Red Sea Safaris

Hebat Allah

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Hebat Allah at The Red Sea Wreck ProjectThe Hebat Allah was a small cargo ship of 494 GRT built for the Egyptian Government at Breheret Ets., Ingrandes, France in 1985. When launched, she was 44.5 meters in length and 8.5 meters in beam, with diesel engines and a single propeller for a speed of 8 knots.

The Hebat Allah was intentionally sunk on 07 November 2004 between between the Giftun Island and Gota Abu Ramada in the El Arouk Giftun area as Egypt’s first artificial reef. The idea behind the sinking was to relieve some of the pressure from dive tourism from some of the other popular dive sites in the area. The ship had been lying on the reef just outside of Hurghada’s main harbor for some years after having broken her moorings in heavy weather and drifted onto the reef and looked to be the perfect candidate for a new recreational wreck dive

The Red Sea Diving Association, with cooperation from the Egyptian Navy and the Red Sea Governor, purchased the ship from its owner, Mohamedi Hoeidek (some say it was donated, not purchased), and arrangements began for its sinking. This included removing all fuels, oils, and fluids, from the ship’s machinery and tanks. Removal of all trash and loose equipment, and finally closing off areas where penetration is prohibited and clearly marking exit points. Once all of this was completed, the ship was ready for sinking.

The ship was originally to be sunk in 30-meters of water in order to provide access by divers of all certification levels. However, this was not to be. Unfortunately it was sunk in the wrong location and ended up resting in 46 meters of water instead, putting this wreck in the category of a shallow technical dive.

 

Diving Information

The wreck of the Hebat Allah lies upright on an even keel on a sandy bottom in 46 meters of water. The superstructure aft rises to a depth of 25 meters and her forward mast reaches up to 15 meters. The is a great dive for technical divers who are refreshing skills, testing new equipment, or do not have the experience yet to go to deeper depths. The ship’s cargo hold lies between the superstructure and the forward mast is empty and open, and is easily accessed. The pilothouse is accessible as are two small spaces in the foc’sle. The ship, although a new wreck, is already being colonized by corals and the standard aquatic life in the area.

 

Hebat Allah at The Red Sea Wreck Project

 

Note:
This being a technical dive, there are some minimum requirements and restrictions on this wreck:

1. Divers must have a minimum of 100 logged dives and be certified as CMAS 3 star divers or equivalent e.g. Dive master with PADI,NAUI,SDI / BSAC sport diver / SSI dive control specialist
2. Only one dive per day is allowed on the wreck as diving the Hebat Allah will inevitably require staged decompression.
3. A maximum of three boats are allowed to moor on the site at any one time, this is very important to adhere to ensure the sustained integrity of the wreck and for the enjoyment of the divers.
4. It is strongly recommended that dive centres and dive guides do not allow full penetration of the Hebat Allah except for divers who are certified to do that( such as full cave and advanced wreck qualifications).

The Red Sea Diving association also indicated shortly after the wreck opened to divers that there would be 3 mooring buoys for mooring of boats, and 3 permanent shot lines would be also installed to assist in diver decompression.

 

References:

Miramar Single Ship Report for 8518132

http://blog.tekstremediving.com/2006/09/30/deeper-into-hurghada/

http://www.topdiving.eu/EN/Page/View/730.html

http://www.blueotwo.com/filestore/pdfs/Wreck%20Exploration2.pdf

Top Wreck Dives of the World (By Jack Jackson)

http://www.deeplens.com/wrecks.htm#H

www.redseadivers.com/gulfwrecks.htm

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About Author

Lee has been in the marketing industry for the last 15 years and now specializes in teaching marketing techniques to people in the scuba diving industry. He is founder of Dive Media Solutions which, in addition to providing complete marketing, media, communications and IT solutions exclusively for the scuba diving industry, also produces The Scuba News. You can connect with Lee via Twitter by following @DiveMedia

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