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    • Marsa Alam top shipwrecks, Series 1 Photo
      September 01, 2017

      Marsa Alam top shipwrecks, Series 1

    Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1896, the red sea became the main route for shipping between Europe and Asia. So many ships passed by the Red Sea coastal. Some has survived, others have sunk, leaving a beautiful historical wreck that decorates the coast that Nature quickly colonized and became the home to a colorful diversity of fish and coral species. We will give you some information about the top 5 shipwrecks in Marsa Alam, in a series of press reports.


    1- SS/HAMADA ( AT ABU GHOSON )

     A coastal cargo vessel of 500 tons, launched in 1965, with a length of 65 metres and draught of 4 meters. It was originally built for a subsidiary company of P&O but subsequently was sold on repeatedly to various Cypriot owners and finally in 1986 to a Maltese registered company.  The wreck lies approximately 68km SSE of Marsa Alam, south of the Wadi El Gamal National Park entrance and approximately half a mile south of the phosphate terminal at Abu Ghoson at approximate GPS location 24.42N and 35.25E. 0 to 18 meters. The port side of the ship protrudes just above the water line at low tide. Parts of the wreck are so shallow that you can snorkel them.


    On 28 June 1993, the vessel had left the port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and was enrouted for Suez. The wreck sank in 1993, under mysterious circumstances and is now in two parts on its starboard side. The reasons behind why and how it sank are a lot, but, it depends which report you believe. One states that the vessel caught fire and another that it struck a reef in bad weather. However, divers have discovered a charred mattress which suggests that fire was the most likely cause.


    Almost everything on the ship had to be abandoned and now items ranging in size from telephones to a fork lift truck have become surprising homes for many types of marine life. Bags of polythene granules, a Saudi ptero-chemical export, can still be seen in the cargo hold. 

    Suitably qualified divers may be able to swim into parts of the wreck including the pilothouse, engine room and cargo hold.  The most impressive and relatively intact features include the bridge, the rudder and stern propeller.


    The wreck has attracted many types of coral and marine life including Napoleons, Lionfish, Parrotfish, Surgeon fish, Butterflyfish and Moray eel. Suitable for all diving levels providing suitable precautions taken and a guide present. Nudibranch, lionfish, lionfish, sweet lip, bannerfish, butterfly fish, Spanish dancer (night), crocodile fish, sweeper, Mediterranean moray or roman eel, ray. 


    It's a bewitching dive site and a beautiful reminder of the delicate harmony and balance between man and nature.  There is enough left in case anyone may need to photograph and investigate the wrecks. The real wreck divers will enjoy the propeller still entirely intact, but also the hold and the cabins are still in good condition. Of course, the wreck Hamada is also a unique place to snorkel. You can shore dive the wreck as it lies at a depth of only 15 meters. After a few minutes swimming, you see the stern of the 65-meter-long coaster looming.

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