Several years ago, a naval vessel docked off the coast of Hurghada carrying two tanks and old vehicles and equipment that had been out of service for decades.
This marked beginning of an unprecedented environmental and tourism experience, as the retired vessel was then submerging down to the seabed.
Once part of the brutality of war, these ships have now become homes for colorful fish, passageways for divers, and a unique attraction that reflects nature’s ability to restore balance whenever it can.
These sites have become a living laboratory for studying the adaptation of marine organisms to artificial environments.
The Director General of the Red Sea Reserves, Ahmed Ghallab, said the idea came in response to the growing challenges facing the Red Sea’s natural coral reefs, which are beginning to come under increasing pressure from tourism activities and climate change.
Ghallab added that this experience gave divers a new opportunity, with these sunken ship sites now included in international diving center programs, making them a major destination for European diving enthusiasts.
A dive center operator, Hussein Abdel-Rahim, noted that the economic impact was direct.
“These new sites relieved pressure on natural reefs, such as Abu Ramada and Shaab al-Saqala, while at the same time attracting new groups of divers who prefer exploring unconventional environments,” he explained.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
