Silhouettes on the Al Kahfain
The Al Kahfain is one of the more recent Red Sea wrecks , coming to grief on Sha ’ ab Sheer reef in November 2005 . Built by Cammell Laird on Merseyside and launched in 1967 , the former MV Ulster Queen plied her trade as a passenger ferry between Liverpool and Belfast until 1981 .
The 4,270-tonne vessel led a largely nomadic later life – encompassing a succession of name changes – and eventually moved from the UK to the Med before arriving in the Red Sea . By then named Al Kahfain , she was returning from Suez to the port of Jeddah to collect passengers when a fire occurred in the engine room , swiftly spreading throughout the vessel .
The 58 crew abandoned ship . Some were picked up by nearby vessels while others escaped via lifeboat , thankfully with no casualties . Taken under tow , Al Kahfain struck the same Hyndman Reef chain as the Salem Express , sinking upside-down in a depth of 24 metres .
The shallowest part of the hull lies in around six metres . Due to the strong currents which occur along the reef , the wreck is quite broken up . This is something of a plus point however , as access is easy and enables safe movement through the twisted metal .
Peering through one opening in the giant cracked hull , it ’ s possible to see a selection of kitchen utensils such as plates , knives and forks , lying in their resting places . While I ’ d have liked to spent a little more time exploring the wreck , I ’ d otherwise have missed out on the adjoining reef system , packed with a gamut of Red Sea life .
Everywhere the colours were vivid ; the bright orange of the comical anemonefish , the blue hues of parrot fish patrolling their territory , large shoals of swiftly-moving bright yellow goat fish and the rich golden of the
Stoney corals in great condition
54