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Al Kahfain (Wreck)
Egypt · wreck · advanced
6–25 madvancedAOWboat entry
MEDIA5 items
Al Kahfain (Wreck)
A 115 m ferry lying inverted against the wall of Sha'ab Sheer, still settling, dived one way from a zodiac drop.
Max depth6–25 m
Required leveladvanced
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
The Al Kahfain was a roll-on roll-off passenger ferry built as the Ulster Queen at Cammell Laird in Birkenhead, launched on 1 December 1966 and completed the following June. She ran Belfast to Liverpool for the Belfast Steamship Company and then P&O European Ferries, moved to the Mediterranean in 1982, and passed through the names Al Kahera, Ala Eddin and Poseidonia, spending seventeen years with Hellenic Mediterranean Lines before being sold to the Red Sea trade and renamed Al Kahfain in 2005. She was 115.2 m long and 16.5 m in the beam, around 4,300 gross tons.
In the first days of November 2005 an explosion in the engine room started a fire that ran up into the superstructure while she was on passage to Jeddah with crew only aboard. One man was lost and 58 were rescued. She capsized under tow, drifted south, and went down on Sha'ab Sheer, the reef also known as Hyndman Reef, in about 25 m of water. Accounts differ on the exact date: the ferry registry logs the sinking on 3 November 2005, and the Red Sea Wreck Project notes one source giving 22 November.
She lies inverted against the reef wall, the hull split along the waterline. Blue Submarine in Safaga give the wreck as 22 to 24 m; other accounts run to 25 m, and the shallowest part of the upturned hull comes to about 6 m. The starboard anchor lies loose on the seabed, the port anchor is still in its housing on the upturned bow, and the funnel is wedged into the sand underneath the ship. There are penetration points the length of the wreck, but this is a hull that has not finished moving: divers report metal creaking and grinding, the detached stern gate is treated as unstable, and swell works through the site.
The dive is a one-way. Boats do not sit over the wreck; you go in off the boat or a zodiac and swim in one direction, roughly fifty minutes by Blue Submarine's reckoning, until you reach water where the boat can pick you up, normally the anchorages on the east side of the reef. Strong current is common along Sha'ab Sheer, and the run out from Safaga is 70 to 90 minutes.
- A 115 m ferry lying inverted against the reef wall, hull split along the waterline
- The funnel wedged into the seabed beneath the ship
- The port anchor still in its housing on the upturned bow, the starboard anchor loose on the sand
- The coral garden and drop-off of Sha'ab Sheer worked on the same dive
- Dolphins recorded on this reef, including Indo-Pacific bottlenose and spinner
Please note before you go
- The wreck is still collapsing: divers report metal creaking and grinding, and the detached stern gate is treated as unstable
- Swell works through the site, moving an already unsettled hull
- Penetration points run the length of an inverted, split hull with no stable overhead
- Strong current along the reef, with a one-way profile and no boat above you to return to
- Fire coral is recorded on this reef
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only, 70 to 90 minutes from Safaga, also reachable on northern Red Sea liveaboard itineraries. There is no mooring over the wreck: divers go in off the boat or a zodiac at the wreck and swim in one direction, around fifty minutes, before being picked up towards the anchorages on the east side of Sha'ab Sheer.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
Weather. The Red Sea Wreck Project state the site is subject to sea and weather conditions and can only be dived in good weather; Sha'ab Sheer's north side is exposed and only its south side is reliably protected.
Season
No source we read gives this wreck a season, so the best-months field is empty. What decides the dive is sea state, because the site sits on the exposed side of a reef 70 to 90 minutes offshore and takes swell, and because the profile depends on a boat repositioning to collect divers at the end of a one-way swim. Ask the centre what the forecast is doing rather than picking a month.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentstrong
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range6–25 m
Environmentwreck
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
A 70 to 90 minute run out of Safaga, then a drop from the boat or a zodiac and a one-way swim of about fifty minutes with current on the reef. We have not found a visibility figure from a source we trust for this site, so that field is empty rather than borrowed from a neighbouring reef. Expect the trip to be conditions-dependent: the Red Sea Wreck Project state plainly that the site can only be dived in good weather.
On current: Plan for it. Blue Submarine say strong currents are common in this area, and Swiss Wellness Dive Club describe the current along Sha'ab Sheer's exposed north side as capable of running strong and splitting in the middle to run east and west; they add that the reef's south side is always well protected. ETL Travel put a medium-strength current flowing northeast along the reef and suggest tucking down close to the hull at 24 m for shelter when it is running. The consequence is the format: the wreck is dived one way from a drop, not from a mooring.
Dives & underwater footage
Questions & answers
What ship is the Al Kahfain wreck?
She was built as the Ulster Queen, a roll-on roll-off passenger ferry from Cammell Laird in Birkenhead, launched on 1 December 1966, and ran Belfast to Liverpool before moving to the Mediterranean in 1982. She carried the names Al Kahera, Ala Eddin and Poseidonia, spending seventeen years with Hellenic Mediterranean Lines, and was renamed Al Kahfain when she was sold into the Red Sea trade in 2005. She was 115.2 m long and about 4,300 gross tons.
How and when did the Al Kahfain sink?
In the first days of November 2005 an explosion in the engine room started a fire that spread into the superstructure while she was on passage to Jeddah carrying only crew. One man was lost and 58 were rescued. She capsized while under tow, drifted south and sank on Sha'ab Sheer, also called Hyndman Reef, off Safaga. The ferry registry logs the sinking on 3 November 2005, and the Red Sea Wreck Project notes one account giving 22 November.
How deep is the Al Kahfain wreck?
The seabed under the wreck is around 22 to 25 m, with Blue Submarine giving 22 to 24 m and wreck references putting her in about 25 m of water. Because she lies inverted against the reef wall, the shallowest part of the upturned hull comes up to roughly 6 m, so the profile spans most of the recreational range in a single pass.
How is the Al Kahfain dived?
As a one-way dive. There is no mooring over the wreck, so you go in off the boat or a zodiac at the wreck and swim in one direction, about fifty minutes according to Blue Submarine, until you reach water where the boat can collect you, normally near the anchorages on the east side of Sha'ab Sheer. The run out from Safaga is 70 to 90 minutes.
Is the Al Kahfain safe to penetrate?
It should be treated as not safe. The hull is inverted and split along the waterline, and the wreck is still collapsing: divers report metal creaking and grinding in many places, and the stern gate has separated and is regarded as unstable. Swell works through the site and moves the structure. There are penetration points along the whole wreck, but this is a young wreck that has not settled.
Is there current on the Al Kahfain?
Usually. Blue Submarine say strong currents are common here, Swiss Wellness Dive Club describe the current on Sha'ab Sheer's exposed north side as running strong and splitting to go east and west, and ETL Travel put a medium-strength flow running northeast along the reef, suggesting divers tuck down close to the hull at 24 m for shelter. The current is the reason the dive is run one way rather than from a mooring.
What will I see besides the wreck?
Sha'ab Sheer itself: an elongated reef about 1 km long with a wall and drop-off, three ergs forming a channel with the main reef and a brain coral garden reached through a channel at 12 m. Blue Submarine say the reef is often visited by dolphins, and records at this pin include Indo-Pacific bottlenose and spinner dolphins, whitetip reef shark, batfish, blue-spotted ribbontail rays, orchid dottyback and banded coral shrimp.
Is the Al Kahfain the same as the Salem Express?
No, they are two different wrecks on the same reef system about 2.5 km apart. The Salem Express is the 1991 ferry disaster off Safaga and is a separate catalogue entry. Blue Submarine describe a compartment full of life jackets on the Al Kahfain, but personal effects are more usually associated with the Salem Express, so treat that detail as unconfirmed and be clear with your guide which wreck the boat is diving.
Life recorded at Al Kahfain (Wreck)
38 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmarare · 3 recordsTriaenodon obesusrare · 1 records
Stenopus hispidusrare · 2 records
Amphiprion bicinctusrare · 2 records
Chaetodon austriacusrare · 2 records
Tursiops aduncusrare · 2 records
All 38 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Taeniura lymma | rare | 3 |
| Stenopus hispidus | rare | 2 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 2 |
| Tursiops aduncus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon auriga | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 1 |
| Chlorurus gibbus | rare | 1 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | rare | 1 |
| Chromis flavaxilla | rare | 1 |
| Epinephelus fasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Heniochus intermedius | rare | 1 |
| Millepora dichotoma | rare | 1 |
| Naso elegans | rare | 1 |
| Odonus niger | rare | 1 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | rare | 1 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | rare | 1 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | rare | 1 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | rare | 1 |
| Platax orbicularis | rare | 1 |
| Priacanthus hamrur | rare | 1 |
| Pseudochromis fridmani | rare | 1 |
| Pseudorca crassidens | rare | 1 |
| Pycnochromis dimidiatus | rare | 1 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 1 |
| Stenella longirostris | rare | 1 |
| Triaenodon obesus | rare | 1 |
| Tridacna maxima | rare | 1 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | rare | 1 |
| Grammistes sexlineatus | rare | 1 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | rare | 1 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | rare | 1 |
| Fromia ghardaqana | rare | 1 |
| Zebrasoma xanthurum | rare | 1 |
| Amblyglyphidodon flavilatus | rare | 1 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | rare | 1 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 1 |
| Bodianus anthioides | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in Safaga
Explore all sitesSha’ab Sheer East0.3 km
SafagaThe eastern end of Safaga's boomerang reef, where three ergs stand off the reef and leave a shallow channel that decides how the dive goes.
Shaab Claude1.5 km
SafagaA small outer reef south of Sha'ab Sheer with a ridge of fused ergs and shallow swim-throughs at 4 to 6 m.
Sha’ab Sheer West1.6 km
SafagaThe western dive on Sha'ab Sheer: in through a small channel to a hard-coral garden on the north side, then an inclined coral wall along the main reef, with sea fans below 20 m.
Sha’ab Sheer Soraya2.2 km
SafagaThe small round hard-coral reef detached to the south of Sha'ab Sheer, dived as the shallow second half of a Salem Express day.
Salem Express, wreck2.6 km
SafagaA 1991 ferry disaster on Hyndman Reef. Hundreds of people are still inside her, and that is the whole of what this dive is.
Shaab Hamdallah3.7 km
SafagaA group of tall coral towers standing off the south tip of the Sha'ab Sheer plateau, dived only on days flat enough to leave a boat with no shelter at all.
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