Alaska

The Alaska was an 82 m refrigerated cargo ship, launched in Spain in 1959 under the name Escorpion. Over the years she was renamed Lago Negro (1967), Anubis (1975) and Reefer Express (1980), until she became the Egyptian-flagged Alaska II. As she entered the Gulf of Suez, the ship caught fire, was ripped apart by an explosion and sank 10 minutes later. Two crewmen died and 9 others were rescued after many hours in the water.

She was carrying a cargo of granite slabs, and around the hull you can still see the refrigeration heat exchangers, brass porthole covers and a spare propeller amidships. The wreckage became so encrusted into the reef and so scattered that there was doubt it would ever be identified. The identification came from a life belt found in the forecastle, with the letters A-L-A-S-K-A still readable.

In the Gulf of Suez, the water temperature can drop to 16 °C in winter.