SeaLog
Certification required
AOW
Dunraven, wreck
Egypt · wreck · intermediate
15–30 mintermediateAOWboat entry
Dunraven, wreck
An 1876 steamer lying upside down against Beacon Rock, bow at 15 m and stern on the sand at 29.
Max depth15–30 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
The Dunraven was a British steam-and-sail cargo ship of about 1,600 tons, roughly 81 m long and 10 m in the beam, launched at C. Mitchell and Co in Newcastle in December 1872 and owned by W. Milburn for the Britain to Bombay run. She left Liverpool in January 1876 with steel and timber, sold the cargo in Bombay, loaded spices, cotton and muslin, and on the way home ran onto the reef at Sha'ab Mahmoud on the Red Sea approach to Suez. She hung on the reef for around fourteen hours, slid off, capsized and sank. Captain Care and his crew of twenty-five got away in the boats and were picked up by local fishermen; the Board of Trade found the captain negligent and pulled his certificate for a year. Sources give the loss date as either 22 or 25 April 1876, the earlier date being the one Howard Rosenstein cites from British Admiralty records.
The wreck sat known only to Bedouin fishermen until 1977, when Rosenstein found it on directions from a fisherman named Suleiman, whose navigation instruction was to smoke three cigarettes and start looking for breaking water. Divers found porcelain plates in the galley carrying the ship's name, and that settled the identification. Before that, and for some years after, the wreck was sold to visiting divers as a First World War ship carrying gold to pay Lawrence of Arabia's Bedouin fighters. Rosenstein has since written that a friend invented that story as marketing; torpedo-shaped bottles of Webb's Double Soda recovered from the wreck dated the ship firmly to the 1870s. Treat the spy-ship and gold stories as folklore, not history. A half-hour documentary shot in 1979, Mystery of the Red Sea, is what put the site on the map.
Today she lies upside down against the reef at the southern edge of Sha'ab Mahmoud, directly below the south cardinal beacon that gives Beacon Rock its name, broken into two sections. The top of the bow is at about 15 m and the stern rests on the sand at 29 to 30 m, where the shape of the rigging and the crow's nest is still readable on the seabed. There are three main openings, at the bow, amidships and the stern. The stern section is open in places for divers qualified to enter, and leads past the boilers and the point where the hull broke in two; the bow has plenty of places to look in but nowhere to go. Seawolf describes a penetration at 28 m into the belly of the ship with the emergency stop valve, the broken mast and a ladder down to the engine room.
A cloud of glassfish sits by the boilers and usually fills the exit, and a large moray has lived in the wreck for years. Groupers, lionfish, scorpionfish and crocodilefish work the structure, and OBIS records at this pin are led by giant moray, yellowfin goatfish and yellowbar angelfish. Most dives finish off the wreck and onto the reef wall and shallows, at around 9 m, where the porites is pastel pink, green, yellow and blue.
- The hull upside down against the reef, bow at 15 m and stern on the sand at 29
- Rigging and the shape of the crow's nest still readable on the seabed at the stern
- Two boilers and the point where the ship broke in half, inside the stern section
- A permanent cloud of glassfish around the boilers and the exit
- A large moray resident in the wreck for years
- Pastel porites on the reef wall at about 9 m for the shallow end of the dive
Please note before you go
- Penetration is a genuine overhead environment in a ship lying upside down, where the deck is above you and the ceiling is the hull; wreck training, a light and a line, not enthusiasm
- The stern sits at 29 to 30 m, deep enough for narcosis and short bottom times, and it is the most interesting part
- Occasional strong current over an exposed offshore reef
- Over an hour by boat from Sharm, past Ras Mohammed, with no support at the site
- Scorpionfish and lionfish on the structure; the OBIS records for this pin are led by giant moray
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only, roughly an hour or more from Sharm el Sheikh, running south-west past Ras Mohammed to the southern edge of Sha'ab Mahmoud. The wreck lies directly below the south cardinal beacon that gives Beacon Rock its name. It is run both as a mooring dive and as a drift, and it is a standard stop on Sharm day-boat wreck trips and on northern liveaboard itineraries.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Rules and permits
Operators list the Dunraven under Ras Mohammed National Park, and Sharm dive centres collect a national park fee at checkout rather than at the site. The amounts quoted differ: Reef Oasis Dive Club recorded 7 euro per person per trip for the Ras Mohammed marine park from 27 November 2019, while Emperor Divers quotes 5 euro paid locally for park dives. Confirm the current figure with the operator when booking.
Season
No source gives a seasonal window for this wreck and none is recorded here. What governs whether the dive happens is the crossing rather than the calendar: the boat runs over an hour of open water past Ras Mohammed to an exposed reef, so wind, not month, is what cancels it.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentmoderate
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range15–30 m
Environmentwreck
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
An offshore reef site reached by boat from Sharm, over an hour out past Ras Mohammed, dived on a mooring or as a drift depending on the day. The reef blocks some of the swell but the surface can be choppy. Underwater the plan is standard: down the hull from the bow at 15 m to the stern on the sand at 29, back along the wreck, then out onto the reef wall and up into the shallows at around 9 m for the rest of the dive.
On current: Red Sea Diving College flags occasional strong currents here and runs the site as a drift as well as a mooring dive; Seawolf names sometimes-strong current as the main hazard of the area. The reef gives some protection from waves but the surface can still be choppy, which matters on an hour-plus crossing. Depths are consistent across sources: bow around 15 m, stern on the sand at 29 to 30 m, with 30 m as the operator maximum. The dive normally ends shallow on the reef wall at about 9 m, so the profile is deep first and long shallow after.
Questions & answers
How deep is the Dunraven wreck?
The top of the bow sits at about 15 m and the stern rests on the sand at 29 to 30 m, with the hull lying upside down against the reef between them. Red Sea Diving College runs the site to a 30 m maximum. Most dives finish off the wreck and up onto the reef wall at around 9 m, so the deep part is short and the shallow part is long.
What ship was the Dunraven and how did it sink?
A British steam-and-sail cargo ship of about 1,600 tons, roughly 81 m long, launched at C. Mitchell and Co in Newcastle in December 1872 for the Britain to Bombay trade. Homeward bound from Bombay with spices, cotton and muslin, she ran onto the reef at Sha'ab Mahmoud in April 1876, hung there about fourteen hours, slid off and capsized. Captain Care and his twenty-five crew all got away in the boats; the Board of Trade found the captain negligent and suspended his certificate for a year.
Was the Dunraven really a spy ship carrying gold for Lawrence of Arabia?
No. That story was invented as marketing. Howard Rosenstein, who found the wreck in 1977, has written that a friend made up the tale of a British ship sunk while carrying gold to pay Lawrence of Arabia's Bedouin fighters, and it drew divers for years. Porcelain plates found in the galley carried the ship's own name, and torpedo-shaped Webb's Double Soda bottles recovered from her dated the wreck to the 1870s, four decades before the First World War.
Can you go inside the Dunraven?
Parts of it, with the right training. There are three main openings, at the bow, amidships and the stern. Red Sea Diving College describes the stern section as open in places for qualified divers and leading past the boilers and the break in the hull, while the bow offers places to look in but nowhere to enter. Remember the ship is upside down, so the interior is inverted and full of fallen metalwork; this is an overhead environment, not a swim-through.
How do you get to the Dunraven wreck?
By boat from Sharm el Sheikh, over an hour out running south-west past Ras Mohammed to the southern edge of Sha'ab Mahmoud. The wreck lies directly below the south cardinal beacon that gives Beacon Rock its name. It is run both as a mooring dive and as a drift, and appears on Sharm day-boat wreck trips and on northern liveaboard itineraries.
Is there current on the Dunraven?
Sometimes, and it can be strong. Red Sea Diving College lists occasional strong currents and runs the site as a drift as well as a mooring dive, and Seawolf names current as the main hazard here. The reef takes some of the wave energy out but the surface can still be choppy, which is worth knowing before an hour-long crossing.
What will I see on the Dunraven?
The wreck itself first: the inverted hull, the two boilers, the point where she broke in half, and at the stern the shape of the rigging and the crow's nest still readable on the sand. A cloud of glassfish sits around the boilers and usually fills the exit, and a large moray has lived aboard for years. OBIS records at this pin are led by giant moray, yellowfin goatfish and yellowbar angelfish, and groupers, lionfish and scorpionfish work the structure.
Do you need a permit or pay a fee to dive the Dunraven?
Operators file the wreck under Ras Mohammed National Park, and Sharm dive centres collect a national park fee at checkout rather than at the site. The amount quoted varies: Reef Oasis Dive Club recorded 7 euro per person per trip from 27 November 2019, while Emperor Divers lists 5 euro paid locally for park dives. Confirm the current figure with the operator when you book.
Life recorded at Dunraven, wreck
61 species within 1.5 km · OBISGymnothorax javanicusoccasional · 12 recordsHexabranchus sanguineusrare · 4 recordsSynanceia verrucosarare · 4 recordsBalistoides viridescensrare · 3 recordsTaeniura lymmarare · 2 records
Mulloidichthys vanicolensisoccasional · 10 records
All 61 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Gymnothorax javanicus | occasional | 12 |
| Mulloidichthys vanicolensis | occasional | 10 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | occasional | 9 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | occasional | 9 |
| Ostracion cubicum | occasional | 9 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | occasional | 9 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | occasional | 9 |
| Pomacanthus maculosus | occasional | 8 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 8 |
| Chaetodon auriga | occasional | 7 |
| Epibulus insidiator | occasional | 7 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | occasional | 7 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | occasional | 7 |
| Plectorhinchus gaterinus | occasional | 7 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 7 |
| Arothron diadematus | occasional | 7 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | occasional | 6 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | occasional | 6 |
| Cheilinus quinquecinctus | occasional | 6 |
| Sargocentron caudimaculatum | occasional | 6 |
| Cephalopholis argus | occasional | 6 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 5 |
| Myripristis murdjan | occasional | 5 |
| Caranx melampygus | occasional | 5 |
| Aurelia solida | occasional | 5 |
| Chaetodon melannotus | occasional | 5 |
| Octopus cyanea | rare | 4 |
| Scarus niger | rare | 4 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | rare | 4 |
| Parapriacanthus guentheri | rare | 4 |
| Gymnothorax flavimarginatus | rare | 4 |
| Epinephelus tauvina | rare | 4 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | rare | 4 |
| Hexabranchus sanguineus | rare | 4 |
| Synanceia verrucosa | rare | 4 |
| Pseudobalistes fuscus | rare | 3 |
| Balistoides viridescens | rare | 3 |
| Caesio suevica | rare | 3 |
| Chromodoris quadricolor | rare | 3 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 3 |
| Lutjanus ehrenbergii | rare | 3 |
| Neoniphon sammara | rare | 3 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | rare | 3 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | rare | 3 |
| Priacanthus hamrur | rare | 3 |
| Stenopus hispidus | rare | 3 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | rare | 3 |
| Epinephelus fasciatus | rare | 2 |
| Taeniura lymma | rare | 2 |
| Abudefduf sexfasciatus | rare | 2 |
| Tripneustes gratilla | rare | 2 |
| Tridacna maxima | rare | 2 |
| Siganus luridus | rare | 2 |
| Phyllidia varicosa | rare | 2 |
| Gomophia egyptiaca | rare | 2 |
| Papilloculiceps longiceps | rare | 2 |
| Diodon hystrix | rare | 2 |
| Dardanus lagopodes | rare | 2 |
| Cheilodipterus macrodon | rare | 2 |
| Sargocentron diadema | rare | 2 |
| Pseudochromis fridmani | rare | 2 |
Nearby sites in Sinai
Explore all sitesSmall Crack4.2 km
SinaiThe southern gap in Sha'ab Mahmoud's barrier reef, dived on the tide that empties the lagoon rather than on the one that fills it.
The Alternatives8.3 km
SinaiSaba Erg, the seven pinnacles: a chain of flat-topped ergs on a shallow sandy lagoon three miles west of Ras Mohammed, dived on the days the open sea is not divable.
Ras Fanar12.2 km
SinaiMarsa Baryka12.4 km
SinaiA big sheltered bay inside Ras Mohammed park where most of the shoreline is closed for nesting turtles and the diving happens off a handful of moorings.
Shark & Yolanda Reef13.4 km
SinaiTwo reefs run as one drift at the tip of Sinai, with a freighter's cargo of bathroom fittings scattered in the shallows.
Ras Muhammed National park13.4 km
SinaiBeen here? Log it.
SeaLog imports your dives from your dive computer or Apple Watch, tracks every animal you see, and keeps your logbook safe forever.
Download SeaLog