Maria Schröder

The Maria Schröder was built as the Rolf Jarl by the Trondheim Mekaniske Verksted shipyard for Det Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskab, launched in June 1919 and delivered in October 1920. In the Second World War, she entered Allied service and sailed in North Atlantic convoys, such as SC9, SC91 and ON122. On 31 August 1940, in fog, she collided with the Seatrain Texas off New Jersey and returned to Chester under her own power; in March 1943, in a convoy near Iceland, she lost her rudder and propeller and was towed to Reykjavik. She sailed under the Norwegian flag until 1950 and under the German flag afterwards. In August 1950, she was sold to Reederei Richard Schröder of Hamburg, Germany, and renamed Maria Schröder.

In April 1956, sailing without cargo from Aqaba, the ship ran aground shortly after midnight, in rough seas during a force 8 to 10 sandstorm. The crew was rescued by the Egyptian military and saved by the Egyptian tug El Taif.

Today most of the ship remains visible above water, on top of the reef, about 100 m offshore, and a trail of debris runs down along her starboard side. The hull has been deteriorating since the 1960s: until the 1980s the ship still stood upright on the reef, since the 1990s and 2000s only the bow and the deckhouse are recognizable, and in recent years the wreck has broken in two.