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Egypt Red SeaThe Red Sea (or two-banded) clownfish / anemonefish (Amphiprion bicinctus), meaning "both sawlike with two stripes" is a clownfish of the family Pomacentridae. [Wikipedia]
more info about Daedalus Reef (Anemon City - West) including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Aruba Caribbean SeaSunken Lockheed Lodestar sits a 35ft of water. Coral formations and variety of fish surround the airplane wreck.
more info about Arashi Airplane including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Mauritius Indian OceanDivesite "Stella Maru"
more info about Stella Maru including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United States PacificLong range dive with Jacks Diving Locker, Kona Hawaii.
more info about Near Kona, Hawaii. including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Canada PacificFound this Graceful Decorator Crab amongst the many Giant Plumrose Anemones covering the man made reefs at this site.
more info about Porteau Cove, Vancouver including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United Arab Emirates Persian/Arabian GulfIts fine site for diving .. Evrey dive you see new things
more info about Inchcape 2 including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Spain Balearic SeaThis reef is very broad. 3 Dives spots are available on it.
-"The chiminea", an open cave, 20 meters deep, eastern part of the reef.
-"los escalones" cliff between 29 and 36 meters with a lot of moray eel and big groupers, south an north east of the reef
-"la baliza" wreck of different firelight around 12 meters deep to 28 meters with a big shoal of barracudas, south of the reef
more info about Santa-Eulalia Reef - Eastern part of the Island of Ibiza including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Egypt Red SeaThe last in the north and the most beautiful of the fourth reefs of the Straight of Tiran. There is the Lara's wreck (a cyprot big cargo ship that in 1985, in navigation in the night went against the reef) upon the Reef in the north. Beautiful fire coral garden (max dept 7.5mt)full of soft corals and a big salad coral on the west part of the reef; beautiful big fan corals, black corals, and beautiful very red anemon (28mt depth), in the middle, with sandy bottom max depth 45mt; on the east vertical wall with a lot of fan corals and massive corals and soft corals. All the divers want to do "Jackson outside", in the north, close to the Lara's wreck, in the blue, 'cause there is a Scalloped Hammerheads's observer area and in the summertime is full of Scalloped Hammerheads Sharks. The reef outside, in the north, is poor of marine life, 'cause there's no light, 'cause the rays of sun don't touch that area.
more info about JACKSON REEF - Straight of Tiran - Sharm El Sheikh - Sinai Peninsula including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Italy Ionian SeaA very very small transparent shrimp getting close to a sea star mouth while I was searching an interesting point of view for the shot...
more info about Punta Lea, Porto Selvaggio protected area including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Italy Ionian SeaA small cowry met onto an orange sponge in a freshwater shallow coastal spring. Night dive of the past august. The animal suddenly lighted fantastic iridescences, it looked really like a jewel!
more info about Grottini della Reggia, Galatone including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Italy Ionian SeaA fantastic meeting, I was walking onto the shore with my bride who saw the fish. I run back home, seized my camera and returned back. It is unbelievable but the Trachypterus was still there. It was an angelic vision which moved very close to me; for this reason it was easy to shot some picture....
more info about Gallipoli harbour including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Philippines Philippine SeaThe dive site is very pleasant with minimal current. Good visibility and not so warm watyer temperature. Marine life is abundant from Bat fishes, nudi, electric clam. sea turtle and other interesting fisfes and critters
more info about Darilao Casino Wreck at Anilao Batangas including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United Arab Emirates Gulf Of OmanMacro
more info about Kalba including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United States Caribbean SeaIve been diving for over 40 years and never thought of Stuart Cove becuse of it to be too touristy but ive been there now three years in a row,14 dives in 4 days and can't say enough.I LOVE IT THERE...
more info about Stuart Cove Nassua Bahamas including maps, reviews, and ratings...
PolandSmall Quarry with clean and beautiful turquoise colour of water . On the bottom various number of attractions like boat wrecks of training structures. The most spectacular are vertical rock walls and underwater arch.
more info about Piechcin Quarry including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Aruba Caribbean SeaCanon 7D/Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro in Ikelite Housing/DS160&161 strobes
more info about House reef off Captain Don's Habitat including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Netherlands Antilles Gulf of VenezuelaThe tug boat is in shallow water; it has quite an abundance of fish and marine life around it. Pretty well preserved even though it has been down a while
more info about Tug boat including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Egypt Red SeaThe Million Hope Wreck
Location:
28 03' 42" N, 34 26' 40"E. Southern Gulf of Aqaba on east coast of Sinai Peninsular
Access:
Day boat from Sharm El Sheikh
Minimum Depth to Wreck
0m (Superstructure above water level)
Maximum Depth to Seabed:
22m (at stern)
Average Visibility:
20-25m
The Ship
Built in Japan, as a Bulk Carrier with additional facilities for transporting vehicles, the Million Hope was launched as the "Ryusei Maru" in 1972. She was a very large ship - displacing 26,181 grt and measuring 174.6m x 24.8m with a draught of 10m. Her bridge castle is located at the stern behind 5 cargo holds - in between which are four massive cranes towering high above the decks. The ship was powered by two 6 Cylinder diesel engines capable of producing 11,600 bhp and a top speed of 17 knots.
The ship had several names during her lifetime before being purchased by the Aksonas Shipping Co Ltd of Limassol, Cyprus for 136 million in 1996. It was at this time she was finally renamed "Million Hope" and promptly insured for 41 Million. Only six weeks later, she became a constructive total loss.
The Loss of the Million Hope
Loaded with a 26,000 ton cargo of Potash and Phosphates, the Million Hope sailed from Jordan's only port of Aqaba on 19 June 1996 - destination Taiwan. Visibility, however, quickly deteriorated and early on 20 June the vessel struck the inshore Reef near Nabq - on the western shores of the Gulf of Aqaba, approx. 3 miles north of Sharm El Sheikh.
Lloyds List dated 24 June 1996 carried the following item under "Casualty Report:"
"MILLION HOPE "(Cyprus) Jun 21: Egyptian Maritime Officials said yesterday they were concerned about possible leakage of about 23,000 tons of phosphate and potassium plus 700 tons of fuel from the bulk carrier Million Hope which sank off Egypts Sinai Peninsular, Cairo radio reported. All 25 members of the crew ere rescued by Egyptian naval vessels and other vessels in an operation that lasted more than 20 hours. The vessel, on voyage from Jordan to Taiwan, was ripped open by coral reefs near Egypts Sharm El-Sheikh resort. The vessels mainly Filipino crew huddled in the stern and refused to abandon ship until it became clear the vessel would sink, Cairo radio said. Some of the crew accused the vessels master of failing to follow the areas prescribed navigation routes and of maintaining speed despite poor visibility."
The cargo actually comprised 15,000 tons of Potash and 11,000 tons of phosphate rock and the big concern was that this would slowly dissolve in seawater - producing an algae-like film that would blot out essential sunlight from all adjacent reefs. Major Salvage companies were, therefore, invited to tender for the salvage of this cargo which was separately valued at 1.3 million. This operation was successfully carried out.
With much of her superstructure still out of the water, the Million Hope can be seen from several miles away. She is basically upright but with a pronounced list to port - i.e. away from the Reef. Her entire starboard side rests against the reef on which she foundered and her keel lies along the seabed at the base of that reef at between 19 - 24m. Her decks are underwater but not the focsle. Apart from fairly superficial damage, the vessel is completely intact - with no evidence of salvage.
more info about Million Hope Nabq Sharm El Sheikh including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Egypt Red SeaThe fist one and the biggest one of the fourth reefs of the Straight of Tiran. Nice dive with sandy bottom and also a plateau full of corals. Barrels, the cargo, (north/east) and also pieces (south/west) of the Louvilla Wreck (1981) that now is upon the reef in the north. The current split in the middle of the reef.
more info about Gordon Reef - Straight of Tiran - Sharm El Sheikh including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Netherlands North SeaGood dive site, lot's of current by at the low tide you can visit the wreck 'Galjoen Zonder Poen'.
more info about Wemeldinge De Hoek including maps, reviews, and ratings...