MV Hebat Allah was a 44 m long coastal freighter built in France in 1985. It had broken loose during the storm near Hurghada and collided with a reef without sinking. The damage can be seen in the rear area.
On November 7, 2004, she was scuttled by the Red Sea Diving Association, the Egyptian Navy and the Red Sea Governor. It was intended to serve as another diving attraction. It took 4 years to clean the ship, gut it and find the right dive site. Unfortunately they screwed it up in the end 🙈
Instead of placing the wreck at a depth of 30m, which is moderate for recreational divers, it was sunk in 46m of water. The maximum depth for recreational divers in Egypt is 40m. Therefore, the wreck was forgotten and became a “lost place” for technical divers.
Spellings: Hebbat Allah, Hebbath Allah, Hebathallah
The dive
The wreck stands upright in the sandy bottom. The superstructure extends to a depth of 25 meters and the front mast (15 meters) can be seen from a shallower depth depending on the visibility. The wreck can only be found by knowing the GPS coordinates, because there is no buoy on the wreck and it cannot be seen from the surface. On our first attempt we didn’t find the wreck because our divemaster didn’t see it. When we returned a few days later with Peter Collings’ depth sounder, we found it immediately. My buddy and I were the first divers from our team on the wreck. So I could scan in peace. When the group arrived we were already in decompression with Nx50. I scanned the wreck in July 2024
Precise navigation to the dive site is therefore necessary and the dive must be planned carefully. The first team must set the line and the last team must release the line.
The model
I was able to render the first model on board the safari boat.
You can find the model in my Download area
