SS Thistlegorm Shipwreck

The SS Thistlegorm lies in the northern Red Sea off South Sinai, Egypt, near the Strait of Gubal. It was a British armed merchant ship carrying wartime supplies, including motorcycles, trucks, and rail cars, when German aircraft sank it in 1941. The main wreck and holds sit in the commonly dived range of roughly 15 to 30 metres, largely intact with cargo still visible, but the site's full depth reaches down to around 60 metres, and diving it to that extent is rated technical. It ranks among the most dived wrecks in the Red Sea, typically reached by boat from Sharm el-Sheikh or by liveaboard, and the current across the site can run strong, which is why the deeper and fuller exploration of the wreck is treated as a technical dive rather than a standard recreational one. Divers have also reported bluespotted fantail rays, lionfish, crocodilefish, sailfin tang, longfin batfish, rusty parrotfish, small giant clams, and even bottlenose dolphins around the wreck.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Indo-Pacific Bottlenose DolphinTursiops aduncusReported here · unconfirmed
• Indian LionfishPterois milesReported here · unconfirmed
• Indian Ocean CrocodilefishPapilloculiceps longicepsReported here · unconfirmed
• Bluespotted Fantail RayTaeniura lymmaReported here · unconfirmed
• Small Giant ClamTridacna maximaReported here · unconfirmed
• Longfin BatfishPlatax teiraReported here · unconfirmed
• Rusty ParrotfishScarus ferrugineusReported here · unconfirmed
• Indian Sailfin TangZebrasoma desjardiniiReported here · unconfirmed