Hurghada & El Gouna · Egypt · Wreck

Giannis D

The stern lies canted 45 degrees to port at 24 metres

A 100-metre Greek-owned cargo ship that drove onto the north-west corner of Sha'ab Abu Nuhas at full speed in April 1983 and broke into three parts. The stern is the piece divers come for, canted 45 degrees to port and open enough to swim the bridge, engine room and accommodation. The mast runs along the reef to within 4 metres of the surface.

Also known as Abu Nuhas — Giannis D, Ghiannis D, Wood Wreck.

Where it is and how deep

Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

27.5779° N, 33.9232° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

The mast is the marker. It runs almost exactly parallel with the reef and reaches to within 4 metres of the surface, so the ship shows itself long before you are deep. Below it the hull lies in three separate pieces — bows, amidships and stern — spread along the reef where she drove onto the north-west corner of Abu Nuhas at full speed.

The stern is where the dive settles. It sits tilted 45 degrees to port and reaches 24 metres, and the list makes doorways and companionways read at odd angles until your eyes adjust. The bridge is a swim-through, and it is possible to carry on into the engine room and the accommodation areas. The engine room lies at 13 metres and is filled with clouds of glassfish, which makes it an easy penetration.

Work forward and shallow for the rest of the dive, following the wreckage from the stern back along the reef towards the bows and the mast. Moray eels and octopus hold in the plating and schools of fish sit over the wreckage, so the last stage is spent with the ship on one side and the reef on the other. The deepest point on the site is 30 metres, so the profile is set by how much time you spend aft.

The wreck

Vessel: Giannis D
Type: General cargo ship
Length: 100 m (328 ft)
Sunk: 1983
Cause: Ran aground at full speed on Sha'ab Abu Nuhas reef
Lies: Broken into bows, amidships and stern; the stern tilted 45 degrees to port at 24 m

Built in Japan in the 1960s as the Shoyo Maru, she was renamed Markos in the 1970s and Giannis D in the 1980s by the Greek company that bought her. In April 1983 she loaded sawn timber at Rijeka, bound for Saudi Arabia and Yemen. On 19 April, approaching the Straits of Gubal at full speed, she veered sharply from her course and drove hard onto the north-west corner of Sha'ab Abu Nuhas. The crew abandoned ship and were safely rescued. That timber cargo is why divers still call her the Wood Wreck.

Marine life and season

Octopus & cuttlefish
Reef fish swarms

Month-by-month season rating for Giannis D
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

The bridge, engine room and accommodation can all be entered, but the 45-degree list makes the interior disorienting — go in only with wreck training, a light and a guide who knows the route.

Photos from Giannis D

Albert kok · CC BY-SA 3.0
Wusel007 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wusel007 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dive videos

Scuba Diving the Giannis D ship wreck in the Red Sea, Egypt · Alex A on YouTube

Giannis D. Wreck Dive Abu Nuhas Red Sea 2023 4K · Mirkos Eye on YouTube

Questions divers ask

How deep is the Giannis D?+

The stern, where most of the dive happens, reaches 24 metres, and the deepest point on the site is 30 metres. The mast runs up along the reef to within 4 metres of the surface, so the shallow half of the dive sits well inside recreational limits.

Can you go inside the Giannis D?+

Yes. The bridge is a swim-through, and the engine room at 13 metres and the accommodation areas can be entered too — with wreck training, a light and a guide, since the 45-degree list makes the interior disorienting.