DIVE EGYPTS SHIPWRECKS Part 3 - SUEZ

www.deeplens.com

1

www.deeplens.com

CONTENTS

2

www.deeplens.com

DIVE !

EGYPTS’ WRECKS PART3~ THE GULF OF SUEZ

3

www.deeplens.com

FORWARD by JOHN WOMACK I am John Womack Snr, BSAC First Class Diver, Advanced Instructor & owner of Otter Dry suits in Yorkshire, having dived the Britannic, Prince of Wales, Repulse and the Victoria plus many more over the last 40 years I would not go anywhere in the Red Sea without one of Peter's guide books. I have been on numerous successful trips of Peter's including wreck searching in Truk Lagoon.

Peter's new book is awesome, there are so many wrecks and to give detailed descriptions of all the wrecks themselves is great, it makes you feel like you have dived them already. I remember doing a night dive on the Thistlegorm which was just fantastic it was p itch black with pin points of light from fellow divers lights.In the south, Peter, Tom and myself went looking for the wreck of the M aidan on Rocky Island, we followed the debris trail down to 65mtrs and there before us was the huge shadow of the wreck hanging over the abyss starting at 80 mtrs. We could only look down in wonder, but we had found what we were looking for after 10 years.

Peter's trips are a must and very much like his trips his books are a must read, Peter is a walking encyclopaedia on all things diving and ship wrecks. A lot of great ships were made in the North East and it comes as no surprise to me that this is where Peter came from too, we have been friends/fellow wreck divers a lot of years and hope to be sharing experiences and books for many more years to come.

John Womack MD Otter Watersports Yorkshire.March 2018 Otter Drysuits, UK

This series of guides is respectfully dedicated to this great man. I am proud to have called him friend and shared his last dive. JOHN MICHAEL WOMACK 23 MARCH 1943- 30TH NOV.2018

4

www.deeplens.com

CONTENTS Introduction

PAGE 7 PAGE 9 PAGE 11 PAGE 12

S.S. ZIETIEH

Zebel el Ziet:

ALM IRANTE BARROZO;

S.S. FULICA, ASHRAFI M V STAR OF RAWAIN M V BACCHUS M V TAM ARA11

PAGE 13 PAGE 13 PAGE 13

RAS DIB M V ATTIKKI M V M UHANSA M .V ELLIOT

PAGE 14 PAGE 14 PAGE 14

TOR BANKS M V TEXICO CHRISTOBAL M V TIM FSON M V GULF FLEET

PAGE 16 PAGE 17 PAGE 17

RAS SHUKIER M V BIRCHWOOD M V LAURA SECURITY

PAGE 19 PAGE 23

RAS GHARIB S S BELM ORE M V QTM OS 1 M V ABOUDY S.S SCALARIA M .V. BAKR S.S. SHILLONG EL DOM IAT M V CAPE CLEAR S.S SAN JUAN

PAGE 25 PAGE 26 PAGE 28 PAGE 30 PAGE 35 PAGE 36 PAGE 38 PAGE 47 PAGE 48

RAS ZARARANA SS TURKIA SUEZ BAY M V PRIDE OF AL SALAM El M ISR M V AURA M V BILAL SS ARWA M V ESCUAT M V ERGINA SS NICOLAOS A M ASTRANDREAS

PAGE 49 PAGE 54 PAGE 56 PAGE 57 PAGE 58 PAGE 58 PAGE 59 PAGE 59 PAGE 60 5

www.deeplens.com M V SADEL FURAT SS TYNEFIELD

PAGE 60 PAGE 60

6

www.deeplens.com

INTRODUCTION Of the 30 + wrecks we have discovered, surveyed and dived in Egyptian waters, many of them lie in the Gulf of Suez, the long stretch of water running from Sha’ab Ali in the south to the Suez Canal in the north.

With such a concentrated amount of shipping in this busy waterway, It was in evitable that we would not only find many of our targets, but that we would encounter wrecks we hadn’t bargained for.

To date we have completed 15 wreck hunting expeditions up as far as ZAFARANA as a group and to within the limits of the Canal itself (a solo effort on my part, with only local fishermen for cover). Several of these trips produced some amazing finds-the first netted no less than 7 wrecks in two days reaching Ras Shukier, then as we pushed further north 3 more wrecks were located in a single day. Our furthest venture as a group was to Zafarana where we made perhaps the best of all the surveys on a wreck I had found previously using only a glass bottom boat-the S.S. TURKIA. Several substantial wrecks still await our attention-one in particular defies location, the S.S. SHILLONG. Everything and every one tells us we are looking in the right place, but for 10 years she has eluded us .Its only a matter of Time.

The depths are between 10 and 35 mtrs and as you will see most are more recent sinkings (WW2 onwards) with several casualties of the other conflicts which have occurred since then., including an ex British Corvette sunk by a British Cruiser! The Texaco Cristobal is how the SSTurbo would have been like if her bow was in place.

The Marine life was an added bonus. As we went north, invertebrates such as Nudibranchs seemed to not only increase in numbers but also in size. The Turkia seemed to have attracted every juvenile barracuda for miles, and we even found an amazing new reef sy stem, about 1000mtrs long with pristine fan corals.

Although we have concentrated on the mainland side of the Gulf, The Sinai side should also produce some good finds in the near future-such as an ex American lend lease Frigate which sank in a collision .

While most of the tour operators either go round in convoys or follow the same old tourist routes, our safaris have brought back the un- expected and restored the meaning of adventure. If your reading this then you probably are interested in what we do-so why not join us, y ou never know it might be YOU who discovers the Shillong!

Safe Diving and enjoy this glimpse into the wrecks of the Gulf of Suez Peter Collings

7

www.deeplens.com

8

www.deeplens.com

S.S.ZIETIEH THE SINKINGS On 26th August 1914,the Zietieh was along side a quay at Suez loading with sp ares for the oil fields of Ashrafi , Quisum and Ganim, when she sank. By the 21st of September she was once again in service, carrying out her duties as a general sup ply vessel. The Zietieh was at anchor close to Ras Ziet on January 29th 1915, when she caught fire during an oil burner change over. Her boiler and deck cargo shifted and she began to ship water, finally capsizing with a list to port She has a straight rake bow, and a fantail stern, typical of the 1890-1900 type of hull. .

The raised fo’c’sle is accessible with only iron framework remaining, with lamps and other artefacts lying in the chain locker. The starboard anchor chain runs out along the sand to anchor. A weather deck runs aft from the engine room to the steering quadrant and she has high running boards- almost tug like. All the wooden decking has gone, revealing iron framework, heavily encrusted with sp onge and sea fir.

Companionways run alongside the bridge and engine room, starboard accessible, port in sand.

THE SHIP The Zietieh was built at M aryport at the yard of William Walker, Shipbuilders in 1911. She was the last vessel to be launched beam on at the yard. She was a steel screw steamship, machinery aft, fitted for liquid fuel-oil burning, with a through hold and suspended bridge. She was 291 tons, 121ft long, with a 22ft beam. She was powered by a - 2 cy 15",32" 27" stroke 42hp, fed by a single scotch boiler sup plied by J RITCHIE &Co. Her owners were the EGYTIAN OIL TRUST, later the ANGLO EGYPTIAN OILFIELDS Ltd.

The Zietieh now lies on her port side on a flat sandy sea bed, in only 12 mtrs of water. Her distinctive bow and stern enabled us to guess her age to within 2 years!

she has a single hold forward served by a deck winch just behind the fo’c’le, although there are no signs of a mast. In the hold is a cargo of prefabricated narrow gauge railway track in straight lengths of 6mtrs, some of the cargo lies 20 mtrs away from wreck. A small compact bridge straddles the aft section of the hold and has a single door forward. Above this is an open navigation bridge and wheelhouse. The helm is in place but oddly facing the stern.

The engine room is completely intact with all her fittings, valves, piping and gauges The tall straight funnel, is broken off and lying on the sea bed, home to a family of snapper. One blade of the prop is missing , the rudder still in place but the keel is bent below the rudder assembly, otherwise there is no sign of any damage to the wreck Hard corals encrust the upper port side of the hull, which is made of overlapping plates which are beginning to rot away, allowing an eerie light to filter through into her single hold. The wreck is a haven for marine life; large groupers, shoals of red sea snapper, free-swimming snowflake morays, and many large pyjama nudibranchs grazing of red sp onge.

9

www.deeplens.com Unusually there are sp inney urchins out during the daytime, with fish colonies. Batfish and map of Africa Angel fish too are found patrolling the wreck. Lies on its port side 11.8 mtrs, starboard side in 4 mtrs This makers plate was located in the ships engine room by Andy Aston, who cleaned, photographed and then returned it deep inside the wreck.

Without this vital piece of evidence the identity of the wreck may never have come to light, without hours of painstaking research

Due to the fact that few divers visit this wreck hard corals have flourished and the hull has become living reef. Staghorn corals are very well established and are a haven for many schools of small reef fishes, countless nudibranchs and some interesting examples of sy mbiosis. It is however a small wreck, and although rarely visited it can be crowded even with the guests from only one boat. Diving in waves helps the congestion. Strong currents are also experienced on the wreck despitr its sheltered location

10

www.deeplens.com

JEBEL EL ZIET THE WRECK OF THE ALMIRANTE BARROZO Built in 1880, described as a steam corvette, The ALM IRANTE BARROZO was on a world navigation voyage and training exercis e when she experienced compass deviation and ran aground near Jebal El Ziet in the Gulf of Suez. Then a lieutenant, Admiral Botteaux and her crew were rescued by HM S Dolphin, commanded by Lieutenant Christopher Cradock.Her master was Captain J.M . Batista De Leao.

She was 224ft long,33 ft beam 16 ft draught. Her armament consisted of 6 Whitehead 70 cal, 4 Nordenfelt 25mm and 6 Nordenfelt 11mm machine guns.

In 1895 a new vessel was commissioned, built on the Tyne by Armstrong Withworth and upgraded to a cruiser

In 2018 the wreck Faisel Khalaf of RedSea Exploreres, who reported that the wreck sits upright in 70 mtrs

More to follow

11

www.deeplens.com

THE WRECK OF THE S.S. FULICA The vessel's sole owner was Porteous & Senier, of London. With L. O. M oen serving as her captain thru 1878/79 . T. Young thereafter. The Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') of 1880 lists Gilbert Porteous of London as her then presumably managing owner. Built by M ounsey and Forster in 1878 at South dock Sunderland 256.3 ft. long 34 ft beam. 23 ft draught. signal letters RHWB, 170 HP, 2cy 33” x 62 “ engines by Blair & Co. Limited, of Stockton.In 1879 Fulica went aground in fog at New York & cracked her shaft. In early Feb. 1880, the vessel was en route from Penarth, Wales, to Aden with a cargo of coal.

On Feb. 11, 1880, the vessel was in collision with Eden (see below) when in the straits of Gubal, Gulf of Suez, 2 miles off the Ashrafi Lighthouse. Fulica sank as a result of the collision but fortunately no lives were lost.

Eden, badly damaged, made its way safely to Suez. As p er this contemporary newsp aper cutting. It would seem that a couple of court cases resulted. In an earlier case referred to in this decision it indicates that Fulica had been found in such case to be solely responsible for the collision. Eden? A 1446 gross (933 net) ton steamship, built by W. Gray & Co. at West Hartlepool in 1879, owned in 1880 by Robert Ropner of West Hartlepool, ON 81503. Eden had left Newp ort, Wales, on Jan 7, 1880 for Aden with a cargo of J. Cory & Son coal, under the command of captain Wilkinson. It clearly survived the encounter.

The wreck was found by Red Sea Exploreres owner Fiesel Khalaf and his team in 2018, reporting th wreck upright in 73 mtrs. With most of the hull remaining.

The loss of the S.S.FULICA “Between 4.15 and 430am on the 11th Feb, last the Fulica with a crew of 25 hands on a voyage from Cardiff to Aden with a cargo of coal was in the Red Sea off Ashrafi Light. The wind at the time was about SW blowing a light breeze. The night was fine and clear but dark. The Fulica was proceeding under steam steering a course SE by S, making 9knots an hour. At this time the Eden which for a long time had been following the Fulica was observed at a distance of half a mile bearing on the port bow, and showing her mast and green lights.

At about 4.30, the revolving lights of Ashrafi which was bearing broad on the Fulica’s bow, appearing to be somewhat too near, the helm of the Fulica was starboarded to keep her clear of the land and then her helm was steadied, and when the light was abaft the beam the helm was p orted.

The Eden overhauled the Fulica and came upon the port side of her and was then loudly hailed to starboard her helm, the helm of the Fulica being put hard a port, and her engines stopped, but the Eden with her stem and starboard bow struck the Fulica abaft the forerigging and sank her in a few minutes” The entire crew were rescued and taken on board the Eden. The court of enquiry deemed the Fulica to be solely to blame for the collision,

12

www.deeplens.com

THE WRECKS OF ASHRAFI This section will deal with the coastal stretch from Ras Ziet north to Ras Garib, then down the Sinai coast from Shiek Riyah Harbour to Sha’ab Rayis. It is an area crying out for research and exploration, but is an area of great shipping activity both with the oil fields and the Suez Canal. With care, common sense and the right permissions it should be possible in the future to unravel some or the secrets of this un- tapped source of wrecks.

The Ashrafi Islands rarely receive any attention from dive boats but here there are several worthwhile wrecks, including the largest in the Red Sea. It is an area which in time will yield some excellent wrecks.

There are several more wrecks reported here than those listed below. M uch of the seabed is of hard corals and the visibility is often very good. In some places oil can be seen seeping up through the coral is small plumes. There are several active oilfields close by. Again attention must be paid to the weather and a good skipper is needed when diving here.

THE S TAR OF RAWIAH. This is a small Saudi Arabian cargo steamship of 778 tons, 211ft long which lost her steering on a journey from Suez to Safaga in ballast, and ran aground in 1972.She later slipped of the reef into 25 mtrs of water, in the vicinity of the Ashrafi lighthouse Ap ril 6th 1972 and is becoming an integral part of the reef sy stem, with many fish and invertebrates living in and around her remains. Built at the Collingwood shipyards in 1943 for the Orri Navigation line.

BACCHIS .

This 270 ft Cyprian vessel was carrying a cargo of cement from Greece to Saudi Arabia when she was holed, striking the Ashrafi reefs in bad visibility. The cargo solidified and her engine room flooded. She was abandoned as a total constructive loss and later slipped into deeper water. Now known to have sunk at the northern end off SHA’AB M UKOWARAT AT 27 49 18N 33 39 18 E on August 9th 1977.2494 ton, 97m long 14.4 m beam, diesel engines. Belonging to the Bacchus Shipping CO. she was built in 1950 at Bremerhaven The Pamananaian registered general cargo vessel was THE TAMARA 11 stranded on Ashrafi reefs 10th feb 1983.Her cargo consisted of bagged cement, and she was abandoned as a total constructive loss. She sits high and dry on top of the reef to this day. There are rumours of a wreck near the Tamara11, lying on a sloping reef. This may in fact be the NAHED, a converted minesweeper, this vessel sank on Jan 3rd 1988 .

As The Red Sea narrows at its northern extreme, a long thin arm of water stretches north West towards the M editerranean. Flanked to the east by the Sinai Peninsular and to the west by the Egyptian mainland, the entrance to the Gulf of Suez is marked by a treacherous finger of reef known as Sha’ab Ali. A busy , narrow and important seaway dating back beyond the opening of the Suez Canal, it is a vital link between east and west-a vital and important trade route. It is also a hive of industry, with oilfields dotted along its length, and refineries along its banks.

Very little diving takes place-the coral reefs die away as the water becomes shallower and indeed less clear due to the presence of sand and silt. Water temperature too plays a part in the ecology, with temperatures plummeting to 16 degrees in winter. While it is not a viable tourist area; it is a haven for new unexplored shipwrecks-with the added bonus of some unusual marine life.

13

www.deeplens.com During the week of Ma y 4th 2003 Peter Col lings lead the first ever expedition to explore the Gulf of Suez north of Sha’ab Ali. After two years of planning and many hours of vital research. Ai yman Mussam, owner of Cycl one secured for the very fi rst ti me permission for the Cyclone team to travel north i n to the area‘s a round Ra s Di b, Ra s Shukier a nd Ra s Gharib.The res ult of these expeditions a nd the subsequent publications lead to both Aiman Musan and the author receiving prestigious awards from the Governor of the Re d sea Mr Mus tafa Afifi.

RAS DIB M.V. ATTIKIA A 3360 TON, 104M TRS X 16 M TRS motor vessel, built in 1966 by Imabari Zosen, Imabari, and owned by the Greek company of Lanathos Cia. Bound for Port Sudan with a with a cargo of cement, she ran aground just before midnight, Ap ril 24th 1978.with her holds and engine room flooded she was abandoned and then later caught fire

M.V ELLIOT The 100 mtr long, 2874 ton motor vessel was built in 1963, and sank 200mrs north of Ras Dib on July 11th 1984 with a cargo of 3500tons of chic peas. Owned by the Panamania company of Ugars M arine.

Previous names include ASK(1973), ZEPM ARE (1974), JULTAND (1980) The wreck sits upright from the engine room forward, her holds still full of the cement, now solidified. The engine block is complete although the prop shaft and stern would appear to have been removed. There is much confused metal consisting of plates pipes flanges and fittings forward of the engine block, The foc’sle is awash with her bow p ointing north.

The wreck lies p arallel to the shore and covers an area of 100 mtrs by 30 mtrs. Fish life includes surgeon fish, lion fish, golden hatchets and founders

From the attitude of the wreck she was driven ashore at full sp eed with her rudder straight. There appears to have been no time or need to avoid the grounding. She is bow down into the reef in 10 mtrs of water her bow broken up and her starboard plates scattered around the seabed. The letters A-ND, U, and J, easily discernable on the scattered plates were a great help in confirming her identity.

The bow section was easy to access although the inside was a mass of confused and torn steel. Here a large shoal of golden hatchets has taken up residence. Her hull side plates, which formed the main structure of her holds have all collapsed and form a tangled jungle of steel with large girders, pies and flanges.

Her sup erstructure, partly flooded was accessed via the aft bulkhead, allowing access into the engine room, generating plant, workshops and accommodation area. The sea bed was littered with many interesting items, such as riding lights complete with lenses, and her anchor light still stood proud on its mast.

14

www.deeplens.com

15

www.deeplens.com

TOR BANKS In the middle of the Gulf of Suez, between El TOR on the Sinai coast and Ras Shukier on the mainland, lie the TOR BANKS, It is an area of oil industry activity, with several active fields; MORGAN, BADRY and RAMADAM There are several wrecks, mainly connected with the industry. Currently this area is off limits, but with the oil fields almost dry, the installations may close and the area could be opened up to diving. The well heads alone will already be substantial artificial reefs.

M .V. TEXACO CHRISTOBAL A Panomanian motor tanker, built in 1945 for the Pan American Oil Co,as the M V TANDORA, serving the US government for 3 years before she became the MV M ARVEL. Built by JA JONES CONSTRUCTION CO, with engines by Noedberg of M ilwalkee she was 3250 tons, 286 ft long with a 46 foot beam.(91m x 14,6 x6.6) In 1948 she became the MV CRISTOBAL and owned

by Texaco/Panama Oil Co. In 1960 she became the M .V TEXACO CRISTOBAL.

She sp rang a leak while carrying oil samples off the M organ 2 Oil well, on the 23rd Feb 1967.Her engine room flooded and she sank without the loss of life. All 20 of her crew were rescued.

The wreck lies on her starboard side in 30 mtrs on a sandy bottom and is virtually intact. Her tall funnel lies on the seabed at the rear of the vessel where the engine room can be found. A pipebridge runs to the centre island and forward bridge area, navigation deck and wing bridges with another pipebridge connecting to the foc’sle. and is covered in fish life. Her foremast runs out at full length while the cental mast stick out through the pipebridge a couple of meters. M ost of her portholes remain in place.

She swarms with sweepers and glassfish, while there is some evidence of soft corals she is not as well decorated as other wrecks. There are many levels to explore in her two sup erstructures, eith workshops accommodation and storage areas all accessable.

16

www.deeplens.com

M V TIMSFON (43151) A small Egyptian sup ply vessel of 175tons, built in 1957, the M V TIM SUFON grounded sw of the M organ oilfield. The impacted cracked the engine casing and she began to sink .She was taken in tow but later sank in 32 mtrs

M V SMIT LLOYD 10 (43154) A 784 ton Dutch supply tug, built in 1966 at Krimpen. She was 60 mtrs long. and disp laced 784 tons. She sank in 25 mtrs after striking an oil well in September 1978 near the M organ Oilfield. Her 7 man crew were rescued.

17

www.deeplens.com

18

www.deeplens.com

RAS SHUKIER M.V.BIRCHWOOD 11

With its hull breaking the surface, the Birchwood 2 lies in a sheltered bay at Ras Shukier. With a maximum depth of only 12 mtrs it offers a great introduction to wreck diving, but also has great potential for photography and supports a unique eco system.

Lying to the north of the port in a large bay with three other wrecks was a small 50 mtrs motor cargo ship on its starboard side in 12mtrs of water. Totally intact it was difficult to see why she had sunk. The early morning light streamed into the holds and bathed the entire wreck and it was easy to make out her features.

In calm weather the natural sunlight allows for some great wreck photography opportunities.

Just forward of the Superstructure, itself at the aft of the vessel was an intact crane, obviously used to serve the hold. The criss-cross gantry was covered in life as we were to find out during a night dive. Superb swimthroughs from the weather deck into the holds were easily accomplished and here we found, like the HAM ADA in southern Egypt bags of p olythene granules hard against the port hull The foc’sle was easy to access and explore and her winch gear, like many parts of the wreck was covered in sp onge and encrusting corals. .Her bow appeared intact and a deep scour ran along her keel, becoming circular by her prop and rudder. Her starboard running light lay protruding from the sand. Rounding the stern revealed two access doors at deck level into her engine room, with stair wells leading down into the lower levels- earmarked for a future visit.

19

www.deeplens.com

LEFT; the intact wheel house when we first found her. RIGHT; Small morays are widespread in the wreckage.

The wheel house was to prove beyond a doubt that this was y et another undived wreck - the hammering hordes from Hurghada have never seen this‌.The ships wheel, and compass binnacle were still in place and the telegraph lay below on the sand clearly showing its Dutch origin. Superb back drops for the expedition photo scrapbook.

The central section of the wreck has broken up, but allows for safe exploration

With limited time we managed one additional dive on the wreck – at night and what a gem that was.

Hundreds of nudibranchs, some sp ecies new to me despite my many years in the Red Sea, sea hares and 20

www.deeplens.com shoals of rabbit fish huddled together everywhere 3 Snowflake morays shared a single hole although the giant version was missing. Lionfish hovered over the sand in search of small fry and there were many to choose from. Almost every surface of the wreck was alive with anemones, sp onges and small crustaceans.

The brilliant reds, oranges and greens highlighted by torch beams.

Over the years some illegal salvage has caused the wheel house to collapse and sections of the hull have been removed, presumably for scrap. However the wreck still remains a great dive-shallow yet plenty to sea and explore with the added bonus of keeping the bug hunters happy. Very happy.

Nudibranchs galore! We found more nudibranchs on this wreck in one dive that a week in the Red Sea. Why they are so wide spread diverse and common in the gulf is a question for the biologists to answer.

21

www.deeplens.com

22

www.deeplens.com

M.V LAURA SECURITY

At first glance the wreckage of the Laura security looks disappointing due to its lack of depth .However below the waves is a photographic studio-back ground props and shoaling fish bathed in strong sunlight await the underwater photographer.

This small 57 mtr long coastal motor tanker was built at Karlstad in 1956, 441 ton gross was fitted with an Alpha diesel 5 cylinder oil engine built at Fredrikshaven. She had sailed under various other names; BALTICA , BALTIC (69), NIKI (81) until she became the LAURA SECURITY in 1981 when she was purchased by M alacontas S.A. registered in Pamama.

She ran aground with a cargo of gas oil in heavy weather on a voyage from Suez to Ras Shukier on Ap ril 22nd 1983 and was deemed a total constructive loss.

The vessel sits up right with its bridge out of the water. M any of the hull plates had fallen to the seabed allowing sunlight to stream through its vertical sup ports highlighting shoals of fish. The strong sunlight afforded by the shallow depths provided endless p hoto opportunities.

With the hull intact the bow and stern are very photogenic and the sup porting fish life is quite amazing. It is possible to explore the fo’c’sle and engine room-the later being the deepest part of the wreck in only 8mtrs Due to its location the wreck is blessed by the afternoon sun and the long beams of light shine through many holes in the wreck. Those who are not put off by the lack of depth are well rewarded The deck lies in only 6 mtrs, but all of her valves, piping and other fittings are all still in situ.

Shoals of fish find shelter amongst the frameworks

23

www.deeplens.com

24

www.deeplens.com

RAS GHARIB This headland is surrounded with many wrecks, and to the best of my knowledge has rarely been dived; It is a long way north from Sharm El Shiekh. but despite the lack of coral and the reduced visibility there are some very interesting shipwrecks S,.S BELM ORE The "Belmore," Official Number 115720, was a steel screw steam yacht used for towing purposes, formerly named the "Flying Scout," built at South Shields in the year 1902 by M essrs. J. P. Rennoldson & Sons, South Shields, and was of the following dimensions:—Length 106 feet, breadth 22 feet, and depth in hold 9.3 feet, and was 168.29 gross, and 3.04 registered tonnage. She was fitted with compound direct acting inverted cylinders of 98 n.h.p., her estimated sp eed being 12 knots, and was owned by M r. James Fenwick, of Sydney, New South Wales, The "Belmore" was on the voyage to M alta in good and seaworthy condition as regards hull and equipments. She was surveyed and passed by the Board of Trade surveyor at Greenock before leaving that port, which she left on the 30th of M ay, 1908, bound for Sydney, New South Wales, with a crew of 12 hands all told (and no passengers), under the command of M r. Charles M urchie, who held a certificate of competency as master, No. 09867……………………………………………………………………………

“On the voyage to Port Said she appeared very tender, causing her to ship water which saturated the coal stowed in bags and bulk on the after deck. She arrived at Port Said on the 16th of June last, and after coaling, according to the evidence, the vessel was much deeper than when leaving M alta. Her Plimsoll mark was submerged and the water up to the top of the belting, but there is no evidence given as to how this extra immersion was caused.

The "Belmore" left Port Said at or about 5.30 a.m. of the 17th June last, and proceeded through the canal into the Gulf of Suez, with fine weather. About 10 p.m. the wind was about two points on the port quarter, and increasing with a ris ing s ea. At m idnight the watch commenced to put coal o ff the d eck into the stokehold. This was continued until after 2 a.m. of the 18th, when Ras Gharib light was sighted. Shortly after sighting the light, the second mate, Mr. Robertson, who was in charge and steering the vessel, called Gray, one of the watch, to relieve him. He then we nt down below as directed, to let the master know that he had sighted Ras Gharib light and how it bore, and while he and the master we re examining the chart, a se a came in over the port quarter, giving he r a list to port, and as the vessel did not re cover, thinking something was wrong, he made for the deck, followe d by the master, and finding her on her beam ends and going further over, he and the master got over the rail on to the side of the vessel, and finally reached the k eel as she turned bottom up, giving no time to provide themselves with life-saving appliances. The m ajority of the crew we nt down with the ship. The captain was last seen standing on her bottom near the k e el. The rest, five in number, succeeded in swimming to the coal box, which floated away from the vessel as she sank. They held on to the box for about 1 1/2 hours, when it broke up and each secured a plank, by which m eans four of them e ventually reached the shore in safety at some distance from the lighthouse.

The fifth was caught by a shark while efforts we re being made to save him by those on the beach. The m utilated body was afterwards recovered and buried. “ To date the wreck has not been located.

25

www.deeplens.com

M.V. QTMUS 1, OCEAN GOING ANCHOR HANDLING TUG

M O number7218709 Name of the ship QTM OS 1 Type of ship OFFSHORE SUPPLY SHIP/OCEAN GOING ANCHOR HANDLING TUG Gross tonnage 865 tons DWT1086 tons Dimensions 52.76 m long, 12.5 beam,draught 3.6 mtrs Year built ;1972 Builder;VAN DER GIESSEN DE NOORD - ALBLASSERDAM , NETHERLANDS Flag GEORGIA Home port BATUM I M anager & owner QUEEN TOWER M ARINE & OIL SERVICES - ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT Former names OIL SUPPLIER until 1984 M ANTARRAYA until 1990 Oct TONY BAY until 1995 Jan SEA FORCE until 2005 Dec

Twin screws directional props, in Kort nozzles, Jastrom 300hp bow thruster forward sup erstructure ,long work deck, two fire sup pression cannons. Huge Norwich 3 TON anchor winches.

26

www.deeplens.com

Circumstance of loss.

During a safari in June 2016 (26th) I stood on the bridge with the captain of SEAKING, discussing the next location after Ras Garhib. We both noticed a tug, at anchor beginning to list over, at first thinking she was just swaying in the surge as the wind increased.

We watched in amazement as she continued to list over to starboard and then slowly sink beneath the waves. We approached her slowly not wanting to alert our guests ans while we drifted over her took her position on GPS.I opted not to dive her in case she was unstable, and would be returning with a good group of divers in a couple of weeks. We could only grasp the last letters M OS 1 , and captain offered COSMOS as her name. I had witnessed yet another sinking in Egyptian waters The interim period would allow me to get the right research in place before I returned with the group. I couldn’t wait!

From the initial dive it would seem that the vessel was at anchor for some time (marine growth on hull) and there are several repair patches on a the very porous hull She sank at her moorings 26 th june 2016 Discovery Peter Collings took Coventry BSAC back to the wreck site October 12th and made the initial dive to check its stability The wreck today The wreck lies in 17 mtrs of water on her starboard side of Ras Gharib in the Gulf of Suez.

The hull below the water line is a living reef covered in an huge array of soft corals. Her propellers are covered too, suggesting the havn’t been used in a long while. The hull is p orous and had many temporary patches along its length. Twin rudders sit aft of the directional props (Kort nozzles).The vivid colours make for a great photo subject.

The long work deck has lost much of its wooden planking, and two fire sup pression cannons stand guard aft of her forward sup erstructure. The bridge was found to be totally intact, down to telephones, chairs and paper work! Her comms mast and navigation lamps are still in situ, the DF antenea and compass binnacle(made by Henry Browne & Sons, Barking) stand firm on the navigation deck. A unique and stunning site. All evidence that once again the author was the first to dive her.The intactness is remarkable, and while she was a young wreck when these images were taken, she is not on the tourist route, so hop efully they will remain in situ.

27

www.deeplens.com Forward of the bridge a short fo’c’le houses her own anchor winch. The aft sup erstructure houses a huge powerful Norwich winch.

The marine life is quite remarkable, most notable are the huge and numerous Arabian Angel Fish,Arabian. Angel fish patrol the long work deck Fire sup pression cannons sit aft of the sup erstructure, the red paint still evident The bridge is totally intact! On the initial dive every item of working life was evident-right down to the radar, comms, paperwork .The upper hull is very shallow given the vessels beam of 12.5 mtrs,so within

5 mrs of the surface. No deco problems a great 3rd dive with the bonus of calm water and sup erb marine life. The one puzzling thing though is her name, QTM seem an odd configuration and don’t have any Arabic connection.

The wreck of the M.V ABOUDY Built in 1960 as the VILLE DE TENES, by Handel SCHPSB Kramer &Body originally designed to carry wine, she was 76 mtr long, 11.4 mtr beam, 490 tons, fitted with A 4sa 7 cylinder oil M .A.N. engine. In 1962 she became the CAPTAIN SAINT JEAN until 1979 when she was bought by Nakhia & Sado M arine Services (Egypt) and was finally named the ABOUDY .

While carrying a general cargo, cargo 120 tons of aluminium and livestock. The ABOUDY sank off Ras Gharib in heavy weather on the 7th M ay 1988. Running aground into shallow water, she capsized onto her port side and was deemed a total constructive loss. She was located September 13th 2005 by PC and members of Bromley BSAC, inshore of the Scalaria in shallow water. The wreck lies on its port side in a north south attitude with the bows to the north and her keel to seaward.

The bridge and sup erstructure are located aft and have collapsed. The holds which run continuously through the ship still contain some of her cargo-hundreds of 120ml bottles of cough medicine lie in the silt and the surrounding sand, and long lengths of aluminium extrusion lie in twisted heaps. Two huge, and very photogenic A -frame derricks run horizontal, flanking the holds , served by 4 sets of twin winches and a radio mast runs out from the bridge area. The fo’c’sle has evidence of other items of cargo stored there.

Handrails and flagstaffs are intact, and several bulk head lamps can still be seen. The prop and rudder are 28

www.deeplens.com still in place in only7 mtrs of water. Because the wreck lies on its side the masts have remained intact, thus providing more “real estate� for both divers to explore and marine life to inhabit.

The wreck lies on its side, intact and makes a very easy long shallow dive, but calm weather will produce the best conditions to fully appreciate this shipwreck.

Thousands of juvenile yellow finned barracuda patrol the masts of the wreck in less than 10 mtrs of water.

Several mast lamps, complete with lenses remain in their appropriate place Given the shallow depth there is plenty of time to explore this fascinating shipwreck- with the bonus of strong sunlight and varied marine life which includes shoaling yellow finned barracuda and fusiliers, emperor angle fish, crocodile fish, torpedo rays as well as encrusting corals and sponges on the hull and fittings. The site is subject to swell as the seabed is sandy and visibility can be greatly reduced in poor weather.

Like all the other wrecks in the Gulf, an amazing variety on invertebrates were recorded during the dayNocturnal in the Red sea, but active here. Above is a small selection of nudibranchs we found on the wreck.

29

www.deeplens.com

S.S. SCALARIA

THE SHIP Built in 1922 for the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co at Swan Hunters, Newcastle, this 5683 ton steam tanker was 411 ft long, 55 FT beam and 30 FT draught, capable of 10 knots and fitted with triple expansion engines built by the Wallsend Slipway Engineering Co. She was requisitioned in the Admiralty services and armed with 1 4”, 1 12pnr 2 twin Lewis 4 Hotchkiss and one Breda. She had a crew of 52 including 4 navy gunners THE FINAL VOYAGE CAPTAIN J. WARING “We sailed from Hurghada at 0630 on 18th October 1942, arriving off Ras Gharib at 1530 the same day to load with crude and then proceed to anchorage “B”. I hoisted a signal to be moored without delay conditions then being favourable. At 1615 I was informed that the vessel could not be moored until the following morning.”

Next morning the Scalaria docked and started to load 7000 tons of crude oil. At 1750 Waring received an instruction to house his balloon, and not fire on any aircraft as there was to be a practise flight with lights burning between 2000 and 2200hrs.

THE S INKING CAPTAIN J WARING “At 2215 I made the rounds of the ship, saw the gunners at their posts. At 2230 I retired to my room, being awakened at 2230 by an attacking Heinkel HE 111 approaching from the land, roughly westward. The aircraft circled at approximately 100 ft, then dropped a torpedo which struck the ship on the starboard side abaft of the bridge in no. 3 tank. There was a terrific explosion which caused the ship to shudder violently and carried away the stern moorings, causing the ship to swing round from north to south. All the woodwork in my room collapsed and the iron frame twisted, jamming the two doors. By sheer force I burst one door open and on reaching the deck saw the whole of the after starboard side of the deck was ablaze, with burning oil pouring from the ships side and drifting aft.”

At this point the Heinkel lined up for another attack, this time releasing a bomb.

Some of the men were trapped aft and ran up onto the poop others on the fo’c’scle slid down rop es over the bow.

WARING “ I WAS ABOUT TO SHOUT TO THESE MEN WHEN A BOMB STRUCK THE FOREDECK WITH A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION.I WAS BADLY BURNED AND INJURED BY THIS BOMB AND SAW IT WAS NO USE TRYING TO GET THE MEN TO COME AMIDSHIPS AS THE WHOLE FOREDECK WAS NOW BLAZING FURIOUSLY”.

“I could not get to the ships papers as my cabin was completely wrecked and flames were coming up the accommodation ladder.”

30

www.deeplens.com

A sketch of the Scalaria from an identification log book belonging to the Captain of a German submarine, hunting for the ship.

THE DISCOVERY Armed with this detailed information and hydrographic reports three expeditions were carried out to locate the wreck. By the third trip we had located several other wrecks (Aboudy , Attiki, Bakr, Birchwood, Elliot, Gemini, laura Security ,) These finding has allowed us to eliminate several suspects-Scalaria was by far a bigger ship and by the third trip we had a pretty good idea where she was.411ft and 5600 tons of l of ship on a sandy bottom a big clear target.

M embers of Brighton BSAC joined my in the search and we found her a mile north of our “guesstimation”.

Even before we dived her I knew this was the Scalaria-there was her bow facing south just as J Waring had stated.

The bow and fo’c’sle were found upright broken off from the main section.

Iron framework and adders helped define the section of ship. From here back to the centre island was a dispersed area of huge proportions with her valveing and pipe work twisted, distorted and mangled amongst sectional framing and bulkheads over an area of 200ft x 50ft. Portholes, deck fittings and winches lay scattered in a chaotic scrapyard of metal.

Where the centre island had been the wreckage stood almost to the surface with more large sections of her holds standing upright. M ore evidence of the massive explosions in the form of huge sections of steel folded outwards forming overhangs for fish and encrusting sp ecies.

Three huge boilers mark the aft section of the vessel. With the engine house gone, the triple expansion engine lies bare –big ends con rods and a huge reversing wheel are easily located and recognised

31

www.deeplens.com

PROOF OF ID. It was amongst the plates, gratings and pies which had been the engine room that we found absolute proof that would keep any sceptics quite. The engine manufacturer’s plate lay upside down amongst the debris covered in concretion and half buried. Exhumed, and cleaned it was to read “WALLSEND SLIPWAY and ENGINEERING CO LTD NEWCASTLE ON TYNE 1921” “ENGINES NO 843

The stern, like the bow is upright reaching to within a few feet of the surface- her propeller long since salvaged, but leaving no doubt as to the size of the vessel.

The wreck’s condition can be described as “well dispersed”but some sections of the wreck still stand several mtrs tall (picture left above).Her prop has been removed but the stren rises from the seabed almost to the surface.

Rummage dive: covering a vast area, it’s easy to miss some of her features. LEFT tools still hang in a workshop in the stern. RIGHT; Her big ends and other engine parts lie exposed in the stern of the wreck.

POSTSCRIPT

At a Board of Trade enquiry on the 12th October 1943 Captain J Waring further stated “0n finding the ship would be delayed overnight I pointed out the danger of this delay which was in my opinion quite unnecessary and in my opinion resulted in the loss of my ship as we would have sailed in safe conditions to anchorage B by 1000 on the 19th Oct. 32

www.deeplens.com “All of my crew behaved well throughout, and carried out their duties without fear or panic.

ND I WOULD ESPECIALLY MENTION 2 OFFICER ARMATAGE FOR HIS VERY GALLANT ACTION IN ASSISTING THE BADLY WOUNDED 3 RD OFFICER THROUGH THE FLAMES TO THE FOC’SLE HEAD. HE WAS UNDOUBEDLY RESPONCIBLE FOR GETTING THIS OFFICER SAFELY AWAY RD FROM THE BURNING VESSEL, BUT I REGRET TO SAY THE 3 OFFICER LATER DIED IN HOSPITAL”

Unheeded warning; the telegram sent by Captain Waring to the Admiralty hours before the ship was lost

33

www.deeplens.com

34

www.deeplens.com

M.V BAKR A 416 ton survey vessel, 49mtrs long she Built in Kiev by Leninskaya Kuznitza for the United Arab Republic General Petroleum Co, She was sunk at Ras Gharib by Israeli missiles on October 14th 1973 during the Yom Kippur War.

In march 2006 the wreck was discovered sitting upright on a sandy seabed just of the headland at Ras Gaharib, in 12 mtrs of water by the Author and members of Brighton SAC. Except for the damage caused by the missiles the hull appears intact, and it is possible to enter the hull and investigate the interior of the vessel.

Identification of the wreck was made easy by the embossed name on her stern and her bow. Her booms are still in an outward position as if she was towing arrays at the time of her sinking. All around the wreck are the day to day artefacts of the working life of a survey vessel. Winches cable drums , generators and fittings

The bow is an impressive sight, bathed in strong sunlight in only a few mtrs of water, her anchor winch still in place. It would appear that the wreck has been swept to the waterline,

35

www.deeplens.com

P& O SHILLONG

Built at Vickers Armstrong’s ,Walker yard #104 M ar 1949, for the P&O LINE, The SHILLONG was 8934 tons gross,4816 nett and 522 ft long. She was fitted with three geared steam turbine engines built at Barrow in Furness which could deliver 13000shp through a single prop. She had a sp eed of 17 knots.

Classified as a general cargo liner, she could carry 12 passengers and had a crew of 87 THE FINAL VOYAGE In October 1957 the P. & O. Shillong steamed down Southampton Water, Ushant under the command of Captain Spurling, she carried 6 passengers, 26 British officers and 61 crew. Passing the Queen Mary and the American aircraft—carrier Forrestal she journeyed through the Bay of Biscay, past Portugal, Spain and through the Straits of Gibratar to her first port of call, Almeria, in fine clear weather. Here she loaded grapes for the East; then headed north and east to Genoa to discharge and take on more cargo, and finally south to Port Said and the entrance to the Suez Canal.

Jan Goddard heard the siren as he went into the chart-room to collect the ‘stations’ book to note down the helm and engine orders for later inclusion in the log-book. The Captain heard it too, and came racing up the ladder. Almost at the same time the oncoming ship altered her helm to port—she had decided to try and cross the bows of the Shillong.

The Shillong’s Second officer moved to the single engine-room telegraph in the wheelhouse and rang it over twice, “Emergency Full Astern!”

Too late. The two vessels raced towards a collision point with their helms turned in opposite directions. Ian Goddard, standing on the helmsmans starboard side could now make out the huge wide beamed tanker approaching amidships. He grabbed onto the telegraph as the ship lurched over to port. The on coming vessel having struck only some 20 ft away-demolishing the #2 motor boat As the Tanker swung under the momentum of the Shillong, she slid astern leaving a huge gash in her port side The sea poured the Shillong’s engine—room, and the port-side deep cargo oil-tank was filling rapidly with the sea, pulling the ship down. The other empty cargo oil-tank on the starboard side, was acting as a buoyancy chamber. The Shillong sp un round and heeled over on her port side The water was now up to her boat-deck number3 hold had flooded.

The gravity davits, had been designed to work against an adverse list of 15 degrees, but with the Shillong 36

www.deeplens.com s list at 30 degrees they were rendered useless-and the starboard lifeboats unusable. On the port side the forward boat was smashed, and the aft boat’s davit had been bent by the collision.

Every effort was made to use inflatables, and as the engine room flooded the vessel righted itself and the starboard lifeboats were utilized. The crew and passengers abandoned ship as she settled low in the water, Capatin Spurling being the last to leave.

Shortly after a tanker, the SKOTLAND came close by, slowing and lowering her own boats, taking the survivors on board. Ironically, this was the north bound vessel which had prevented the Shillong from taking evasive action. Meanwhile the Shillong had settled, and just after midnight she went down stern first.

Three lives were lost.

“The behaviour of the entire crew was magnificent, European and Asian alike . . . It was an honour to be associated with the men of the Shillong.” (Robert M iller)

To this day, despite our every efforts this ship has not been located. We are assured by the hydrographic department she is there, she has not been salvaged, just waiting to be found… Throughout 2015 we shall be running expeditions to locate and dive her and the DOM IAT. .Why join our next wreck hunting trip!

37

www.deeplens.com

DOMIAT ex HMS NITH

HM S NITHSPECIFICATION

Frig ate

Displ acement

13 70 BRT

Length

30 1 feet

Com plem ent

14 0 men

Armam ent

Origin al design; 2 x 4inch guns (2x1) 10 x 20m guns (2x2,6x1)

Max speed

20 knots

Engi nes

2 shaft Reciprocating (4 cyl. V.T.E.) HMS Cam, HMS Chelmer, HMS Ettrick, HMS Helmsd ale and HMS Tweed 2 shaft Geared Turbi nes

Power

I.H.P . 5.500 HMS Cam, HMS Chelmer, HMS Ettrick, HMS Helmsd ale and HMS Tweed S.H.P . 6.500

Commonwealth frigates were specifically designed as anti-submarine escorts for trans-Atlantic convoys. River class frigates offered the size, speed, and endurance of escort sloops using inexpensive reciprocating machinery of corvettes. River class were designed for North Atlantic weather conditions and included the most effective anti-submarine sensors and weapons. HM S Rother and HM S Spey were launched in late 1941, and Canadian and Australian construction continued through 1944. Early River class units were available for the turning point convoy battles of the winter of 1942-43. River class frigates generally replaced the old Town and V&W class destroyers which had been assigned to ocean escort groups.

Ten River class frigates were built for the United States in Canada. Two were commissioned in 1942 as USS Asheville (PF-1) and USS Natchez (PF-2), they were armed with U.S.N. pattern 3"/50 AA guns. The other eight were released under lend-lease for use by Commonwealth forces.

38

www.deeplens.com

This class was developed to have the same capabilities as the pre WW11 "Black Swan" class.

However, they were much simpler, cheaper and easier to build with "Reciprocating" rather than "Steam Turbine" power plants. They were designed to be 50ft. longer, at 300ft., than the contemporary "Castle Class", and so the task of building them could not be carried out in many smaller "Civilian" yards.

39

www.deeplens.com HIS TORY It was 25 September before she was launched, named H.M .S.Nith, and commissioned into service. Her duties should have been convoy escort, because her armament consisted of 2 Quick Firing 4” guns, one rocket multi launcher, known as a Hedgehog and 126 Depth charges. It was found that she was not suitable for escort duties, and in S eptember 1943, following unsuitable speed trials, she was designated to be a landing craft sup port ship. In June 1944, she was chosen to be the Headquarters for the British landings in Normandy on ‘D’ Day, and after landing 231 Infantry Brigade on ‘Jig’ Green Beach, she commenced duties in controlling the routing of convoys to the assault force zones. She was esp ecially suited for this, because prior to joining the ship, many signalmen and W.T.op erators had received sp ecial training in S cotland for their chosen duties, and when the time arrived they could receive and transmit multiple signals, both visual and wireless. In their duties re-routing convoys, Nith should be easily recognised, so her funnel and bridgeworks were painted a vivid red so it was impossible to miss her.

It is more than likely that she was singled out for enemy attack, and on the evening of 24 June 1944, Ordinary S eaman Les Gentry was manning a radio direction finder to locate aircraft, but the set was giving trouble so he was given permission to ask a radar mechanic to look at it. A very fortunate incident for him, whose action station was on the starboard side. He soon had the set working, and immediately Les Gentry had a bearing dead astern, of an aircraft at 1300 with the range closing. His last signal to the bridge was ‘Target Overhead S ir,’ when Nith was struck on the starboard side by a Mistel.

This was one of the latest of the enemies weapons, and was a JU88 plane, packed with high explosive, but guided by a parent plane to its target. A terrible toll was taken of the crew, the Wounded were transferred to another ship and the dead busied at sea at 0700 hours 25 June 2003, whilst Nith was under tow to Cowes, where she was dry-docked and underwent repairs.

This was one of two experimental Mistel that the enemy tried out. The other one crashed on take-off at St Dizier, with the loss of two pilots.

In October of that year, Nith was sailed to the Clyde and prepared for duties in the Far East, but it was the following April before she was ready, and sailed for Arakan, via Gibraltar and the S uez Canal, to take part in Operation Dracula, to re-take Rangoon. Fortunately, the Japanese Army had already evacuated and after the re-occupation was complete, Nithwas again chosen to be the Headquarters of the S enior Naval Officer in Charge. The following year, she was p art of Operation Bibber, which was the re-occupation of Thailand, but the Japanese had already surrendered, so it was a bloodless coup. The following year March 1946, she left India and became part of the Reserve Fleet at Harwich.

She has been immortalised in a book by Robert Forsyth

40

www.deeplens.com THE SINKING OF THE DOM IAT There are conflicting reports as to the actions taken in the sinking of the Domiat two are recorded here.

Eyewitness account from HM S Newfoundland "We cracked off up the Red Sea at twenty knots and the next morning were bidden shift into Action Working Dress. This flummoxed some of the officers who had long since stopped bothering to cart that sort of kit - denim trousers, flash-proof shirts - around with them. It might have been "Any one for tennis?" for some of them rather than "Hands to Action Stations". Scratch (the Captain's Secretary) even turned out in a silk shirt. We were then issued with lifebelts, and lights for the same, and First Field Dressings to be carried in our respirator haversacks. Even the dimmest began to think Something might be Up. Keeping loose station on us was the Daring-class heavy destroyer Diana. We rigged and adjusted our lighting at night so as to look as far as possible like two merchant ships.

By now we were under the command of C-in-C M editerranean (Admiral Sir Guy Grantham) whose instructions (which reached us via Vancouver - no satellite comms in those days) were interpreted as orders to seek out and destroy the Egyptian Navy. Communications were a continuing problem and a rendezvous signal to bring our tanker, RFA Wave Sovereign further north never reached her.

A midnight 30th/31st the balloon went up and we cracked on to full sp eed. On the Wednesday 31st we went to cruising stations, with anti-aircraft readiness (4" and Bofors manned) by day and surface readiness (6", and one 4" per side for starshell) by night, on a three-watch sy stem, assuming we should have the time to go to full Action Stations if required. That afternoon Newfoundland had to fuel Diana, with consequences for Newfy later.

All our radars started to show signs of strain. At least one would usually go off the board when the 6" were fired and fires in the sets were not infrequent. That's just the way radar, with its rather warm thermionic valves (valves, Grandpa?) was in those days. We also used to get odd anomalous propagation effects (anaprop), whereby echoes from very distant objects would return after the pulse had been repeated. The result was that a target at, say 200 miles, would paint as if at 100 or closer. In this way we even at one point "saw" our M editerranean Fleet doing its rather more publicised thing off Port Said.

For all of this period I stood my watch in the Air Direction Room (ADR) and had a pretty good idea of what was going on, even if I could not see out.

It was Hallowe'en. At dusk on 31st we went formally to Action Stations. In the ADR I could hear the warcries over various broadcasts.

"Six-inch closed up, cleared away" "Four-inch closed up, cleared away" and so forth.

"This is PCO [Principal Control Officer]. Policy SURFACE. Provide HE fuzed DA [Direct Action].

Lookout bearings standard. GDR [Gun Direction Room] directing. All positions STAND TO!" We were then stood down to "Action Stations Relaxed" and a proportion were allowed to curl up and caulk where they could. The other ADR M id. sloped off to the Radar Disp lay Room, an annexe of the ADR, and settled down for a night's sleep in a quiet corner.

For some while we just roared along with nothing happening. Then on the Armament Broadcast "LOAD THE HOISTS!" We had been tipped off that an Egyptian warship was thought to be laying mines in the area and then that one was bullying neutral merchantmen. Captain Hamilton, who obviously knew much more than he could let on, studied the plot. Pointed to a contact. "That one looks fishy ".

41

www.deeplens.com Then: "Six-inch Surface, Red 40" "Director Radar" "Six-inch, Broadsides!" "All guns with HE/DA and Full Charge LOAD LOAD LOAD!" Gun Ready lamps come on: "Six-inch Radar" "ENGAGE!" "Fixed sight procedure" (Blimey - this is close) "SHOOT" Ding-ding on the fire gong WOOM FAH! The whole ship shook as I had never felt her shake before. We were firing on the beam with the guns almost horizontal. Away went a nine-gun, full charge, full-calibre cruiser broadside of 130 pound High Effect shell, smack into the bridge structure of the Egyptian frigate Domiat, about 1400 y ards away.

It wasn't quite as straight forward as that. For a start there had been some hectic ordnance work in the Director where the main sight had been in pieces all the afternoon. Then the Gunnery Officer couldn't believe he was really being asked to fire at an actual ship and Hamilton had to order him to Op en Fire.

What someone with an attitude like that was doing in Gunnery goodness knows; Hamilton got rid of him as soon as he could afterwards. At "SHOOT" there was a further hiatus as the Midshipman in the Director couldn't see the target. He could see a ship, just, but not the large rectangle of canvas he had been carefully drilled to expect. Shouts from the Transmitting Station, far below, of "Pull the ------- trigger" put this right.

M eanwhile the Domiat, illuminated by our 20" Signal Projector, had acknowledged our signal to 'Stop or I Fire' - L in International Code - but was visibly turning towards us. Rather fresh for a G---o. We could see their hands running to man their guns - puny 4" - so there was some urgency to get one in first.

Domiat's Officer of the Watch later said that she saw us just before we illuminated her and he confirmed that she had turned to ram.

However with the first broadside we settled in and every ten seconds there was the CRASH! of another one, beautiful rhythm. This was the music of my Country's guns and no sound would ever be so sweet again. As Lord Fisher put it "What we want is Gunnery, Gunnery and more Gunnery!"

As the geometry changed and the bearing drew forward the odd cry - "Y turret will not bear" but the job was being done. Our next broadside smashed into Domiat's bows and ignited her paintshop so that her bows glowed cherry red in the dark night. Diana, astern, had seen Domiat turn and got in seventeen rounds of 4.5" from her A and B. As we closed the range the 4" and Bofors joined in and the Captain of one of the port Bofors later received a DSM for his good work hosing Domiat's deck down with 40mm. Y turret was able to join in again later.

After five minutes or so, at 0130, and after 51 rounds of 6" in nine broadsides we checked fire because the Domiat was visibly sinking. She capsized and sank five minutes later. We picked up two Egyptian officers out of the water, and Diana recovered 67 other survivors, but then we decided that hanging about in the area might be silly because of the MTB threat, so asked a nearby South African merchantman what must they have thought about all the pyrotechnics? to see if they could find any more people in the ocean. She was one of a large number of merchant ships getting out of the Gulf of Suez just as quick as they could.

An alternative account by Harry Gibbon On the evening of 31 October 1956, with Egypt and Britain being at war during the Suez Canal crisis, the HM S Newfoundland, a British Fiji-class cruiser, was patrolling the Red Sea south of Suez. She encountered a darkened ship passing here in the opposite direction. The Newfoundland closed to 1,500 yards, and came parallel to this ship, signalling it to heave-to or be fired upon. The darkened ship signaled acknowledgement and appeared to slow down. Then it extinguished its running lights and trained her guns on the Newfoundland who then immediatley opened fire. This was at approximately 0130 on 01 November 1956.

The ship, later identified as the Egyptian Navy Frigate Domiat, had just left the port of Adabieh on its way to rendevouz with the Egyptian Frigate Rosetta, began returning fire a moment later.

By all accounts given, the Egyptian sailors on board the ship bravely returned fire, scoring a few hits on the Newfoundland causing some damage and a few injuries with her 4-inch shells. However, the Domiat was no match for the British cruiser and, after her bridge and wheelhouse had been destroyed, among other 42

www.deeplens.com battle damage, the Domiat soon capsized, and sank after being finished off by the HM S Diana (Daring Class destroyer), under the command of Capt. J. Gowers, when it was thought that the Domiat was trying to ram her.

The Newfoundland and Diana rescued 69 survivors from the wreckage. Egyptian casualties were reported as being 6 officers and 50 sailors.

British casualties, 6 sailors.

For the remainder of the day, we exercised ‘Action Stations’ and were issued with anti flash gear.

‘Op eration M usketeer’ had commenced.

On the evening of the 31st of October, Eagle, Bulwark and Albion, together with many other warships, arrived in a position some ninety-five miles west of Port Said in an area that was known as operational area ‘Alpha’. The British contingent consisted of, our three carriers plus Ocean and Theseus, four cruisers, 13 destroyers, six frigates and five submarines. Of these, one cruiser, HM S Newfoundland together with a destroyer and two frigates were positioned at the southern end of the Suez Canal,.

That same evening down in the Gulf of Aqaba, HM S Newfoundland was on patrol when a contact was picked up of a possible enemy ship at close range.

Sub Lieutenant John Finlay was on watch on Newfoundland’s bridge at the time and recalls that when the enemy ship was ordered to stop immediately, the order was ignored. Newfoundland was by this time approximately 1800yards away and port side on to the susp ect vessel. The searchlight was switched on to reveal the Egyptian Frigate, Domiat, which was the ex RN HM S Nith which had earlier been sold to Egypt.

The crew of Domiat were seen to be running to action stations, so Captain Hamilton of the Newfoundland ordered his gunners to open fire. The Domiat received several direct hits but at the same time, Domiat returned the fire and the Newfoundland received a hit on what had formerly been the ship's hangar.

One Chinese sailor was killed and five others wounded.

A seaman gunner on Newfoundland scored a further direct hit on the 4.5 gun turret of Domiat with the 40mm gun he was operating. Domiat began to break up and sank within minutes.

One of the shell holes recieved from the Egyptian frigate Domiat (Ex H.M.S. Nith) at Suez crisis 1956. This hit was in the pay office, situated right below 'B' turret.

SEARCH AND DISCOVERY In 1999, the Red Sea Wreck Academy began its programme of locating wrecks further north of the area close to the Thistlegorm. Starting with the Ashrafi Islands and moving north up into the Gulf of Suez, several wrecks were located in shallow water; Zietieh, M uhansa, Attiki, Bachus, Elliot, Birchwood and Laura security.

Reaching as far north as Ras Shukier, the crew became accustomed to being out of their comfort zone of the Straits of Gobul and Shukier became the staging post for targets further north.

43

www.deeplens.com The Hydrographic department had provided us with a large number of targets-some beyond the scope of our team in team in terms of depth-our mandate was to locate wrecks within the 40 mtr sport limit. M any wrecks were to be located as we travelled further and Further north; Scalaria, Aboudy , Turkia were dived surveyed and identified. Cape Clear, Domiat and several other deeper wrecks were located, but use as equipment test runs and put on the back burner. The Turkia became headline news and started to attract other wreck divers to the area.

One wreck though ,had proved elusive-the SS Shillong- and desp ite sup erb intel, precise Documentation, state of the art wreck location equipment , a flat sea bed and big target she has resisted all attempts to locate her.

After 7 expeditions to locate her we concluded she had been abducted by aliens…and decided to suspend the hunt until some new or conflicting evidence came to light.

Shillong would have been the jewel in the crown-a major find in kind depths, with a great story behind her. The Turkia had also provided a good historical bonus, but the Domiat beckoned- a British Corvette sunk by a British Cruiser. We had her location we just needed the right team and the right conditions. We were also aware that other groups wanted to follow us, after a failed attempt to bribe our captain for her location!

So in July 2013 we allocated 3 weeks to survey the wreck- we ended up with a 30 minute period due to poor weather. Locating the wreck was easy , almost too easy for the excited onlookers on board the mothership. If they were anticipating a long search they were mistaken. She rose up from the flat surrounding sea bed onto the screen leaving no doubt as to her location. Some of the guests needed to be convinced I hadn’t found her previously! If only we had had the same luck with the Shillong. With an increasing wind and lifting sea we had to be quick. With no surrounding reef and only a sandy bottom securing the boat would be difficult.The captain was uneasy, mindful of the huge vessels plowing up and down the Suez.

To my shock and amazement Captain Abulla started to kit up - he would buddy me as we tied into the wreck-he was going to plunge 46 mtrs with a rope, single 12ltr and no computer. His p rep was to say his prayers on the fantail before descending………Allah El Bar! or is it Insh Allah?

The wreck appears out of the gloom from 30 mtrs lying on her starboard side with her midships at 46 mtrs. She is guarded by huge potato cod like groupers-dozens of them!It was evident that they had never seen divers before-and they were defiant, huge and intimidating they remained transfixed until the very last second then retreated to the nearest vantage point.

I was surprised at the lack of damage- I had expected her sup erstructure to be missing, given the damage report from the sinking, but even the searchlight tower lay resting on the seabed, located aft of the bridge.

Her Funnel too was still in place. Twin props adorned her stern and her guns and her hedgehogs* clearly visible. The initial feeling was that she was intact, and certainly had not been salvaged. Artefacts such as mast head lamps littered the wreck. Sufficient evidence to prove once again we were the first. No doubt others would in time claim the same.

44

www.deeplens.com

The lack of damage was p uzzling perhaps her starboard hull took most of the punishment and is hidden from view. Perhaps the witness reports were coloured for effect. Never the less here she is and the mystery provides us with a challenging return. We will need to return with trimix to investigate the deeper reaches of the wreck Nets and fishing lines were a hazard but only in some areas of the wreck. The bow is partially buried in the seabed of sandthere seems to be little or no surrounding reef or coral as we expected.

Several areas can be penetrated, but again require planning and the right gear for the job/Her bridge, engine room and quarters beckon. At this depth a serious undertaking.

Not since the discovery of the Rosalie M oller have I felt so elated and excited over a new find. True we have located many interesting and indeed puzzling wrecks but the Domait captures the imagination, and poses many questions about her sinking.

To date time on the wreck has been very limited and it hasn’t been possible to determine just how much current flows over the wreck, but with many more expeditions planned we will piece together a full picture of this sup erb wreck. Her history demands it.

45

www.deeplens.com

46

www.deeplens.com

M.V.Cape Clear

The Cape Clear was a cargo ship of 5,085 GRT built at Lithgows Ltd. (Yard No. 906), Glasgow, Scotland, for Cape York M otorship Co., Ltd. (Lyle Shipping Co.), Glasgow, Scotland. Launched 08 M ay 1939, and completed the following August, the ship was 134.6 meters in length, 17.3 meters in beam, and 8.2 meters in draught. Prop ulsion was provided by a single diesel engine generating 599 nhp to a single screw for a sp eed of 12 knots. Engines built by Rowan David and Co. Glasgow.

There isn't much available information concerning the ship's history. It is known that on 27 February 1941 the ship was damaged when she struck a mine off the Mersey. I have been unable to locate any additional information about the ship until 1944.

On 21 August 1944, while north-bound in the Gulf of Suez enroute to Hampton Roads, UK from Basra, the ship was involved in a collision with the U.S. Liberty Ship Henry Dearborn. The Cape Clear sank as a result of the collision in 55-60-meters of water between the north and south-bound shipping lanes “Off Ras Gharib�

DIVING INFORM ATION The wreck sits upright on a flat seabed, and due to the depths is a normoxic trimix dive. She is a big wrecksome 30mtrs longer than the Thistlegorm. The stern section lies over to port, with the masts sections rising up several meters and covered in soft corals. All of the wooden hatch covers, decking and bulkheads have rotted away, making penetration easier. The engine room is huge, her diesel power units untouched.

Catwalks surround the main engines and there are several workshops of to the side, in all there are 4 floors of the engine room her holds and engine room are fairly open, The bridge and accommodation sup erstructure and also reduced to framework, and are open both on vertical bulkheads and floor/ceilings. M uch of the wreck is draped in nets adding to the other problems with the depth and location of the wreck.

47

www.deeplens.com

WRECK OF THE SS SAN JUAN

Built in 1900 for the New York and Porto Rico Line by Harland &Hollingworth,Wilminton Del. She was a 4 hold cargo passenger ship 317 ft long 42 beam with triple expansion steam engines.

On July 30th, 1941, the Panamanian (American owned) cargo/passenger ship SAN JUAN (sistership PONCE), built in 1900 by Harlan & Hollingsworth and owned by New York & Porto Rico Steamship Co., on voyage from Table Bay to Alexandria with coffee, hides, etc, sank after a collision, off Ras Abu Bakr, Red Sea.with the city of Sigapore

She sits upright in the nmiddle of the shipping lane north of Ras Gharib in 64 mtrs of water

48

www.deeplens.com

RAS ZAFARANA Travelling north from Ras Garib, the road sp lits off towards Cairo at a check point on a large RAS or headland. A large hotel, catering for holiday makers from Cairo and Alexandria, bears the name of the headland. The climate here is very settled, seemingly sheltered from the prevailing northerly wind and fine natural beaches are the norm rather than coral. It is an area full of potential, with rumours of amphora wrecks as well as more modern casualties. The area will no doubt in years to come be a major diving location.

SS TURKIA The rumours of “a wreck north of the Thistlegorm” could well apply to this wreck. A very similar vessel sunk by explosion and indeed carrying war materials, the SS TURKIA has the potential of being the new Thistlegorm and could indeed bring prosp erity to a very run down area of Egypt’s coast line. The area has its own calm settled climate and this wreck is diveable all year round. The added bonus is the amount of marine life it attracts and its discovery must eventually open up this area to some great new discoveries.

Currently well out of the range of most safari boats based in Hurghada or Sharm, she is without doubt one of the very best wrecks found in sp ort diving depths –so far in Egyptian waters

THE SHIP Built in Hull in 1909 as the LIVORNO(11)*,she was a schooner rigged steam cargo ship of 1671 tonnes gross, 300ft long and a 42 ft beam, clinker built by Earles Shipbuilding and Engineering Co.(yard no. 562) She was fitted with a reciprocating, triple expansion, direct acting vertical steam engine producing an IHP of 1000, making 9.5 knots, made

by Amos Smith, also of hull. She has 4 bulkheads and a cruiser stern, single shaft and propeller.

She was built for Thomas Wilson Sons &Co, again of Hull.

FINAL VOYAGE The Turkia’s final voyage began in New York in M ay 1941, where she loaded with a full cargo of “government stores”-she was bound for Pireus. The cargo included explosives, tyres, coils of wire, ingots, vehicles and firearms

.

49

www.deeplens.com

The ships cargo, loaded in New York is still in place; mortar shells in the stern ,tank transporters, and hundreds of tyres in the ‘tween decks.

THE SINKING Two conflicting reports “Bombed off Zafarana Li ght 2 miles SE May 14 th 1941” - "Destroyed by fire and explosion near Zafarana Li ght Gulf of Suez, after being abandoned by her crew when on passage from New York to Pi raeus with general cargo and explosi ves."

“17/5/1941 she had a fire in no. 3 hold where explosives were stored (she was carrying explosives and general cargo) and the fire was beyond control so the vessel was abandoned. 10 minutes later there was a large explosion and the vessel sank in 12 fathoms. Nothing was being done (later that is) as no competent sal vage service was available at Port Said.”-Anne Crow e Lloyds This would explain why she is not in Lloyds War Losses as it sounds like an accident rather than enemy action. Indeed the hull would appear to be intact (from initial dive)and she looks as if she has settled slowly and upright.

Due to the Straits of Gibralta being closed off by axis forces her journey entailed entering the Red Sea at its southern end. She entered the Gulf of Suez and was p roceeding north when, just off the lighthouse At Zafarana, fire broke out in number 3 hold and due to the nature of her cargo she was abandoned.10 minutes later she was rocked by an explosion and settled upright in 12 fathoms. Due to the lack of facilities at Suez no salvage was attempted. Due to the nature of her sinking she does not appear as a casualty of war, merely a wartime loss.

The saloon and ward rooms are full of evidence of her last port of call; crockery and bottles litter the floor.

THE DISCOVERY Browsing through the wartime records I came across two separate entries for the sinking. One stated she had been attacked and bombed by enemy aircraft the other stated that she had sunk due to an internal explosion. Both agreed about her postion –near Zafarana Lighthouse in the Gulf of Suez,a long way north of RAS GARIB, our most northerly exploration of the Gulf of Suez so far.

50

www.deeplens.com A fisherman claimed to know her position. I decided to enlist the help of my good friend Basim ……… and put together a road trip. At Zafarana the only means of putting to sea available was a disused glass bottom boat, lying on the beach at the Zafarana Hotel. A10 minute journey took us to the target area, and with the shallow seabed of sand (24 mtrs,) the shadow of the wreck was soon located, rising up to within 10 mtrs of the surface. That was July 2007

DIVING DETAILS The wreck sits upright on sand in 24 mtrs, with the bow facing towards the shore. The hull is intact, although some sections have holes appearing in the upper sections. Both masts have been cut below the water line and lie off to the side of the wreck. The surrounding seabed is littered with debris from the wreck and is patrolled by Jacks and Travellies.

Sitting proud and straight the bow appears out of a cloud of circling fish; The fo’c’sle hatch allows easy access into the crews accommodation; The frames of the crews bunks can still be seen.

The bow sits proud bathed in sunlight and is straight raked-same vintage as the Rosalie M oller. Clouds of fairley basslets swarm over the fo’c’lse head with its access hatches, hawse pipes, panama eye, triple cleats and windlass. Three deck houses sit at the aft section of the fo’c’sle, and there are coils of wire and vehicle tyres littered around. M ussels encrust most of the raised structures.

Entry into the fo’c’sle head can also be accessed from the main deck and leads to the seamans’ quarterswhere bed frames can still be found Holds 1 and 2 have two ‘tween decks with large numbers of tyres on the upper shelves. The deeper section of the holds contain wooden crates some containing hundreds of brass detonator caps. There are also hundreds of heavy rubber bases, their purpose a s yet not defined. Winches flank the holds, and in the second hold there are several vehicles, heavily encrusted, but appear to be cabs with extended chassis, possibly tank transporters The sup erstructure has external companionways, all wood having long since gone, the rooms are easily entered. The saloon sits below the chart room, with a corridor running port- starboard. Flanking the engine house, running aft on the starboard side are the 1st mates room, bathroom, 2nd & 3rd mates accommodation, chief engineers quarters and finally the cooks quarters.

On the port side are the stewards quarters followed by the pantry , galley 2nd & 3rd engineers quarters. All are easy to enter and explore. The accommodation areas are littered with crockery and bottles; various inscriptions help to confirm her last port of call “FLORIDA WATER, M URRAY & LANM AN, DRUGISTS, NEW YORK” “SLOANS LINIM ENT M ADE IN THE USA” “POISON VERGIF 8oz TALANA They flank the engine room, and her triple expansion steam engine is easy to explore although the lower levels are filling with dead mussel shells and sand. The repeater telegraph is still in place. A p latform of grating walkways forms a gallery around the cylinder head, with an auxiliary boiler aft.

51

www.deeplens.com

The engine room, located amidships is easy to access through several openings, the skylight above allowing natural light to filter down into the interior. Experienced divers can descend two flights of stairs, passed the triple cylinder heads.

In the deepest part of the engine room (24mtrs) are the repeater telegraphs and gauges, their dials obscured by years of concretion. Silt is slowly building up covering the floor in a layer over a foot thick.

Behind the engine house there is access into the no. 3 cargo hold, again with 2 ‘tween decks with more of her general cargo in view. Number 4 hold is totally full of mortar shells, which have totally concreted into the hold, still in their cases, the outlines of which can still be made out. Behind this hold is a narrow hold giving access to the stern store rooms, and steering house. The steering quadrant is located on the poop deck-and nearby a coral encrusted compass binnacle stands proud.

The cruiser/ fantailed stern leads down to her rudder and prop-shrouded with a fishing net at the time of writing-the blades are covered with soft corals.

The wreck is covered in a unique eco system of soft fan corals, nudibranchs and schooling reef fishes. Large schools of juvinille yellow tailed barracuda swarm over the wreck, cascading in an endless waterfall over the sides of the ship, down to the sea bed and back over the deck, often blotting out the sunlight.

To date we have made 8 expeds to the wreck and the marine seems to get better each time .During our 2013 trips we could not see the wreck for dense schools of Barracuda-which not only cascaded down the side of the wreck but also filled the holds.

The invertebrate life is indeed unique. We found two 9� seahorses on our last visit.

GERM AN DISCOVERY. You really have to laugh. It would seem that a recent German operator has announce that she has found the Turkia (September 2013) 7 years too late.

HIENKEL HE 111.

A STAFFEL OF Hienkel 11 bombers based in Crete, attacked the AIDA, which was at anchor off Zafarana Lighthouse. and although the Aida was damaged she was not sunk. One of the attacking aircraft had flown 52

www.deeplens.com so low as to hit Aida’s mast and severely damaged crashed into the sea. To date (Nov 2013) she has not been located. The area is sandy ands less than 30mtrs so could prove to be an easy search and a great find.

Lloyds Losses “S .S . AIDA was sunk at Zafarana Anchorage be HE.111 which crashed at the same time after hitting Aida’s mast. Aida can be salved”

53

www.deeplens.com

PRIDE OF AL SALAM 95

In January 2009 I went on another “road trip�, this time to Suez, where for a couple of days I lived on a faluka- a small Egyptian ( and very smelly) fishing boat. With he help of the fishermen I located several interesting shipwrecks, including the PRIDE OF AL SALAM , formally the FREE ENTERPRISE V She lies on her side in 35mtrs of water. Her port lifeboats have not yet made it to the surface-but they are trying!

An eerie site-a row of lifeboats, still attached float vertically above the wreck

Undived until now-both wing compasses are still in place 54

www.deeplens.com

Free Enterprise VI was built in 1972 by I.C.H. Holland, Werf Gusto Yard, Schiedam, Holland for the European Ferries Group. She was used on Townsend-Thoresen services out of Dover to Calais, Zeebrugge and Boulogne. Free Enterprise VI was the third of five sisterships, which were initially named Free Enterprise IV-VIII. In 1985 Free Enterprise VI was rebuilt by Schichau-Werft AG, Bremerhaven with an additional freight deck. The resulting design was one of the ugliest in history. In 1987, registered owners of Free Enterprise VI became P&O European Ferries, and she was renamed Pride of Sandwich the following year. She worked the Dover-Zeebrugge route until 1992, when she was transferred to the Cairnryan-Larne route and renamed Pride of Ailsa. In 1996 she was sold to Egyptian owners and renamed Pride of Al Salam 95 for service between Suez-Jeddah.

Pride of Al Salam 95 was lost around 19:30 local time on the evening of the 17/10/2005 after colliding with a container ship near the Egyptian harbour of Port Tawfiq. The Pride of Al Salam 95, owned by El Salam M aritime Transport of Egypt, had left the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah on the 16/10/2005 with around 1466 people onboard, mainly Egyptians returning home after performing the Muslim pilgrimage to M ecca.

The ferry was at sea awaiting safe passage to enter the port of Suez when she was rammed by the Cypriot registered cargo ship Jebal Ali, which had just cleared the southern part of the Suez Canal after passing through the canal from the M editerranean to the Red Sea. The cargo ship ran into the side of the ferry, tearing a 5m diameter hole in her side in the vicinity of the engine room. After the collision, both ships locked together so the ferry remained afloat long enough for the passengers to board the cargo ship and from there be transferred ashore by a flotilla of rescue vessels. Once the two vessels broke apart when the cargo ship went astern after evacuating all the ferry passengers and crew, the Pride of Al Salam 95 sank in around 3½ minutes.

Reports suggest that up to 11 people may have died in the incident, killed either by the impact of the collision or in the stampede as passengers attempted to get to safety as quickly as possible. At least a further 98 of the ferry's passengers were being reported as injured. Damage to the Jebal Ali was reported to be slight and their are no casualties among her crew. Although sinking in the approaches to the southern entrance to the Suez Canal, the wreck of the Pride of Al Salam 95 has not blocked the canal and is now marked by buoys.

55

www.deeplens.com

MISR (ex HMS PALAU, ex S.S MALROUK)) ( ex- Tricoma

Class Patrol Frigate/British Colony Class Frigate)

HM S Papua is one of the lesser known vessels of the Royal Navy. Her active life covered a period of less than one year and her greatest claim to fame was to share the sinking of a U-boat in the Atlantic. PapuaNew Guinea member R.A. Ruegg has written this story because so little is known of the vessel and not one photograph has been found despite a wide search.

HM S Papua was built and engined by the Walsh Kaiser Company of Providence, Rhode Island. USA. She started life as the United States Ship Howett (PF.84). The following were her basic particulars:        

  

Laid down: 7 September 1943 Launched: 10 October 1943 Completed: 26 July 1944 Length overall: 304 feet Beam: 37 feet 6 inches Draught: 12 feet Disp lacement: 1,436 tons (2,280 tons full load).

Armament: o 3 x 3in. (50 cal.) HA/LA single-mounted guns o 4 x 40mm Bofors AA on twin mounting o 4 x 20mm Oerlikon AA on single mounts o 2 rails and 4 Depth Charge Throwers (DCT) o 64 depth charges carried o 1 x ATW Hedgehog Engines: 2 shaft reciprocating VTE, HP - 5,500, giving 18 knots full sp eed Complement: 120 (as a Western Approaches Escort Vessel) Pennant Number: K.588

With 20 other ships of her class (the ‘Colony’ Class), she was allocated to the Royal Navy under LendLease. She commenced her service in the Western Atlantic on escort duties between St. Johns, Newfoundland, and Bermuda. On 10 October 1944 she left St. Johns for the United Kingdom, arriving on the Clyde on 29 October 1944.

56

www.deeplens.com For a time she was not allocated to any sp ecific flotilla, and was engaged upon local defence and escort duties out of the Clyde. In December 1944 Papua served for a short while with the 20th Escort Group, based on Londonderry, then she joined the newly formed 23rd Escort Group which was also based on Londonderry. The 23rd Escort Group comprised: HM Ships Monserrat (Senior Officer), Barbados, Nyasaland, Papua, Loch Gorm and Loch Scàvaig.

On 4 February 1945 Papua, together with Ny asaland, joined Loch Scàvaig in attacking U 1014 which had been located by Loch Scàvaig at the entrance to Lough Foy le. HM S Loch Shin from the 19th Escort Group to clean up the mess.

Later in February, Papua, together with other ships of the 23rd Escort Group, carried out anti-submarine patrols in the St. George’s Channel.

In M ay 1945 Papua was an escort to one of the convoys which sailed for the relief of Norway. On 3 June 1945 she left Oslo in company with HM S Monserrat, escorting six U-boats which had surrendered on their way to the United Kingdom.

Papua arrived at Lisahally, Northern Ireland, on 9 June 1945, and was placed in reserve. In Ap ril 1946, in company with HM S Tobago, she sailed for New York, arriving there on 30 Ap ril. On 13 M ay 1946 she was p aid off and handed over to the United States Authorities at that port.

Papua was awarded the Battle Honour - Atlantic 1945.

In 1946 Papua was sold to Egypt and taken over by the Khedival M ail Line who renamed it SS M alrouk.

Some years later it was acquired by the Egyptian Navy, rearmed and commissioned as M isr. The vessel sank after a collision in the Gulf of Suez on the night of 16/17th M ay 1953.

M.V.ZAMALEK The ZAM ALEK was a 1,566 gross ton ship, built 1921 by Ailsa SB Co, Troon as the HALCYON for General Steam Navigation Co, London. In 1934 she was sold to Khedivial M ail SS & Graving Dock Co, London and renamed ZAM ALEK. In 1937 the company became Pharaonic M ail Line, Alexandria and in 1940 the ship was taken over by the Ministry of War Transport (General Steam Nav. Co, managers) and converted to a convoy rescue ship. She was involved in the infamous convoy P.Q.17. 1946 returned to Khedivial M ail Line which was then Egyptian owned. 5th Nov.1956 scuttled in Suez Harbour during the Suez War by the Egyptian authorities. 1957 cut up and raised in sections for scrapping.

M.V.AVRA A GREEK motor vessel built in 1943 ,988 tons ,206 ft long left Suez port with 1350 tons of cement on board on Dec 14th 1967 she foundered when a discharge pipe broke and her hull cracked during a storm.

Her crew were all safely rescued Final position was given as lat. 24 50 N long 35 16 E

M.V.BILAL A lebenese motor ship built in 1957, 1591 tons, 82 mtrs long, the Bilal was taking 315 tons of Calcium Carbide in drums and an addition 1055 tons of general cargo from Constantza to Dammam on the 16th Jan 1976 when she struck a rocky breakwater near Port Said. Refusing assistance she remained fast for two 57

www.deeplens.com days until an explosion occurred in no. 2 hold .Fire sp read through the vessel and the crew abandoned ship.

She sank with her bow still wedged into the jetty.

S.S.ARWA Owned by the South Yemen Shipping co., this 304 ft, 1584 ton steamship was built in 1934.She arrived at Adabiya on September 28th 1973 to load a cargo of cement. On the 5th October loading had to be abandoned due to shelling by Israeli Artillery. The hatches battened down and the crew fled ashore.The vessel sank with 1439 tons of cement on board

S.S.MARHONDA A Panamanian steam ship built in 1922,at Hamburgh. The 2542 ton,344 ft long vessel was lying at anchor near Suez for nearly 2 years when she was bombed during the Arab Israeli conflict. The resulting explosions and fire caused severe damage to the bridge and engine room. With the hull holed and flooded she settled upright in shallow water. The vessel sank on July 1st 1969

M.V. ESCAUT A Belgium motorship, built in 1938, 1087 tons, 230 ft long, she was taken over by the British navy to be used as a depot ship, and while off Point Attika in the Gulf of Suez, she was bombed by German aircraft on August 3rd 1941 “17.3 cables 232degrees from south beacon ships head, Attika Bay�

M.V.ERGINA

1

A 9335 TON bulk cargo motor vessel, the Ergina 1 was on a voyage fr0m Rumania to Somalia with 15000 tons of bagged cement when she ran aground on September 1 1983 in the Gulf of Suez (28 02 30 n 33 22 18 e).For 10 days attempts to refloat her failed, then fire broke out in her engine room, sp reading through the accommodation. Her 24 crew were safely evacuated and she was declared a total loss.

S.S.NICOLAOS A MASTRANDREAS A Greek steamship built in 1918, she was 2387 tons,289 ft long. On December 5th 1967 while at Port Ibrahim near Suez fire broke out in her engine room and she sank.

M.V.SAD EL FURAT n Egyptian motor tanker of 13,235 tons, 560 ft long. Built for the United Arab M arine Company in 1960 in Hamburg. She caught fire while along side a terminal jetty at Suez on April 4th 1969 during an exchange of fire from artillery from opposing sides

S.S.TYNEFIELD The Tynefield was built in 1926 by J Laing & sons for the Hunting S.S. Co. She was fitted with oil burning engines, 5856tons, 395 ft long, with a sp eed of 11 knots. She had almost completed her long journey to Alexandria, when as she entered the Suez canal she struck a mine and sank, killing 8 men . Captain Carr was amongst the survivors. The date was October 5th 1941. A convoy following a mere day behind was

58

www.deeplens.com ordered to lay anchor at the entrance to the Gulf until the obstruction was cleared. Amongst this convoy were the Thistlegorm (sunk the next day) and the Rosalie M oller sunk a few days later

S.S.AFRICAN GLEN An American steamship, built in 1945, 5944 tons ,459 ft long, was caught up in the hostilities of 1967 between the Arabs and Israelies. Along with 16 other vessels she remained trapped until October 1973, when she was shelled during cross canal and sunk by missiles and shells from the Israelis. Her masts and funnel remained above water as she settled upright on the bottom

59

www.deeplens.com

PETER COLLINGS BIBLIOGRAPHY-PUBLICATIONS 1986- 2015

1986

2000

1988

1991

2001

2002

2005

2009

2008

2009

2002

2008

2009

60

1996

2009

www.deeplens.com

2010

2010

2013

2011

2013

2015

2011

2013

2015

2012

2014

2015

2104

2015

30 YEARS OF PUBLISHING PETER COLLINGS.Peter began diving in 1970. In 1983 he wrote the first of 12 diving related books and has won several international awards for his publications and underwater photography. His articles and photographs have appeared consistently thought the international diving press, Including SCUBA WORLD, DIVER ,DIVE, SPORT DIVER, SCOTTISH DIVER , H20, TAUCHEN DYKE & OCTOPUS A BSAC Advanced instructor, ( Red Sea Wreck Academy) SSI PRO 5000 DIVER and TDI Advance Trimix diver, Peter has lead over 500 wreck and photo safaris around the world, logging over 6700 dives, and along with his regular team of experts has located and identified many of the shipwrecks in Egyptian waters. To date Peter has written and published 34 diving related guide books.

61

www.deeplens.com

.

62