Sha’ab Abu Nuhas

Also known as The ship graveyard

A shallow reef at the mouth of the Gulf of Suez that has claimed at least four ships — the Giannis D, Carnatic, Chrisoula K and Kimon M — all divable in a day.

Depth

4–30m depending on the wreck

Access

Day boat or liveaboard from Hurghada or El Gouna, at the northern entrance to the Gulf of Suez

Best season

March to November; northerly wind makes the exposed side unworkable in deep winter

Level

Intermediate

Conditions

• The wrecks lie on the reef’s northern side, exposed to the prevailing wind
• Shallow enough for long bottom times, which is what makes it a two- or three-wreck day
• Moderate current; surface conditions are usually the limiting factor

What you are likely to see

• Glassfish clouds through the Giannis D’s engine room
• Soft coral colonising the Carnatic’s frames — it has been down since 1869
• Lionfish, groupers and morays throughout the structures

What to watch out for

• Penetration is possible on several of these and should not be improvised. Overhead environments need training and a light, and the Giannis D in particular disorients divers because the whole stern lies at an angle.
• Four wrecks in a day is a lot of ascents. Watch your surface intervals rather than the itinerary.

This is planning information, not a dive briefing or a substitute for one. Conditions change; your guide on the day is the authority. Diving emergency numbers and the coast’s recompression chambers are on our emergency contacts page.