Sharm El Sheikh Diving

The Dunraven Wreck

The 80m long Dunraven steamship was built in Newcastle, England in 1873. In March 1876, on her voyage up the Suez from India to the UK, she caught fire and sank to the seabed at 30m off Shaab Mahmoud, south of Sharm El Sheikh, with her cargo of cotton and wool. The wreck was only rediscovered in 1979.

The wreck now lies in 2 pieces, with its stern and large brass propeller to the north and the Sinai Peninsula reef to the west. It's possible to dive the entire length of the ship's interior so enter at the deepest section - the stern.

The cavernous hull is adorned with soft corals and black corals and is full of schooling goatfish and glassfish, squirrelfish and a few groupers and moray eels. Pass some ballast stones, the large boiler room and several breaks in the hull until you reach the bow at 15m. Here you can ascend and swim back along the upper surface of the ship.

The exterior of the hull is now covered in hard corals, with sea whips and gorgonians hanging from the vertical sections. It's a great place to spot nudibranchs, crocodilefish, scorpionfish and colourful clouds of fairy basslets.

Rather than ascending up the buoy line to end your dive, you might choose instead to swim over the the reef slope. This is one ofthe top Sharm El Sheikh dive sites for fish density - the marine life here is very lively with a good chance to see Napoleon wrasse and turtles.

Overall, the Dunraven may not offer the spectacular artifacts of the Thistlegorm but then it doesn't attract huge crowds of divers from Sharm El Sheikh either, so it will definitely be worth your while to include it in your Sharm El Sheikh diving holiday.

Dunraven Reef Basics: Wreck dive
Depth: 18 - 28m
Visibility: 25 - 30m
Currents: Gentle to moderate
Surface conditions: Generally calm
Water temperature: 22 - 28°C
Experience level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving season: All year round
Distance: 25 km (1½ hrs) southwest of Sharm El Sheikh, 65 km (4½ hrs) north of Hurghada
Access: Daytrips and liveaboards

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