MARSA ALAM ARCHIVED NEWS PAGE

Red Sea Tourist Sub Sinks

Six Dead but 39 Rescued.

27 March 2024 – 17.00 Egyptian time.

As I write, reports and updates continue to come in regarding a recreational submarine which sank about one kilometre off the coast of Hurghada (300 kilometres north of Marsa Alam) at about 10 am. Six Russian passengers, including two children, are thought to have died (Daily Mirror and Daily Express) and 29 passengers hospitalised (Daily Mirror).

The boat is reported to have been the Sindbad, which routinely operates off the coast of Hurghada, enabling tourists to observe the spectacular diversity of the Red Sea’s underwater marine life, without having to learn to dive. The recreational submarine or bathyscape was carrying 45 tourist passengers, most of whom seem to have been Russian nationals although there were also Indians, Norwegians and Swedes. There were also five Egyptian crew onboard, all of whom are thought to be safe and it is reported that 39 passengers have now been rescued (Daily Mirror.) None are thought to be missing.

The BBC, citing the tour company Sindbad, reports that the vessel appears to have been constructed in Finland. The submarine had been described on Tripadvisor as one of only two tourist recreational type submarines at Hurghada and one of only 14 worldwide. It might reportedly dive to a depth of 22 metres (72 feet) or 25 metres (82 feet) (based on figures given by different sources, although according to the sindbadsubmarines.com website it could withstand depths of up to 75 metres) and had 18 large portholes through which passengers could observe underwater marine life.

According to the Daily Mirror an adult ticket cost £53 and a child ticket £25 for a typical three hour excursion. Although there are news reports suggesting possible causes online, based on the limited information available, it doesn’t seem possible to say with any degree of confidence precisely what caused the boat to sink and how it happened.

The Daily Mail provided the following brief Youtube account of the incident

This sinking follows a worryingly large number of previous incidents in the last two years involving tourist boats operating off Egypt’s Red Sea coast, though mostly vessels involved with diving excursions. The most serious incidents we know of are detailed below.

• Thursday 13 March 2025 – A fierce fire broke out aboard the Emperor Seven Seas as it was moored at Port Ghalib, sending towering plumes of black smoke into the sky. Fortunately, all passengers and crew were evacuated safely, with no injuries reported. Read more in our news article here, which includes video footage of the fire.
• Thursday 6 February 2025: The liveaboard Triton capsized in rough seas to the North of Hurghada. All six crew members were rescued. There were no passengers onboard. (Baird Maritime and Dive Magazine).
• 25 November 2024 – The Liveaboard Sea Story capsized in heavy seas off Sataya Reef and by late on the 26th it was confirmed that four had died and that seven were still missing. The Egyptian navy managed to rescue 33 passengers and crew despite challenging conditions. Five who were trapped in small pockets of air were also rescued during a technically challenging diving operation. Read more in our news article here.
• 6 November 2024: The 34 metre liveaboard Nouran with 12 cabins able to carry 24 guests caught fire and sank at Daedalus Reef during the night but all passengers and crew were able to evacuate safely and transferred to another nearby liveaboard. (Dive Magazine, Divernet and Scuba News)
• 24 October 2024: Yet another serious incident involving the 30 metre liveaboard Seaduction further south near Elba Reef closer to the border with Sudan. It sank in the early hours of the morning (Divernet, Dive Magazine and Taucher.net). Luckily all the passengers and crew were able to escape and were picked up several hours later from their lifeboat.
• 26 June 2024: 24 tourists were rescued from the safari boat Exocet which sank also in the Sataya Reef area, and according to Ahram Online initial investigations suggested it may have been “due to a hole in the hull amid high waves,” in reference to “a report by the Red Sea Protected Areas Team” citing crew and passengers. According to Dive Magazine, “Exocet is reported to have sustained significant damage to its hull after striking the reef in high waves.”
• 22 February 2024: 16 of the 17 dive guests onboard the liveaboard Sea Legend managed to escape along with the 10 crew and 2 dive guides, when the boat caught fire in the early hours of the morning while on route from Hurghada for a week long diving safari to the Brothers Islands, Daedalus and Elphinstone. The unnamed missing person was a 50 year old German woman. (Divernet, Taucher.net, Scuba News, Dive Magazine and The Sun.)
• 11 June 2023: Three British citizens died and 26 crew and passengers rescued, following a fire on the diving liveaboard the Hurricane at Elphinstone Reef, just 12 km east of Abu Dabbab Bay on the Marsa Alam coastline. The Daily Mail reported how terrified tourists had jumped from the ship which became a “floating inferno” and a witness, cited in the Guardian, said that “the fire had spread fast, engulfing the entire boat within minutes.”
• 24 April 2023: The 42 metre long liveaboard Calrton Queen capsized and sank near Abu Nahas Reef off the coast of Hurghada. The BBC described how petrified passengers thought they were trapped below deck with one recalling “I started to lose the plot. I really was panicking we were going to die.” Fortunately all 26 guests and 9 crew were rescued. (BBC, Daily Mail, Dive Magazine, Divernet and Taucher.net).

HUGE FIRE ENGULFS DIVEBOAT

Shortly After Dawn At Fort Ghalib

All Aboard Evacuated and Now Safe

Just after dawn on Thursday 13 March 2025, tragedy struck the Emperor Seven Seas dive boat at Port Ghalib when a fierce fire broke out aboard the vessel, sending towering plumes of black smoke into the sky. Fortunately, all passengers and crew were evacuated safely, with no injuries reported.

Firefighters rushed to the scene, working tirelessly to control the blaze, but were unable to save much of the upper deck of the boat which suffered massive damage. A brief, dramatic explosion can be seen and heard in the video footage above, around 6 to 7 seconds in, though there’s no indication that any explosion caused the fire. In past incidents, explosions initiated by fires have been linked to oxygen tanks, fuel, or other hazards, but no details are available on the cause in this case.

According to Dive Magazine, Emperor Divers have issued the following statement –

“In the early hours of Thursday, March 13th, Emperor Seven Seas was moored in Port Ghalib when a fire broke out that could unfortunately not be contained.

‘Emperor Divers are very grateful to our dedicated and professional crew who, along with the guests onboard, executed emergency procedures which ensured everyone was evacuated from the vessel unharmed.

(statement continues below the next video)

‘The situation is under control and all clients and crew are safely ashore in Port Ghalib where the Emperor Divers ground team are assisting with their needs.’

According to the Egyptian newspaper Al Nahar, emergency services were notified from the rescue operations room and immediately began coordinating an immediate response which involved ‘a number of fire engines,’ which successfully extinguished the fire.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that the authorities are now going to investigate what could have caused the incident.

PREVIOUS INCIDENTS INVOLVING LIVEABOARDS

• 25 November 2024 – The Liveaboard Sea Story capsized in heavy seas off Sataya Reef and by late on the 26th it was confirmed that four had died and that seven were still missing. The Egyptian navy managed to rescue 33 passengers and crew despite challenging conditions. Five who were trapped in small pockets of air were also rescued during a technically challenging diving operation. Read more in our news article here.
• 6 November 2024: The 34 metre liveaboard Nouran with 12 cabins able to carry 24 guests caught fire and sank at Daedalus Reef during the night but all passengers and crew were able to evacuate safely and transferred to another nearby liveaboard. (Dive Magazine, Divernet and Scuba News)
• 24 October 2024: Yet another serious incident involving the 30 metre liveaboard Seaduction further south near Elba Reef closer to the border with Sudan. It sank in the early hours of the morning (Divernet, Dive Magazine and Taucher.net). Luckily all the passengers and crew were able to escape and were picked up several hours later from their lifeboat.
• 26 June 2024: 24 tourists were rescued from the safari boat Exocet which sank also in the Sataya Reef area, and according to Ahram Online initial investigations suggested it may have been “due to a hole in the hull amid high waves,” in reference to “a report by the Red Sea Protected Areas Team” citing crew and passengers. According to Dive Magazine, “Exocet is reported to have sustained significant damage to its hull after striking the reef in high waves.” However, I haven’t seen any evidence at all to suggest that there was any similar hole or rupture in the hull caused to the Sea Story.
• 22 February 2024: 16 of the 17 dive guests onboard the liveaboard Sea Legend managed to escape along with the 10 crew and 2 dive guides, when the boat caught fire in the early hours of the morning while on route from Hurghada for a week long diving safari to the Brothers Islands, Daedalus and Elphinstone. The unnamed missing person was a 50 year old German woman. (Divernet, Taucher.net, Scuba News, Dive Magazine and The Sun.)
• 11 June 2023: Three British citizens died and 26 crew and passengers rescued, following a fire on the diving liveaboard the Hurricane at Elphinstone Reef, just 12 km east of Abu Dabbab Bay on the Marsa Alam coastline. The Daily Mail reported how terrified tourists had jumped from the ship which became a “floating inferno” and a witness, cited in the Guardian, said that “the fire had spread fast, engulfing the entire boat within minutes.”
• 24 April 2023: The 42 metre long liveaboard Calrton Queen capsized and sank near Abu Nahas Reef off the coast of Hurghada. The BBC described how petrified passengers thought they were trapped below deck with one recalling “I started to lose the plot. I really was panicking we were going to die.” Fortunately all 26 guests and 9 crew were rescued. (BBC, Daily Mail, Dive Magazine, Divernet and Taucher.net).

The Dive Boat Sea Story capsizes near Sataya Reef – 7 still missing – 4 dead

DIVER RESCUES HIS NEPHEW DIVING INSTRUCTOR FROM CABIN AIRPOCKET.

FOUR OTHERS ALSO RESCUED FROM THEIR CABINS IN CHALLENGING DIVING OPERATION

Last update as of 29 November 2024 – 9.00 am Egyptian time.

The Egyptian military, despite very challenging stormy conditions, has managed to rescue 33 passengers and crew from the liveaboard diving vessel Sea Story. It capsized in “turbulent” seas at about 5.30 am on Monday 25th off Egypt’s coast, near Sataya Reef south east of Marsa Alam, due possibly to a strong or rogue wave, reportedly causing it to sink within five to seven minutes.

By Monday evening it was already known that there were at least 28 survivors and on Tuesday 26th five more passengers were rescued by divers from air pockets in their cabins during a challenging and complex diving operation. Four bodies were also found, but seven passengers and crew (four tourists and three Egyptians) are believed to be still missing (Sky News, Reuters, ABC News, Ahram Online and Egypt Independent).

The BBC, citing the governor Major General Amr Hanafi, reported on Monday that “The Egyptian navy warship El Fateh and military aircraft were intensifying their efforts to locate the missing, with rescue teams working around the clock,” while an update on Tuesday by Ahram Online noted that several Egyptian naval vessels as well as aircraft have been involved in a massive search and rescue effort, which, according to other sources, has also involved helicopters and specialist divers.

According to the Daily Mail, one survivor told how he heard screams from the cabins, explaining that “many could not get out because the doors were closed and the rooms were filled with water.” The newspaper also cites a British tourist who explained “‘It was dark and the water suddenly surrounded us on all sides. I tried to swim to the surface, but the current was very strong and I felt like I was about to suffocate.” The man added that he had been able to survive thanks to his lifejacket which kept him afloat until he was rescued.

Survivors rescued from a tiny air pocket – Diver rescues his own nephew.

An Egyptian rescue diver, Khattab al-Faramawy, told the BBC by phone how he and other rescuers had to search the vessel by torchlight, adding that “We dived 12 metres (40 feet) under water – the survivors were trapped inside the boat cabins.” His own nephew, Youssef al-Faramawy, 23, was among the survivors below he was able to rescue. According to the Daily Mirror, the five rescued had “survived for more than 30 hours with just a tiny air pocket to breathe in underneath the boat. They told how they were trapped in the pitch black and cold water with just their mouths and noses above the surface.”

Youssef worked as a diving instructor on board the boat and found himself trapped in one of the cabins while trying to save other passengers. In a video which depicts the moment when he was carried onshore, you can hear someone saying “Hamdellah ‘ala el Salama Youssef.” Thank God for your safety. Another survivor can be heard telling officials “It’s nice to be back” and recalling that he had been “shaking with cold” and “appreciated” the rescue services, mentioning a “warm shower” and “dinner after.” It appears that it was during this under water rescue operation on Tuesday that divers managed to find five more survivors.

Who was onboard immediately prior to the incident ?

It is believed that 31 tourists were onboard the Sea Story but the figures for each nationality must include errors as the total currently equals at least 32. They include five Spanish, four Belgian, four British, six German, three Slovak, two American, two Chinese, two Polish, two Swiss, one Finnish and at least one Irish national as well as 13 Egyptians (possibly including 12 Egyptian crew and 1 Egyptian passenger). Unfortunately I haven’t yet found sufficient information to confirm all the passengers who have survived, but according to various reports the following nationals seem to be among the survivors, however as there remains some uncertainty I would urge anyone to also cross check with other sources.

The latest Information on who survived – reports of a Belgian couple surviving in pocket of air

• It might be assumed that ten Egyptian nationals might have been rescued if it is the case that three of the 13 Egyptians are still missing. I’m not sure if this figure is accurate, although I hope at least ten have survived. The Egyptian diving instructor Youssef al-Faramawy, 23, is among the survivors. (BBC)
• Two British survivors have been named as “London couple Colin Sharratt, 65 and Sally Jones, 58” according to the Daily Mirror.
• Three Germans according to ABC News.
• Two Swiss Nationals according to the Swiss website Swissinfo.ch and the Emirati state owned newspaper The National.
• Two Chinese nationals are safe and “in good health,” reports the South China Morning Post, citing Chinese state media.
• Five Spanish nationals have also been rescued, according to the Free Press Journal, citing Spain’s Foreign Ministry.
• An Irish national is “OK and receiving consular assistance” according to the Irish public broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, citing Ireland’s Foreign Minister, Micheál Martin.
• At least four and possibly six Belgian nationals are also believed to be among the survivors. The rescue of the first four was reported by the Dutch language Belgian newspaper HLN. The Belgium website Sudinfo.be and Belgian news outlets 7sur7 and RTL have reported that the survivors include two Belgians from Namur, 37 year old lucianna and his 30 year old girlfriend Lucianna, who survived “thanks to a pocket of air in the boat.” According to 7sur7 and Le Soir their relieved father declared “it’s a miracle” explaining that they had been trapped inside the boat for many hours. They were both highly skilled divers who had previously been working during the summer as diving instructors in Cyprus.
• At least two and possibly three Swiss passengers are believed to have been rescued, the first two airlifted to safety according to Swiss media outlet Goldküste24

Some names of survivors already published

According to The Sun newspaper, citing Zaaed News, eight survivors have already been named earlier today. They are Ahmed Ramzy, Mohamed Ibrahim, Ayman Foley, Ahmed Sayed Ali, Mohamed Mohamed Metwally, Ahmed Adel, Ali Shaaban and Mohamed Mustafa. However at this stage their nationality cannot be confirmed. A little later the first names, Lucianna and Christophe, of two Belgian survivors were also published (see the list above) who had survived many hours trapped in an air pocket as well as the name of the Egyptian diving instructor Youssef al-Faramawy who was rescued by his uncle, after also being trapped inside a cabin while trying to help others.

The latest information on who is still missing or not accounted for

The Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi clarified yesterday that seven people were still missing, two British nationals, two Germans, two Poles and one Swiss national. (Al Masry Al Youm via Egypt Independent) I don’t think there has yet been any confirmation regarding the identification of the four bodies found so unfortunately the fate of the following nationals still appears to be uncertain.

• Three German tourists are still not accounted for according to ABC News. Earlier the Frankfurt based newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau had simply reported that several were missing citing a spokeswoman from the German Foreign Office, though at the time it didn’t give a number.
• Two Egyptian nationals. Four were initially thought to be missing according to Ahram Online, but luckily one a diving instructor, Youssef al-Faramawy, was rescued. Sadly, however, another diving instructor Alaa Hussein Mohamed Bahgat is now confirmed to have been a victim of the sinking. According to Egypt Daily News, he was well known in his home town of Safaga, a port town located between Marsa Alam and Hurghada, for his charity work and sincerity and a funeral was held for him at the Al-Hussein bin Ali Mosque.
• The two missing Britons have been named as Jenny Cawson, 36, and Tarig Sinada, 49, an engaged couple from Devon who had previously worked as scuba diving instructors, according to the Daily Mirror.
• Two Polish citizens are thought to be missing according to Polish Radio (Polskie Radio).
• One Finnish tourist (?) was initially included among those missing in a report by the Daily Finland, although it’s possible this may be the same Finnish national who confirmed to be a survivor today. (Daily Mail)
• One Irish tourist (?) was initially reported as missing according to the Irish radio station Newstalk, although it’s possible it might be the same citizen later confirmed to be “ok” by Ireland’s Foreign Minister (RTE).

According to Ahram Online “The Egyptian Meteorological Authority forecasted turbulence in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, advising the suspension of all maritime activities on Sunday and Monday.” Ahram online also reported that waves heights were predicted to reach about 3 to 4 metres, while the BBC reported that the windspeed was around 60 to 70 km/h (37 to 43 mph). However, the London based Asharq Al Awsat reported that “the vessel had set sail before the weather warnings were made.”

According to the Dive Pro Liveaboard website, the Sea Story was built in 2022 and was some 44 metres (144 feet) long and 9 metres (29.5 feet) wide with a hull made from wood. It had four decks and 18 cabins able to accommodate 36. It would normally have a crew of 12, including a captain, a mechanical engineer, two cooks, two waiters and six sailors.

Onboard safety equipment

In terms of safety equipment, according to the same website, it had VHF radio, DSC (presumably standing for digital selective calling allowing the crew to send an automatically formatted distress alert), GPS, radar, echo depth-sounder and Epirb ( presumably the Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon which is supposed to alert search and rescue services in the event of any emergency) as well as “life jackets in each Cabin” and “two safety rafts for 25 persons each.”

The Sea Story sank near Sataya Reef

The Sea Story had left Port Ghalib, the privately owned tourist marina and harbour complex near Marsa Alam airport, on Sunday on a five day excursion which was due to finish at the well known beach resort city of Hurghada on Friday. According to the BBC the vessel sent out a distress call at approximately 5.30 am on Monday from somewhere close to the frequently visited dolphin habitat at Sataya Reef. (Reuters and Daily Sabah citing the governor).

The thoughts and prayers of everyone living and working in Marsa Alam are with all those passengers and crew who might have been affected, as well as their friends and families.

Earlier incidents involving liveaboards

• 6 November 2024: The 34 metre liveaboard Nouran with 12 cabins able to carry 24 guests caught fire and sank at Daedalus Reef during the night but all passengers and crew were able to evacuate safely and transferred to another nearby liveaboard. (Dive Magazine, Divernet and Scuba News)
• 24 October 2024: only a little over a month ago, another serious incident occurred involving the 30 metre liveaboard Seaduction further south near Elba Reef closer to the border with Sudan. It sank in the early hours of the morning (Divernet, Dive Magazine and Taucher.net). Luckily all the passengers and crew were able to escape and were picked up several hours later from their lifeboat.
• 26 June 2024: 24 tourists were rescued from the safari boat Exocet which sank also in the Sataya Reef area, and according to Ahram Online initial investigations suggested it may have been “due to a hole in the hull amid high waves,” in reference to “a report by the Red Sea Protected Areas Team” citing crew and passengers. According to Dive Magazine, “Exocet is reported to have sustained significant damage to its hull after striking the reef in high waves.” However, I haven’t seen any evidence at all to suggest that there was any similar hole or rupture in the hull caused to the Sea Story.
• 22 February 2024: 16 of the 17 dive guests onboard the liveaboard Sea Legend managed to escape along with the 10 crew and 2 dive guides, when the boat caught fire in the early hours of the morning while on route from Hurghada for a week long diving safari to the Brothers Islands, Daedalus and Elphinstone. The unnamed missing person was a 50 year old German woman. (Divernet, Taucher.net, Scuba News, Dive Magazine and The Sun.)
• 11 June 2023: Three British citizens died and 26 crew and passengers rescued, following a fire on the diving liveaboard the Hurricane at Elphinstone Reef, just 12 km east of Abu Dabbab Bay on the Marsa Alam coastline. The Daily Mail reported how terrified tourists had jumped from the ship which became a “floating inferno” and a witness, cited in the Guardian, said that “the fire had spread fast, engulfing the entire boat within minutes.”
• 24 April 2023: The 42 metre long liveaboard Calrton Queen capsized and sank near Abu Nahas Reef off the coast of Hurghada. The BBC described how petrified passengers thought they were trapped below deck with one recalling “I started to lose the plot. I really was panicking we were going to die.” Fortunately all 26 guests and 9 crew were rescued. (BBC, Daily Mail, Dive Magazine, Divernet and Taucher.net).

Climate change and rogue waves in the Red Sea

Rogue waves are large, unexpected waves that occur in storms and can be several times larger than typical waves. While there is no evidence yet to suggest that climate change was a factor in this incident or that it will directly cause “rogue” waves to become more common in the Red Sea, more powerful storms and increased energy in the ocean could theoretically increase the chances of “rogue” waves forming. These waves can occur when different factors align (e.g., strong winds, currents, and wave interactions), which might become more frequent with a changing climate.

Mountain topography and offshore rogue waves

In a research paper published in 2013, three academics (D. K. Ralston et al.,) argued that the Red Sea’s mountain topography was likely to have a significant impact on local wind speeds and wave heights. They noted that the Red Sea’s “surrounding coastal mountains channel near-surface winds such that monthly
mean wind vectors are largely parallel to the long axis of the basin,” but they also observed that “In addition to channelling the large-scale, seasonal winds along the basin axis, the surrounding orography also generates mountain gap wind jets.” These in turn created significant eddies in the Red Sea’s wind patterns.

They explained that “strong temperature gradients between the sea surface and adjacent desert can drive strong diurnal (daily) across-shore winds, with sea breezes during the day and land breezes at night. These across-shore winds can be intensified by funnelling through mountain gaps, resulting in an alternating pattern of wind jets and wakes along the coast.”

This phenomenon, they reasoned, could have a powerful impact on the likelihood and frequency of “freak” or “rogue” waves. They pointed to the situation in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, off the Pacific Coast of Mexico, where in the winter winds in excess of 25 metres per second (72 kmh) through a mountain gap sometimes blew offshore for a distance of 500 km leading to numerous “rogue” waves. They argued that several factors, including the intermittent timing and strong wind and energy linked with mountain gap winds, rendered them difficult to study and posed a significant problem for attempts to model wind and wave scenarios.

Their data using satellite and buoy data showed that mountain gap winds (in particular the Tokar Gap at about 19N on the Sudanese coast) could indeed have a substantial impact on wave amplitude and direction, even when the rest of the Red Sea had relatively calm conditions.

Based on their research, it would seem possible that across-shore winds generated by temperature differentials and possibly intensified by mountain gap winds, might influence the likelihood of rogue waves along some stretches of water off the Egyptian coast, even though the academics cited don’t make any direct reference to any such gaps along the Red Sea’s northwestern shore.

Sataya Reef lies in the coastal waters just to the south east of the Wadi El Gemal National Park, which has more than 50 mountain peaks, including Jabal Hamata which is 1975 metres (6480 feet) high. I’m not aware of any study on whether there might be any mountain gap or other across-shore winds that might sometimes impact offshore sea conditions in this particular area, but if a “rogue” or other “strong” wave did indeed cause this tragic accident as currently suggested by at least one survivor (South China Morning Post) and also, according to the Egypt Independent, by the Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi in a Monday evening interview with TV host Amr Adib on MBC Masr, then every possible factor that might have caused such a wave or cause one in the future needs to be investigated.

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