Hurghada, Mar Vermelho (Egito), Egypt
The marks of the attack on El Mina are still visible: the blast hole on the front deck and the surrounding hull riddled with bullet holes from the planes' machine guns. The winches, the cable reels and the torpedo-like demining equipment are still on deck. The wreck is sometimes called 'the Israeli torpedo', but El Mina was a minesweeper and never had any way of firing torpedoes. There is live ammunition spread across the decks and on the seabed around the wreck, and the rule is to touch nothing.
Today the hull is colonised by lionfish and glassfish and has a huge resident grouper. Big schools of glassfish shelter in the openings of the hull, contested by lionfish and jackfish. The wreck is full of fish, with schools of barracudas above the hull, and frogfish, sweepers, the common lionfish (Pterois miles) and the giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) also turn up here. Red sponges cover the bow, where pyjama slugs turn up.
El Mina is usually dived year-round, and the sea tends to be calmer in summer.
Information on this page, including technical data such as depth, current, visibility, access, and recommended level, is informational and may vary. Confirm actual conditions with a local operator before the dive.
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Reviews are from other divers — personal experiences, not guarantees.
