SeaLog
Getting there
Boat only, from Marsa Alam, Port Ghalib or Hamata. Day boats reach it in calm weather; otherwise it is run from a liveaboard with a zodiac drop and a drift along the exposed northern side.
Shaab Mohamed
Egypt · reef · intermediate
0–24 mintermediateboat entry
MEDIA5 items
Shaab Mohamed
A small Fury Shoals reef whose northern end is a field of coral pinnacles rising to the surface, usually dived as a zodiac drift.
Max depth0–24 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeboat
Visibility20 m
The dive
Sha'ab Mohammed is a small reef in the Fury Shoals area off Hamata — not to be confused with the much better known Sha'ab Mahmoud in the Gulf of Suez. It is modest compared with its neighbours: a coral garden in the south, coral blocks along the west side, and a northern end crowded with large pinnacles that come up to the surface. The pinnacles are the dive.
Maximum depth is 24 m and visibility is quoted at 20-30 m, with current described as limited to medium. The catch is exposure: the northern part of the reef has no protection from the swell, so it is usually run as a zodiac drift, and in calm weather a day boat can work it instead. Boats come from Marsa Alam, Port Ghalib or Hamata.
Sha'ab Mohammed carries a better fish signal than most of its neighbours. The occurrence record for this position is dominated by grazers — parrotfish in numbers, surgeonfish, sohal tang, butterflyfish, Napoleon-family wrasse, coral grouper, orangespine unicornfish, fusiliers — which is what a healthy hard-coral reef looks like on paper. Operators additionally report whitetip reef sharks, dolphins, tuna, barracuda and eagle rays off the pinnacles.
- Northern field of coral pinnacles rising all the way to the surface
- Usually dived as a zodiac drift because the north side is exposed to the swell
- Coral garden in the south, coral blocks along the west
- Dense grazer community — parrotfish, surgeonfish, sohal tang — plus whitetip reef sharks and occasional dolphins
Please note before you go
- The northern end is unprotected from the swell, so surface conditions can build quickly and pickups happen off a moving zodiac
- Drift dive: a delayed SMB is the difference between being found and not
- Pinnacles rising to the surface mean overhead boat and zodiac traffic in shallow water at exactly the depth you do your safety stop
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsOperator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Rules and permits
Fury Shoals sits in the Egyptian Red Sea marine-park system. Liveaboards pay a government reef tax on board — Master Liveaboards quotes USD 90 per person for a 7-night Red Sea trip as of 2026, set at embarkation and subject to change by local decree — and day boats from Hamata carry their own park charge. Gloves and touching the reef are prohibited across the Egyptian marine parks. Verified 2026-08-07.
Season
We found no Sha'ab Mohammed-specific seasonality in the sources we read, so this field is deliberately thin. The practical constraint is sea state on the exposed northern end, which is what decides whether the site is dived at all on a given day.
Conditions
Visibility20 m
Currentmoderate
Surgemoderate
WaterSalt water
Depth range0–24 m
Environmentreef
Coralrecovering
Crowdsnot sourced
Maximum 24 m, visibility quoted at 20-30 m (we record 20), current limited to medium over a sandy bottom. The northern part of the reef takes the swell head on, so on most days it is a zodiac drift; on a calm day a day boat can sit on it instead.
On current: Current is described as limited to medium. The real variable is swell: the northern part of the reef is unprotected against the waves, which is why the standard way to dive it is a zodiac drift with a pickup rather than a moored boat. Visibility is quoted at 20-30 m and we record the lower figure.
Dives & underwater footage
Questions & answers
How deep is Sha'ab Mohammed?
Maximum 24 m over a sandy bottom, with the northern pinnacles rising from that depth all the way to the surface. It is a shallow site by Red Sea standards and the profile is dictated by the structure rather than by a wall.
Is this the famous Sha'ab Mahmoud?
No. This is a small reef in the Fury Shoals area off Hamata in Egypt's deep south. Sha'ab Mahmoud, with the Dunraven wreck and Beacon Rock, is a different site hundreds of kilometres north in the Gulf of Suez off Sharm el-Sheikh. The names are close and they get confused constantly.
Is it suitable for beginners?
The site itself is rated easy — 24 m maximum, limited to medium current — but the usual way to dive it is a zodiac drift along the exposed northern side, and drift experience is expected. On a calm day a day boat can moor and the dive becomes considerably more relaxed.
How do you get there?
By boat from Marsa Alam, Port Ghalib or Hamata. In calm weather a day boat can reach it; otherwise it is a liveaboard stop with a zodiac drop on the north side. There are no facilities at the reef.
What will I see?
A dense grazer community — parrotfish in numbers, surgeonfish, sohal tang, butterflyfish, coral grouper, orangespine unicornfish, fusiliers — which is what the occurrence record for this reef is dominated by. Operators additionally report whitetip reef sharks, dolphins, Napoleon wrasse, tuna, barracuda and eagle rays around the pinnacles.
How rough does it get?
The northern part of the reef is unprotected against the waves, which is the single most important fact about this site. It is why the standard plan is a zodiac drift with a pickup rather than a moored boat, and why the site gets dropped from the day's plan when the sea is up.
Life recorded at Shaab Mohamed
24 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmarare · 3 records
Chaetodon austriacusrare · 2 records
Diodon hystrixrare · 1 records
Amphiprion bicinctusrare · 1 records
Saurida gracilisrare · 1 records
Sargocentron spiniferumrare · 1 records
All 24 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Taeniura lymma | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 2 |
| Diodon hystrix | rare | 1 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | rare | 1 |
| Saurida gracilis | rare | 1 |
| Sargocentron spiniferum | rare | 1 |
| Cephalopholis argus | rare | 1 |
| Cephalopholis miniata | rare | 1 |
| Cephalopholis hemistiktos | rare | 1 |
| Variola louti | rare | 1 |
| Macolor niger | rare | 1 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | rare | 1 |
| Heniochus intermedius | rare | 1 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 1 |
| Scarus niger | rare | 1 |
| Alloblennius pictus | rare | 1 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | rare | 1 |
| Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus | rare | 1 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | rare | 1 |
| Ostracion cyanurus | rare | 1 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 1 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | rare | 1 |
| Oxymonacanthus halli | rare | 1 |
| Lotilia graciliosa | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in Hamata
Explore all sitesHabili Sama1.0 km
HamataA small Fury Shoals reef whose east flank is split by crevices packed with anemonefish.
Shaab Hamam, Fury Shoal1.8 km
HamataOne of the reefs in Fury Shoals that liveaboards go to when they have spare time, built around a coral arch reached through a saddle in the reef.
Abu Galawa Small2.1 km
HamataA ring reef in the Fury Shoals with a coral garden inside it, a channel you swim through between coral walls, and a small American sailing yacht sunk in 1980 that the reef has taken over.
Shaab Said2.2 km
HamataThe first Fury Shoals reef out of Hamata: a main body split by a canyon, a fast-dropping east side, and a north plateau you only get on a calm day.
Shaab Bohar Soraya2.9 km
HamataThe small reef opposite Shaab Bohar Kebir in the northern Fury Shoals: coral blocks and outlying pinnacles you can lap in about fifty minutes.
Shaab Bohar Kebir3.1 km
HamataA large east-west reef in the northern Fury Shoals, too big to get round on one tank, so it is run as an east dive and a west dive.
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