A Journey Through Time: Diving Hurghada’s Famous El Mina Wreck

The Red Sea is a vast underwater museum, its floor dotted with relics of maritime history. While the colossal SS Thistlegorm often steals the spotlight, one of the most compelling and famous wreck dives lies right in Hurghada’s own backyard. This is the El Mina, an Egyptian warship that offers a powerful, poignant, and incredibly accessible journey into the region’s modern history.

Known to every local divemaster and a rite of passage for visiting advanced divers, the El Mina isn’t famous for its size, but for its story. It’s not a cargo vessel that met an accidental fate; it is a genuine casualty of war, resting in the very harbour it was meant to protect.

At Scubadore Hurghada, a dive on the El Mina is one of our most requested trips for certified advanced divers. It’s a chance to explore a site that is both a thrilling wreck and a solemn memorial, a dive that stays with you long after you surface.

The Descent into a Different Era

The experience of diving the El Mina begins the moment you descend. As you leave the bright Egyptian sun behind, you pass through the blue water towards the main harbour entrance. The sounds of the surface world fade, replaced by the rhythmic sound of your own breathing. Then, it appears.

The 70-meter-long minesweeper materializes from the blue, lying on its port side on the sandy seabed. The sight is instantly impressive. Unlike a reef, which grows organically, a wreck has hard, defined lines—a stark, man-made structure now being slowly reclaimed by the sea. Its presence is a silent, powerful testament to a specific moment in time.

Reading the Wreck’s Story

A dive on the El Mina is like reading a history book, with each feature a different chapter in the ship’s story. Our tour is designed to help you read that story from its dramatic end to its powerful beginning.

We typically begin at the stern, the deepest part of the dive at around 30-32 meters. Here, you can see the ship’s massive propellers and rudder, features that speak of its power and purpose when it was a functioning naval vessel. From here, looking up the entire length of the angled deck, you get a true sense of the ship’s scale.

As we ascend along the uppermost (starboard) side, the story takes a violent turn. A huge, gaping blast hole torn into the hull is impossible to miss. This is the scar from the Israeli air attack on October 6, 1973, that sealed the ship’s fate. It’s a dramatic and somber reminder of the power that sent this steel vessel to the bottom.

Continuing forward, we explore the superstructure and bridge. This area tells the story of the men who worked here. You can imagine the captain at the helm, the sailors on watch. Today, the bridge has a new crew: a shimmering, pulsating cloud of thousands of Glassfish that have made it their home.

The final chapter of our tour is at the bow, where the ship’s military purpose is on full display. Deck winches and fixtures lead to the forward anti-aircraft gun, still aimed at the sky in a final, silent act of defiance.

Where History and Marine Life Intersect

For all its somber history, the El Mina is now a vibrant and thriving ecosystem. The transformation from a warship to an artificial reef is one of the most beautiful stories in the underwater world. The wreck is now a canvas for life. Hard and soft corals have colonized its surfaces, and the structure provides a much-needed sanctuary for a host of marine creatures of the Red Sea.

The ghostly cloud of Glassfish is often being hunted by opportunistic Red Sea Lionfish. On the hull itself, a patient eye can spot perfectly camouflaged Scorpionfish and even the elusive Stonefish, silent guardians of the wreck. Look closely for colourful nudibranchs making their slow journey across the rusted metal. The waters around the wreck are often patrolled by schools of fusiliers and bannerfish, adding a constant sense of movement and life to this piece of frozen history.

A Must-Dive for the Advanced Adventurer

The El Mina is a true advanced dive. Its depth and the nature of wreck diving require a higher level of skill and awareness. To dive the El Mina, you must be certified as a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (or hold an equivalent certification). This ensures you have the necessary training to safely and comfortably manage a dive to 30 meters.

For divers, it’s the perfect “first” deep wreck experience in Hurghada. It is largely intact, its story is easy to read, and its manageable size means it can be thoroughly explored in a single, fascinating dive.

The Scubadore Approach: Diving with Respect

We believe a wreck like El Mina should be treated with the utmost respect. Our small-group philosophy is perfectly suited for this. It allows for a calm, controlled, and uncrowded dive, ensuring we don’t kick up silt that would spoil the view for others. Our expert guides provide a detailed historical briefing before the dive, so you’re not just looking at a sunken ship; you’re understanding its place in history.

If you’re an advanced diver looking for an experience beyond the reefs, the famous El Mina wreck is waiting. It’s a dive that is thrilling, educational, and deeply memorable. Contact us to add this piece of Hurghada’s history to your dive log.