Sudanese Red Sea · Sudan · Wall · Reef · Drift
Shaab Rumi
Cousteau's diving-saucer hangar still on the sand at 13 m
Photo: Peter.dittmann · CC BY-SA 4.0
Shaab Rumi is a ring reef 40 km northeast of Port Sudan whose drop-off descends towards 700 m, best known for the south plateau where up to twenty grey reef sharks hunt in the current. On the outer side near the entrance to the lagoon, what is left of Jacques Cousteau's 1963 Conshelf II habitat still sits on white sand at about 13 metres.
Also known as Sha'ab Rumi, Shab Rumi.
Where it is and how deep
19.9246° N, 37.4131° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The south plateau is the dive people come for. It runs out from the southern point into current strong enough that grey reef sharks — up to twenty of them — hunt along its edge, with silky sharks and silvertips out in the blue beyond. Between November and April hammerheads school here as well. The plateau itself sits at 20 to 30 m, with the wall dropping past it towards 700 m, so the dive is run shallow over the shelf rather than out over nothing.
The rest of the reef is dived in roughly the order the boats run it: the north-west corner first, then the wall on the north-east side, and lastly the Conshelf II site near the entry of the lagoon on the outer face. Typical profiles across the reef are 5 to 30 m, and the shelf carries napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish and big schools of barracuda, bigeye trevally, black and white snapper and sweetlips.
Précontinent II is a shallow, slow dive rather than a wall drift. Two of the structures were dismantled and removed after the 1963 experiment, but the submarine hangar built for Cousteau's diving saucer was left where it was, sitting on white sand at about 13 m with the shark cages deeper, encrusted and easy to photograph. The lagoon inside the reef is sheltered enough that boats use it for night diving.
Background
In 1963 Jacques Cousteau's team ran Conshelf II on this reef: six oceanauts lived 10 metres down, and two of them spent a week in a deeper cabin at 30 metres. The experiment was filmed as World Without Sun, which won Best Documentary at the 37th Academy Awards. Two of the structures were dismantled and removed when it ended; what was left — the diving-saucer hangar on the sand and the shark cages below it — became a dive site.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Hammerheads
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Napoleon wrasse
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Fair |
Season follows Sudanese Red Sea: Best conditions run April–June and October–November; the 2023 conflict has disrupted Port Sudan liveaboard departures — verify operators.
Know before you go
- Strong current is the whole point of the south plateau and the reason the sharks are there. Drop upcurrent, stay low on the reef and expect a drift finish rather than a swim back.
- The Conshelf structures have stood on the reef since 1963 and the hangar is a genuine overhead; look in from the sand rather than swimming through it.
Photos from Shaab Rumi
Wreckferret · CC BY-SA 2.0
Albert Kok at Dutch Wikipedia · Public domain
Dive videos
"Jacques' shack" - diving Shaab Rumi, Sudan 2008 · Martin Johnston on YouTube
Sha'ab Rumi - South Plateau · Martin Johnston on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What is Conshelf II at Shaab Rumi?+
It is what remains of Jacques Cousteau's 1963 underwater living experiment. Six oceanauts lived at 10 metres on the reef shelf and two of them spent a week in a cabin at 30 metres. Two structures were dismantled afterwards; the diving-saucer hangar still sits on the sand at about 13 metres, with the shark cages deeper, and it is dived as a shallow site.
When can you see hammerheads at Shaab Rumi?+
Hammerheads are seasonal here and are reported from November to April. Grey reef sharks are the constant — up to twenty of them hunting in the current on the south plateau — along with silky sharks and silvertips out in the blue.
Sources
- Shaab Rumi dive site — PADI
- Diving in Sudan: The Red Sea - Umbria Wreck, Cousteau's Conshelf — Dive The World
- Sudan Diving. Sudan dive sites — Thailand Liveaboards
- Conshelf — Wikipedia
- Sudan's Red Sea — EZDIVE Magazine
Photo credits
- Coral-encrusted arch of a Conshelf II structure on the sand at Shaab Rumi by Peter.dittmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Arched Conshelf II shed structure encrusted with coral on the reef floor by Wreckferret, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Openverse
- Grey reef shark cruising over the reef at Shaab Rumi by Albert Kok at Dutch Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- The best wall dives in the worldWalls & drop-offs · 11 min read
- Why do you pee when diving, and tire after?Body & health · 12 min read
- Night diving: the best night dives in the worldNight diving · 12 min read
- How long should a surface interval be?Body & health · 8 min read
- Drift diving: how to read and ride a currentDrift & current · 8 min read
- When and where to dive with hammerheadsBig animals · 16 min read
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