Eilat · Israel · Wreck · Artificial reef
Satil
An Israeli missile boat upright at 24 m, reached from the beach
Photo: Barraque Nicolas · CC BY-SA 3.0
An Israeli Navy missile boat, deliberately sunk off Eilat in 1994 after 25 years of service and now sitting upright and largely intact on sand. The deck runs at 18-21 m, the keel rests at 22-24 m, and the stern is the deepest point at 27 m. It is a shore dive: the wreck lies about 70 m out from the beach between the marina and Hosh Village.
Also known as Sufa, Sufa Missile Boat, Soufa.
Where it is and how deep
29.5147° N, 34.9267° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
You enter from the beach between the marina and Hosh Village and swim out over sand. A coral-covered rock at 8 to 11 m is the marker on the way: pick it up, hold your heading, and the hull comes up ahead, lying parallel to the shore about 70 m out. The boat sits upright and largely intact, so the layout reads immediately, with the deck at 18 to 21 m and the keel resting on sand at 22 to 24 m.
Most of the dive is spent along the deck and superstructure, where glassfish and anthias pile into dense orange clouds and lionfish hang over the wreck. Two memorial plaques are fixed to the boat, one for soldiers who died in military operations in Lebanon and one for a diving instructor killed in a terrorist attack. The stern is the deepest point at 27 m, and from there the way home is a slow ascent back along the sand to the beach.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Satil
- Type
- Israeli Navy missile boat
- Sunk
- 1994
- Cause
- Deliberately sunk as an underwater museum and artificial reef after 25 years of service
- Lies
- Upright and largely intact on sand, parallel to the shore
In the 1960s Israel paid France to build a fleet of missile boats at Cherbourg. On Christmas Eve 1969, with the boats embargoed, Israeli sailors arrived in civilian clothes, hid below deck and sailed five of the warships out of the harbour in the middle of the night. Satil served twenty-five years before the navy sank her deliberately off Eilat in 1994 to become an underwater museum.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Eilat: Divable all year; Mar–May and Sep–Nov are most comfortable, while July and August are extremely hot on the surface.
Know before you go
- The wreck sits roughly 70 m offshore, so plan gas and surface swim for the return leg rather than turning the dive at the stern.
Dive videos
Wreck diving | IDF Missile boat Satil | 25 meter deep | Amazing scuba dive · Oded Levy on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Satil wreck?+
The deck lies at 18-21 m and the keel at 22-24 m, with the stern the deepest point at 27 m, so a normal dive stays inside recreational limits.
Can you dive the Satil from shore?+
Yes. The usual entry is the beach between the marina and Hosh Village. The wreck lies about 70 m offshore and parallel to it, and a coral-covered rock at 8-11 m serves as the navigation marker on the way out.
When is visibility best on the Satil?+
March to May and September to November are the periods local operators single out for the clearest water on the wreck.
Sources
- Shore Diving the Satil Wreck (Eilat, Israel) — Dive Master Austin
- The Story of Satil — Mares Blog
- Maps of dive-sites in Eilat: a sunken Wreck Satil — Ahla Dive
- Satil Wreck in Israel, Red Sea Eilat — Zentacle
Photo credits
- Diver descending onto the superstructure of the sunken Satil missile boat off Eilat by Barraque Nicolas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Ships sunk on purpose, and where to dive themWrecks · 14 min read
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
- Your first wreck dive: what to expect and whereFirst dives · 6 min read
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