Dive site
Salem Express
Safaga, Red Sea, Egypt
- Typical depth
- 30 m
- Type
- Wreck
- Level
- Intermediate
Marine life
- Macro
- nudibranchs, scorpionfish
- Turtles
- hawksbill (occasional)
- Pelagics
- barracuda, jacks
- Reef fish
- lionfish, glassfish in the wheelhouse, batfish, snapper, grouper
- Invertebrates
- coral and sponge encrusting the hull, soft corals on the railings
Wreck
- Vessel
- Salem Express
- Class
- Ro-Ro passenger ferry
- Origin
- Egypt (built France 1966)
- Sunk
- 1991 — struck the Hyndman Reefs ~16 km south of Safaga on the night of 14 Dec 1991 (returning from Jeddah with Hajj pilgrims) and sank within minutes; ~470 official fatalities — one of the worst maritime disasters of the Red Sea
- Length
- 115 m
- Penetration
- Not advised
Site features
- Wreck
- War Grave
- No Penetration (Cultural)
- Memorial Dive
- Intact
- Reef Adjacent
When to dive
- Best
- Mar–May, Sep–Nov
- Avoid
- Jan, Jul–Aug, Dec
The Salem Express was a Roll-on/Roll-off passenger ferry that struck the Hyndman Reefs ~16 km south of Safaga on the night of 14 December 1991 and sank within minutes; ~470 people died. The wreck lies on her starboard side in 12–32 m and is treated as a mass grave — Egyptian custom and operator code forbid penetration and the removal or disturbance of any artefact. Year-round divable, but the open Safaga site is best in spring and autumn when winds drop. A sober, sensitive dive — many operators brief it as a memorial.
Conditions & access
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Water temp
- 22–28 °C
- Current
- Mild
- Access
- Open access
- Min cert
- Advanced Open Water recommended; no wreck-penetration specialty needed because penetration is not permitted
Location
26.6403° N, 33.9933° E
Sources
Curated from 1 source
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