Diving in Aqaba & The iconic wrecks of Jordan

Surely, you know that diving in Aqaba is something really special, but do you actually know that there are 25 wrecks just off the Jordanian coast?

In this article, our guest author Sarah shows us the most iconic wrecks and shares her fascination with diving at these incredible underwater landmarks around her second home, Aqaba.

Photo by Noam Kortler

 

Wreck diving in Aqaba is not only about sunken ships

When looking for the next destination for a dive holiday, Jordan usually is not the first location that comes to mind.  Well, it’s time to rethink that! Jordan, and in particular Aqaba, has some unique dive sites to offer, especially for wreck enthusiasts.

Most of the wrecks in Aqaba have been scuttled on purpose due to the passion for diving that runs in the Jordanian royal family for generations. Late king Abdullah of Jordan himself ordered the scuttling of the cedar pride vessel in 1985. Since then it has been one top attraction to visit when diving in Aqaba. In 2020 another unique dive site was put in place, the first underwater military museum. Since most of the wrecks have been sunken on purpose around Aqaba, they are easy to access. Also, all of them are suitable and interesting for divers of all levels.

Now let’s explore them one by one!

Photo by Noam Kortler

 

Cedar Pride – The most iconic wreck diving in Aqaba

The best know wreck in the region is Cedar Pride. It is a Spanish cargo vessel that was built in 1964. The ship was renamed a couple of times before it was purchased by the Lebanese shipping company “Cedar Pride”. The last given name was “San Bruno”. You can still read it, engraved in the bow of the ship.

In July 1982 Cedar Pride was anchoring in the port of Aqaba, when an accident took place and a fire blast ripped a hole in the vessel. Cedar Pride became a destructed loss and stayed half sunk, half a float in the port. Later King Abdullah, a keen diver himself, took interest in the vessel and decided to scuttle it and transform it into the famous dive site it is today. Cedar Pride was cleaned from oil and anything that could be destructive to any marine life and was ultimately scuttled on the 16 of November 1985.

Dive site description

Cedar Pride is laying on its port side granting divers access and insight into the two big cargo holds. Another highlight is an air pocket located in the rear cargo hold. It is big enough for divers to surface and have a quick look around. Over the past 35 years, Cedar Pride has registered significant coral growth. The crow’s nest is an amazing attraction often seen on photos.

Photo by Omar Madain

Schools of fish roam the site and turtles and napoleon wrasses can be seen occasionally. The depth varies between 12m/40ft and 26m/85ft. The diversity of this dive site makes it draws divers of all levels.

At the maximum depth the wreck and the topography of the reef form an arch where it’s possible to cross underneath. Apart from the open cargo holds, the wreck features some enclosed spaces and squeezes. These can be accessed by advanced divers certified to dive in overheard environments.

 

The Tank & Lockheed Hercules C- 130

In 1999 an M42 “Duster”, anti-aircraft tank became the second wreck placed on purpose as a diver’s attraction on Aqaba’s south beach shoreline. The vehicle was cleaned and stripped of all hazardous materials by the army and scuttled.

Photo by Grant Thomas

It sits on a sandy bottom in shallow water with a maximum depth of 6 meters. Today it is widely known as just “the tank”. In comparison to other wrecks in the area, the tank is fairly small with its 6 meters length. Because it has already been underwater for 20 years, a lot of corals had time to grow and turn it into a habitat for various fish. Lionfish tend to circle around the tank and you can find scorpionfish hiding under it.

The tank lays very close to the aircraft wreck which we will talk about in a bit. Because of its shallow depth, it has become the “place to go” for the safety stop at the end of dives at sites surrounding the tank.

Photo by Grant Thomas

 

The first aricraft wreck in Jordan

Almost 20 years later, the tank’s lonely days where counted and a new wreck was placed in striking distance. The Hercules C-130 is Jordan’s first aircraft wreck. It was scuttled on the 16th November 2017 in a big ceremony with international media present. Thus it gained popularity.

Photo by Omar Madain

The Hercules C-130 rests at a maximum depth of 13 meters and is popular amongst for divers of all levels. Divers and snorkelers can either reach the wreck within a 50 meter swim from shore or by boat. To avoid any damage to the surrounding coral reef it was placed on a sandy patch within the reef. With a length of 30 meters the Hercules is of course a smaller aircraft compared to his brothers and sister nowadays. Nonetheless, it is an impressive sight and lets the hearts of aviation lovers beat faster.

Photo by Omar Madain

Until March 2020 the cargo hold could be entered by two doors, one on each side, as well as the cockpit. Unfortunately, a storm hit Aqaba in march last year and the aircraft took hard damage and broke apart. We got to see the damage just couple of days after the storm took place, and I have to say, it lost nothing of its charm. It is still an excellent dive!

 

Lockheed Tristar 1011

After the great success with the Hercules that attracted many divers from all around the world, a second, bigger plane was scuttled in Aqaba.

The Lockheed Tristar 1011 joined Ababa’s Wreck family in August 2019. The scuttling of the much larger airplane required some more organisation. Thus, the royal family and the army was involved in the process.

Photo by Saeed Rashid

A sandy area near the Aqaba port was chosen as the last resting place of the aircraft. The area is completely coral free, so the airplane will provide a place for a new artificial coral reef to grow. The aircraft had been out of service for a long time. It had been parked at King Hussein airport for many years before finding its final destination. In order to transport the airplane from Amman to Aqaba, it was completely disassembled and put together on site by Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (AZEZA).

The scuttling of the Tristar took a lot more organisation and preparation than the one of the previous aircraft. This was mainky because of its considerably larger size. The scuttling was a huge event with lots of attendees from all over the world. Of course, it drew the attention of the media. Many diving magazines reported about it and sent their photographers to capture the event. Some were present on our boat as well, so we got to explore the new wreck just three days post scuttling!

Photo by Grant Thomas

 

Dive site description

Unlike the other dive sites and wrecks, the Tristar can only be reached by boat. Beach access is not possible.

The cockpit faces the beach and is the shallowest part of the wreck at 13m/43ft. Right behind the cockpit there are two doors, one on each side. These allow entry inside the wreck to divers certified to do so. Inside the hull the middle seat row has been removed. This grants a bigger space for diving inside. You can go all the way back to the last two exit doors, which are at a depth of 28m/92ft. Alternatively, you can also exit earlier from the doors in the middle, which are at about 20m/65ft. The two seat rows on the sides, toilets and service compartments are still in place. This gives a lifelike experience of diving a real commercial airplane.

 

The military museum

In 2019 Aqaba became home to the worlds first underwater military museum. The whole preparation process took over 30 days before 19 battle vehicles were placed on the seabed in a battle formation. The criteria and terms for the location were the same as for all the recently scuttled wrecks in Aqaba. A place with no pre-existent reef was determined as venue to give corals a new ground to grow and thrive. Needless to say, all the toxic and potentially harmful parts were removed.

Photo by Omar Madain

The exhibits of this underwater museum are very various. There are tanks of different sizes, anti-air craft guns, samatarian transporters and helicopters. The depth of this dive site ranges from 13m/42ft to 28m/92ft. The highlight at 28 meters are undoubtedly two AH cobra attack helicopters. The site is accessible from shore from boat.

Photo by Noam Kortler

 

Wrecks for tech diving in Aqaba

Apart from all the dive sites mentioned so far that are suitable for divers of all levels in recreational diving, Aqaba offers two wrecks, which are only suitable for certified deep divers and technical divers.

 

Al Shorouk

Al Shorouk was scuttled by the Aqaba marine park in June 2008. Not everything went as planned and she started to drift into deep waters. They managed to stop her descent and push her back into shallower depth. She’s now resting on her side with the shallowest part of the wreck laying on 38 meters, the deepest part on 60 plus meters.

Due to its depth, Shorouk is an exiting dive site for beginner and advanced tech divers. The mooring line is attached directly to the bow. The line therefor can be used as a descend reference line and on the ascend for decompression stops. The reef surrounding the wreck is a slope, so due to the depth it’s a far swim from shore, the best access is granted by boat. Following the rail from bow to the stern, tech divers can penetrate the engine room as well as the bridge.

 

Taiyong

Taiyong is a crane barge that was accidentally discovered by technical divers in 2004. Due to its condition, we assume it sunk between 1997 and 1999. Similar to Al Shorouk, the depth range is from 38 to 60 meters. Taiyong is the only wreck in Aqaba that does not feature a mooring line, so the access is only from shore. From the shore we follow the slope until we find the bow of the wreck first facing the beach on 38 meters, with the stern on a maximum depth of 58 meters.

Taiyong already spent over 20 years underwater, therefor is encrusted in beautiful corals and has become an artificial reef. Apart from the beautiful scenery, the massive crane laying next to the wreck stern side is one of the main attractions of Taiyong. For the decompression stop, divers ascend following one of Aqaba’s most colourful reefs, making it an experience in itself.

 

Diving conditions and water temperature in Aqaba

The diving conditions in Aqaba are generally spoken perfect. There are hardly any currents and stormy days with waves are rare. (Almost) all dive sites start very shallow at shore. This means they reach from a depth of 1 meter to 60+ and are suitable for all levels! The direct coastline does not only feature shallow reefs, but also sandy areas with pool-like conditions, perfect for skill practice during any course.

The visibility is good and is minimum 15 meters, on most days even 30+ meters! In winter even the rain is very rare, outside temperature usually does not fall under 18°C. From November till March the water temperature does not fall below 22/23°C either. In spring the water and air temperature starts to rise and in summer the water temperature reaches its maximum of around 26°C.

You can comfortably dive in a 3 short or long wetsuit, in winter we recommend a long wetsuit of 5mm minimum.

 

The best dive center in Aqaba

The best dive center in Aqaba is undoubtedly my place of work – Diverse Divers.

We have grown into a community of friends who are all passionate about diving. For more than 15 years, our founders and crew have brought people together from all over the world. From different hemispheres, different ethnicities and different personalities. Our passion is creating an environment where people from all backgrounds can come together.

Diverse Divers offers daily diving trips and PADI courses from beginner level up to technical diving on our four deck yacht “Diversity”. We also organise group trips for up to 35 people to explore our beautiful home country Jordan above and below water. We take care of airport pick-ups, hotels, transportation, diving as well as excursions to Wadi Rum and Petra – everything to make your holiday a dream.

Our boat features a very spacious kitting area, a gear room on board as well as an air compressor for refilling tanks on long diving days! For relaxing after a dive and for a comfortable surface interval she has bathrooms with warm water showers and three different outdoor lounge areas, as well as an indoor salon. We also have 5 master cabins onboard, accommodating up to 10 guests.

 

 

 

About the author

It’s the fist time you will be reading from me, so let me introduce myself. I am Sarah and I’ve been a working as a scuba diving instructor at Diverse Divers in Aqaba for one year now.

I was born in Switzerland where I spent most of my life until I found my passion for diving and traveling nine years ago. Ever since I’ve been saving up to go diving and explore different destinations. Eventually, the wanderlust took over and I quit my job as a medical assistant. Three years ago I become a full-time scuba diving instructor. The new chapter of my life started in Indonesia, Nusa Lembongan Island. Last year the urge for a new challenge hit again and I relocated here. I fell in love with this place and the diving in Aqaba and I’ve been calling it my second home ever since.