Shag Rock
The Kingston was a small British cargo ship built in Sunderland in 1871. She ran onto the northern face of the reef, known as Shag Rock, on 22nd February 1881, whilst en route to Aden with a cargo of coal aboard. The intact propeller at the stern of the ship lies at a depth of 15m and the dive usually starts here, after which you can move inside the ship to see the engine room, followed by the boilers. The bow section, lying at around 4m depth, has mostly disintegrated. However, lying alongside the ship you will see the remains of the mast. Since the wreck is quite small, there will be time to explore the reef while you are here, too. You can expect to see surgeon fish, rabbitfish and nudibranch. Larger fauna frequently encountered here includes jackfish, groupers, turtles and Whitetip reef sharks. You may even come across a pod of dolphins
by boat
strong currents
20
40
Yes
No
Yes
Shark and Yolanda Reef
Yolanda Reef is one of the more bizarre scuba experiences on our list. Here youll swim past toilet bowls, bath tubs and other bathroom objects, the cargo of the eponymous wreck that sank here in 1980.
This is also where the waters of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez meet, so currents are washing machine-strong and nutrient rich, creating a flawless breeding ground for marine life.
import
import
10
30
Yes
No
No
SS Thistlegorm
This is the most popular wreck dive in the world, and for good reason. The SS Thistlegorm was a 128-meter-long British transport ship, which was attacked and sunk in 1941 on its way from Glasgow to Alexandria.
The ship was carrying a variety of rifles, motorbikes and trucks, plus armored cars, trailers, vehicle parts, radios and rubber boots. All of this sits at the bottom of the ocean, including the ship itself complete with the large hole where the German bomb hit.
Dive groups now swim around and inside the silty wreck with flashlights to peer at its rusted machine guns, a railway freight car, torpedoes and more. You may even spot a few crocodile fish hiding in the sand by the wreck.
import
import
20
30
Yes
No
No
Chrisoula K
The true identity of the wreck usually referred to as the ‘Chrisoula K’ remains under debate. There are those who believe, in fact, that this wreck is actually that of a cargo ship called the Marcus, while there are others who are convinced that the Chrisoula K has, indeed, been correctly identified. However, what is known to be fact is that the Chrisoula K was built in Germany in 1954 and met her fate when she hit the reef at Abu Nuhas on 31st August 1981 while en route to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia carrying a cargo of tiles.
The wreck of tiles, commonly known as the Chrisoula K, lies between depths of 4 and 27m. The dive starts at the stern where you can see the four-bladed propeller and rudder, moving along the ship you can clearly see the cargo of tiles in the various holds. The engine room can be penetrated but only by experienced wreck divers. The bow lies embedded in the reef. Today the wreck is covered in hard and soft corals and you will also find anemones with their anemonefish in situ. Other reef life to be found here includes glassfish and batfish.
by boat many hours from sharm e sheik
quite good. You will see stone fish, scorpion fish, morays, nudibranchs, stingrays, lion fish, snappers, box fish, soft coral, and much more.
20
30
Yes
No
Yes
Carnatic
Built in Britain in 1862, the Carnatic was a steamship with sails which operated both as a passenger and cargo vessel and plied a route between Suez and Bombay. On the night of 12th September 1869 in strong currents, she ran aground at Sha’ab Abu Nuhas. The following day, the weather deteriorated further and on the 14th September she broke up and sank, with the loss of 31 lives. At the time of her sinking, as well as carrying some 210 passengers and crew, she was carrying a cargo of cotton bales, mail, bottles of wine and soda water as well as £40,000 worth of gold bullion. Indeed, it is believed that some of the gold was never recovered!
Today, she can be found lying at a depth of between 27 and 16m. She is now covered in soft corals but makes for interesting exploration and, while the middle section is broken up, the bow and stern are intact
by boat
good
20
40
Yes
No
No
Dunraven
Built in Newcastle in 1873, this British steamer met her end in 1876 while bound for Bombay with a cargo of timber and cotton, which were lost in the ship wreck when the ship caught fire. She lies upside-down in 15 – 29.5 metres depth. The dive starts at the stern and takes you inside the hull where you can see Crocodilefish. You can also expect to see some groupers, Lionfish and schools of Glassfish. Above the bow you can enjoy a coral garden at 10 – 5 metres as you ascend from your dive
by boat
sometimes rough and strong surges
20
40
Yes
No
Yes