10.
SS THISTLEGORM
Just a year after being built in 1940, and after completing only three successful voyages,
the British Merchant Navy ship SS Thistlegorm was attacked by German bombers in the Red
Sea.
The ship was a little longer than an American football field at 420 feet (384m).
She spent much of her short-lived career transporting steel rails, aircraft parts, grain, and rum
between Europe, Argentina, and the West Indies.
In 1941, she embarked on her final voyage from Glasgow, Scotland to Alexandria, Egypt
filled with motorcycles, trucks, guns, ammo, radio equipment, aircraft parts, and two locomotives.
When the Thistlegorm reached the Suez Canal, there was an accident blocking the passage.
With few other options, the captain docked the vessel off the Egyptian coast.
Suspecting that the Allies were trying to enter Egypt, the Nazis dispatched a pair of
bombers with orders to find and destroy the ship.
Two bombs struck the Thistlegorm, causing some of the ammunition on board to explode.
Nine people died in the attack.
French explorer Jacques Cousteau discovered the wreck during the 1950s, but it was soon
forgotten about.
The coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh opened the wreck to divers in the early 1990s.
Visitors can access the ship’s interior through an opening that was created during
the bombing.
Most of the cargo still remains inside.
The Thistlegorm ranks among the world’s favorite wreck dives.
It sits roughly 100 feet (30 meters) beneath the surface, where some advanced diving skills
are required, but the water is shallow enough not to need any special equipment.
9.
SS KINGSTON Built in 1871, the SS Kingston was a British
steam-powered cargo ship that could also carry passengers.
While carrying 70 tons of coal from London to Aden a decade later, the vessel ran aground
in shallow waters along the Shag Rock coral reef off the coast of Egypt.
It was traveling at maximum speed when it crashed.
For two days, the crew tried to keep the ship afloat with no success, and the Kingston sank
below the waves.
Thankfully, there were no casualties in the unfortunate wreck.
Shipping traffic between Britain and India was increasing by the day.
Steamships were becoming more popular and could navigate in challenging conditions that
earlier vessels were more vulnerable to, like heavy winds and strong currents.
But they needed coal in order to run, making it important for ports along the Suez to be
fully stocked so they could accommodate the growing traffic.
Over 140 years later, the Kingston wreck still sits upright, in the same position it came
to rest in after its crew failed to save it.
While much of the ship has deteriorated, parts of it remain impressively intact for its age
and function as an artificial coral reef.
Its propeller and much of its machinery are still identifiable, even beneath layers of
hard and soft coral.
Situated just 33 to 66 feet (10-20 meters) underwater, the Kingston is a popular dive
site among scuba divers of all skill levels.
8.
SS ROSALIE MOLLER Two days after the Germans sunk the British
Merchant Navy ship SS Thistlegorm in the Red Sea in 1941, they shot down its sister ship
SS Rosalie Moller.
Built in 1910, the Scottish-built vessel was repurposed in 1938 by the Royal Navy for service
in the British war effort as an armored cargo ship.
Its primary job was to transport coal to forces stationed in Egypt.
To get around the Suez Canal, which was heavily guarded by the Nazis, Rosalie Moller went
around Africa and entered the Red Sea via the Gulf of Aden.
It was spotted and struck by German bombers.
The ship came to rest upright 164 feet (50 meters) below the waves near what is now Ras
Mohammed National Park.
That’s about half as deep as the Statue of Liberty is tall.
Because of how deep it is, the wreck has been protected from mass dives, leaving it in remarkably
intact condition.
Over the years, the hull became blanketed with hard and soft coral, turning it into
a thriving artificial reef.
It also attracts a variety of marine species, including reef sharks, tuna, scorpion fish,
moray eels, and more.
7.
MV SALEM EXPRESS The MV Salem Express was a roll-on roll-off
passenger ferry that experienced a series of unfortunate events starting just months
after it was launched in 1966.
It got into its first collision in 1967.
Three years after that, a fire broke out.
A decade later, in 1980, it ran aground.
On another occasion, the ship caused a traffic jam because of its slow operations.
But the vessel’s worst mishap came in late 1991 while sailing from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
to Safaga, Egypt.
After being delayed for two days because of mechanical issues, the Salem Express finally
departed from Saudi Arabia during a heavy storm.
The captain deviated from its planned route, taking an unauthorized shortcut, and the decision
proved disastrous when the ship ran aground on a coral reef just a few miles from the
Egyptian shore.
The ship’s bow door was ripped open, and seawater flooded into the car deck.
It took just 20 minutes for the ferry to sink with hundreds of passengers trapped on board.
The exact number of deaths is unknown because of conflicting news reports and claims, but
it is known that there were around 180 survivors.
While the official report claims that there were 644 passengers total, other sources have
put the number as high as 850.
The Salem Express is a controversial dive site.
Passengers’ personal items still scatter the interior and the surrounding seafloor.
To respect the lives lost, the wreck’s internal passageways have been sealed off to visitors.
While many divers adhere to a policy of not touching anything, others have rummaged through
items and even kept souvenirs, proving why not everyone approves of people visiting the
site.
6.
ANCIENT LANDSLIDE During a deep dive in the Gulf of Aqaba in
the northern Red Sea, geoscientist Sam Purkis and another scientist noticed an alarming
break in the seabed 3,000 feet (914 meters) below the waves.
That’s a distance of about two-and-a-half times as tall as The Empire State Building.
Suspecting that this was more than a simple crack, they had the pilot turn around.
It was then that the pair observed a 15-foot-high (4.6 meters) groove stretching across the
seafloor.
Purkis could tell that a “tremendous geological force” had caused the massive break.
In a recent study, his team concluded that an underwater landslide happened around 500
years ago, followed by a catastrophic tsunami.
Purkis said the seabed moved, causing part of a reef slope to drop several meters and
get stuck beneath the large quantity of rock that hangs over it.
These findings warn of the possibility of another underwater landslide, which would
trigger another tsunami.
If the rock wall Sam Pukis discovered collapsed, the ensuing tsunami would be much bigger than
the one that happened centuries ago.
Based on computer simulations, the ancient landslide may have produced a 30-foot-high
(9 meters) tsunami wave, which would have been extremely deadly.
That’s as high as a school bus is long.
The coastline is more populated now than it was 500 years ago, and an even bigger wave
would undoubtedly lead to a devastating disaster.
The effects could destroy bustling coastal towns in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and
Israel.
None of these countries have an effective enough of an early warning system for earthquakes
and tsunamis, but Pukis recommended developing them.
He said that a lot of movement happens in the region and that it wouldn’t take much
to collapse the wall.
Have you ever experienced an earthquake?
Tell us about it in the comments and subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already!
:) 5.
ANCIENT MIGRATION ROUTE When migrants traveled from Africa to Arabia
around 5,000 years ago, they may have taken a now-submerged route along the Red Sea coast
while living off marine mollusks, according to a statement from the University of York.
Until recent years, researchers believed that the drought conditions along this route would
have inhibited the movement of hunter-gatherers.
But a study published in 2020 revealed that researchers had found thousands of mollusk
shells in Saudi Arabia’s Farasan Islands, suggesting that they may have been a food
source for ancient people.
The resources necessary to make an arduous trek across an unforgiving environment were
available, even during periods of little rainfall and a decreased food supply.
The shells, which were submerged when sea levels rose after the last Ice Age, were abundant
enough to continuously feed populations as they passed through.
Besides sustaining migrant groups, mollusks likely fed coastal communities that settled
along the Red Sea shoreline.
Another important finding shows that, while people ate mollusks in sizable amounts, they
didn’t deplete them.
Their population remained healthy enough to feed future generations of settlers and travelers.
The shells that the researchers found were in reefs dating back over 100,000 years, clarifying
that the region’s history of human movement may be more extensive than previously thought.
4.
SS CARNATIC In the northern Red Sea, northwest of Egypt’s
Shadwan Island, there’s a coral reef called Sha’ab Abu Nuhas.
Near the entrance of a shipping channel that leads to the Suez Canal, it’s home to at
least five sunken ships.
Included among them is the British steamship SS Carnatic, which ran aground in 1869, making
it the region’s oldest wreck.
Built in the early 1860s, it regularly sailed from Suez to Bombay in the years before the
Suez Canal opened up.
After it crashed into the coral reef, passengers repeatedly urged the captain to let them abandon
ship.
He denied these requests, reassuring his panicked passengers that the Carnatic was safe and
that they would soon be rescued by a ship that was due to pass.
People grew increasingly worried as the hours passed and the vessel filled with water, causing
it to lose power.
Finally, the captain ordered everyone to abandon the ship.
But only four passengers made it onto a lifeboat before the Carnatic ripped in half, claiming
31 lives.
Weeks later, the ship’s cargo of gold was salvaged.
Rumors of remaining treasure persisted until the wreck’s rediscovery in 1984.
The Carnatic is possibly the Red Sea’s oldest wreck and also one of many diver’s favorite
destinations.
The wreck itself lies on her port side and is relatively safe for divers of all experience
levels to explore.
There are many spaces in its hull where divers can look inside and see several cracked wine
bottles and other remarkable objects, still unharmed after decades underwater.
The wooden deck of the Carnatic has vanished over the years and lets plenty of light into
the spooky iron ribbed bowels. 3.
SS UMBRIA Built in 1912 in Hamburg, Germany, SS Umbria
was a cargo vessel that traveled between Argentina and Europe until Italy purchased it in 1934.
In 1940, the ship passed through Egypt’s Port Said with a massive weapon supply, including
6,000 tons of bombs, 600 detonators, 100 tons of different weapons, and more.
Italy still technically maintained a neutral position in the intensifying war, so the British
allowed it to continue along its journey.
Just days later, British warships stopped Umbria near the Port of Sudan to search it
for weapons.
They had just heard that Italy had officially joined the war to support Nazi Germany.
The ship’s captain, Lorenzo Muiesan, requested permission from British guards to carry out
a muster drill.
Instead, they scuttled the ship, which came to rest on its port side at a depth of 125
feet (38 meters).
The crew did this to prevent Umbria’s goods from falling into British hands and to prevent
them from learning anything about Italy’s activities.
Although the wreck was salvageable, it was left alone because its cargo was deemed dangerous.
In the decades since, the sunken ship has become covered in colorful corals and functions
as an artificial reef and a home to various fish species.
It’s in remarkably well-preserved condition and is one of the world’s most beautiful
wreck dives. 2.
AIDA II WRECK The cargo ship Aida II was built in France
in 1911 to supply Egyptian lighthouses and buoys.
It was on its way to deliver supplies and lighthouse workers to the coastguard on Egypt’s
Big Brother Island in 1957 when a heavy storm hit.
While approaching the island, strong winds and high waves pushed the vessel into some
rocks.
It immediately began to sink.
Luckily, a tugboat came by and rescued all 77 people aboard before the Aida drifted toward
the island’s northwestern tip and sank.
The storm and the force of the collision caused the bow to burst as the 246-foot-long (75
meters) ship came to rest on a steep incline, leaving it sitting at depths between 82 and
213 feet (25-65 meters).
In the years since going down, the wreck has been taken over by coral and is home to many
fish species and other creatures.
The ship itself may not be that interesting, but the coral and sea life that surround it
are a spectacular sight.
Because of Aida’s depth, it remains inaccessible to most tourists and has therefore remained
protected from damage by mass dives.
Because of how deep the ship is, along with strong currents, dives at the Aida are recommended
only for skilled recreational and technical divers.
1.
SS NUMIDIA Built in 1901 in Glasgow, Scotland, the 452-foot-long
(138 meters) British cargo ship SS Numidia was considered an extremely large vessel for
its time.
Its maiden voyage went by uneventfully as it traveled from Calcutta and through the
Suez Canal back to England, where it was loaded with rails and wheels for Indian Railways.
During the voyage, Captain John Craig decided to get some sleep shortly after spotting the
beacon of Egypt’s Big Brother Island.
He left his second-in-command in control of Numidia while he retreated to his cabin.
A few hours later, around two o’clock in the morning, Captain Craig was shaken awake
by what felt like a powerful blow to the ship.
He rushed up to the bridge and found out that the vessel had run aground on a reef.
Nobody ever determined the exact cause of the accident, but it was speculated that the
second mate had fallen asleep.
Several attempts were made to tow the ship but to no avail.
The crew evacuated to Big Brother Island while the cargo was transferred to other ships.
Several weeks later, the Numidia broke in half and came to rest at an extreme angle
on the seafloor.
At its shallowest, it sits about 33 feet (10 meters) below the surface, where divers can
easily explore the remains of both the wreck and some cargo that couldn’t be saved.
The propeller sits at 262 feet (80 meters) deep and is only accessible to more experienced
divers.
Thanks for watching!
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See you next time, bye! :)