The Hamada was a small cargo ship of 654 GRT built at John Lewis & Sons Ltd.(Yard No. 347), Aberdeen, UK for the P & O subsidiary company General Steam Navigation Co., Ltd. The ship was launched on 15 March 1965 as the Avocet (Registry No. 651078) and was completed on 12 June of that same year with a length of 65.10 meters, beam of 11.07 meters, and draught of 4.05 meters. Propulsion was provided by a single 1,470 bhp MN17 type diesel manufactured by British Polar Engine Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland, and a single propeller for a speed of 12.5 knots.
From the time of her launching in 1965 until late 1971, the Avocet was operated in the coastal waters of the UK by the General Steam Navigation Co. On 01 October 1971 management and operation of the ship was transferred to another P & O subsidiary company call P & O Short Sea Shipping Ltd. Then, on 01 December 1972, ownership of the ship was transferred to General Steam Navigation (Trading) Ltd. Management and operation were transferred once again on 31 March 1975 to the P & O Ferry Line until 16 June 1976 when ownership was transferred to P & O Ferry’s General European Ltd.
On 22 June of that same year the ship was sold to Stavros Elias Liakos Maritime Ltd., Cyprus, and renamed the Afroditi H, and then was resold to the Euromaster Navigation Co. Ltd., Cyprus.
In 1982 the ship was renamed Samarah and then was sold to Leghorn Shipping Co. Ltd., Cyprus in 1983 where she operated for nearly two years before being sold yet again.
In 1985, the ship was sold to the Chaldean Shipping Co. Ltd., Cyprus and renamed Hamada. A year later, in 1986, the Hamada was sold to the Phemios Shipping Co., Valetta, Malta.
There are different versions of the Hamada’s loss. One report indicates that she caught fire and sank in deep water. The P & O file states that the ship struck an “submerged object” in heavy weather at position 24.42N/35.25E off of Ras Banas while en route on 28 June 1993 from Jeddah to Suez and subsequently foundered.
What is known for sure is that the ship is now located in 14-meters of water at Abu Gosoon reef.
Diving Information
The ship lies its starboard side on the bottom in two sections, with the stern section away from the reef. The port side of the ship is just above water at low tide here. Penetrations into the pilothouse, engine room and cargo holds are all possible. The bow thruster, propeller, and rudder are all still in place as well. Plenty of marine life to be found on the wreck, such as lionfish, schools of glass fish, gobies, and surgeon fish, among others. Maximum depth of 14 meters means lots of bottom time here.
References:
Miramar Single Ship Report for 5058
http://www.scuba.co.uk/Travel/Red_Sea/Liveaboard/Wrecks/redsea_wrecks_hamada.htm
http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/generalsnc.htm
http://www.redseasafaris.dk/red-sea-destinations/the-wrecks/egypt-southern-wrecks.aspx
http://portal.pohub.com/pls/pogprtl/poghistory.display_document.pdf?p_id=1658