Hurghada & El Gouna · Egypt · Wreck
El Mina
A minesweeper on her port side, 25 minutes from the marina
Photo: Alexander Vasenin · CC BY-SA 3.0
A T43-class minesweeper lost in Hurghada harbour to Israeli aircraft, now lying on her port side on a rocky seabed that slopes from 25 metres under the bow to 32 metres at the stern. The marina is less than 25 minutes away by boat. Outside tours suit Advanced divers; the engine room and holds need Wreck Specialty training.
Also known as El Mina Wreck, El Minya, Harbour Wreck.
Where it is and how deep
27.2252° N, 33.8472° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The wreck rests on a rocky seabed just east of Hurghada harbour, sloping from 25 metres under the bow to 32 metres at the stern, and lying over on her port side on a northwest-southeast axis. Boat time from the marina is under 25 minutes and visibility runs around 15 metres. Depth sets the ceiling here: an Advanced Open Water certificate or equivalent is the minimum for a 32-metre profile.
External tours are open to any Advanced Open Water diver, and there is enough intact hull — quoted between 58 and 70 metres long — to fill a dive without going inside at all. Penetration of the engine room or the holds is a Wreck Specialty dive: there is little natural light in there and plenty of sharp metal, and gloves are the standard recommendation. Live shells from the sinking still lie on the seabed and are left where they are.
Marine life has taken the hull over. A giant moray works the plating, glassfish fill the sheltered spaces, and a resident grouper — described by the local dive centres as the size of a small fridge — has been on the wreck for years. Batfish and lionfish hold above the decks. Current can run hard through the site from the north, but there is always shelter behind the decks of the ship to sit out of it.
The wreck
- Vessel
- El Mina
- Type
- T43-class minesweeper, Egyptian Navy
- Length
- 58 m (190 ft)
- Sunk
- 1970
- Cause
- Sunk by Israeli Air Force A-4 Skyhawks at the Hurghada anchorage during the War of Attrition; crew evacuated with no casualties
- Lies
- On her port side on a rocky seabed, northwest–southeast, 25 m at the bow to 32 m at the stern
Built in the Soviet Union as a Project 254 (T43-class) ocean minesweeper and transferred to the Egyptian Navy in 1956 with the pennant number 302, she was sunk on 6 February 1970 by Israeli Air Force A-4 Skyhawks at the Hurghada anchorage during the War of Attrition, in reprisal for an Egyptian frogman attack on Eilat harbour the previous night. Her crew evacuated and she went down with no casualties.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Hurghada & El Gouna: Diving runs all year; the seas settle from March to November and are calmest in summer, while February brings the coolest water.
Know before you go
- Sharp metal throughout the hull — gloves are the standard recommendation, and entering the engine room or holds needs Wreck Specialty training and a light, since there is little natural light inside.
- Current can run hard from the north across a 25 to 32 metre profile; use the shelter behind the decks and keep the deep section of the dive short.
- Live shells from the sinking still lie on the seabed around the wreck. Look and photograph, but leave them exactly where they are.
Dive videos
Red Sea Wreck Diving: El Mina Wreck in Hurghada by DiveWiz Diving Center · DiveWiz.Hurghada on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Do you need a wreck certification for El Mina?+
Not for the outside. External tours of the hull are open to any Advanced Open Water diver, which is the minimum for a profile running from 25 to 32 metres. Penetration of the engine room or the holds requires Wreck Specialty certification.
How far is El Mina from Hurghada?+
Less than 25 minutes by boat from the marina. The wreck lies just east of Hurghada harbour, where she was sunk, which makes it the shortest wreck run available from town.
Sources
- El Mina wreck dive site — PADI
- El Mina Wreck Dive Hurghada — DiveRED Hurghada
- El Mina Wreck Dive Guide — Aquarius Red Sea
- List of shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean — El Mina — Wikipedia
- Project 254 ocean minesweepers — russianships.info
Photo credits
- A lionfish hunts through a dense school of glassfish inside the El Mina wreck by Alexander Vasenin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Hurghada & El Gouna
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Pinnacle
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An 1869 P&O steamer rotted back to her iron ribs at 24 m
One big pinnacle full of glassfish and moray eels
A wall, a 20 m-wide plateau, then a drop-off past 70 m
Wall
A small canyon at the foot of the drop-off, 40 m down
Similar dives elsewhere
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