spectacular marine life, and a large population of moray eels. The plateau is at 52 - 82ft (16 - 25m) depth and has two large pinnacles covered with hard and soft corals. The reef attracts an interesting variety of marine life like barracudas, tunas, trevallies, jacks, groupers, scorpionfish, nudibranchs, and sea turtles. The wall slopes down to 130ft (40m) depth and is covered with soft corals, some fan corals, and longnose hawkfish. The dive site is also well-known for encountering sharks.

Jackson Reef: Jackson Reef is the northern most reef in Tiran and is well-known for the Cypriot cargo ship The Lara that sank in 1985; some remains of the wreckage can still be seen on top of the reef. The west site has a forest of spectacular gorgonian fan corals at 65 - 100ft (20 - 30m) depth as well as many different kinds of reef fishes. The most spectacular and colourful coral garden is at the southwest site in 50feet (15m) depth. It is possible to encounter sea turtles, whitetip and grey reef sharks.

Woodhouse Reef is the longest reef in the Strait of Tiran and home to both reef sharks and eagle rays. At the southern part of the reef is a wall at 100ft (30m) depth covered with coral from the top all the way down. Along the reef is a canyon at 82ft (25m) depth that spreads out into a coral garden with sand alleys.

Thomas Reef is the smallest reef in the strait. The reef’s ends are vertical walls with a large plateau at 82ft (25m) depth on the southeastern side. This plateau is covered in colourful coral and has a fence of gorgonian fans longnose hawkfish can be found.

Gordon Reef is the most southerly reef of the four islands and has a different topography from the others offering both a shallow plateau and drop-offs. There is a huge variety of reef fishes and the chance to see sleeping whitetip reef sharks on sandy patches. At 13 - 16ft (4 - 5m) depth, there is an eel garden. The top of the reef, with its lighthouse, is also home to the wreck Louilla that lies almost parallel to the wreck on Jackson Reef.