Red Sea Wreck Guide
rails, demolished buildings, grounded vessels and giving it appeal to recreational and technical divers
carried fragments of the Mont-Blanc for kilometres. alike. You can snorkel it too.
Even the anchor,weighing over a ton, was blown two
miles away. A total of 1,951 people were killed with
Cargo holds are easily reached on the Umbria, where
over 9,000 injured. To this day, the Halifax Explosion
in addition to the munitions, divers can see storage
caused by the Mont Blanc stands as the world record
jars, wooden boxes, cement bags (now set), Fiat cars
for the largest accidental manmade explosion in
and rolls of electrical cables. There are many cabins,
history. The force of the blast was nearly a quarter
companionways and rooms to explore. The engine
the size of a World War Two conventional nuclear
room is home to two big engines but has very little
bomb.
light penetration. Much of the wood has rotted
on this largely metal ship, which at least allows
The Umbria shipwreck, which was scuttled in Port easier access to many areas now devoid of wooden
Sudan, Red Sea on 10 June 1940 was carrying more decking. The Umbria also has more soft coral and
explosives than the SS Mont Blanc – 360,000 bombs, detail than several other Red Sea wrecks and holds a
large calibre projectiles, bomb parts and 60 boxes great appeal for photography.
of detonators contributing to a total cargo of 8,600
tons. All of the cargo is still on board.
Bomb enthusiasts should head to the aft holds
where the bulk of the aircraft bombs are stored
Fancy a dive? in their thousands in neat, compact rows. The
propellers are big, but the portside one is buried by
The Umbria, measuring 153m long, is a big ship
sand, although you can see the rudder between the
in comparison to its Red Sea competitors, such as
two.
Thistlegorm at 126m and the Rosalie Moller at 108m.
It was built in 1911 and could carry 2,000 passengers The Umbria is accessible by daily boats leaving
and 9,000 tons of cargo. The sinking was the result Port Sudan, however a growing number of safari
of the Umbria’s Italian skipper, Captain Lorenzo operators are now incuding Sudan and the Umbria in
Muiesan, scuttling the ship to avoid it falling into their itineries.
the hands of the British who were stationed in Port
Sudan. He had just learned that Italy had declared
It is because the Umbria is in a relatively remote
war and was keen to keep his deadly cargo from
position in relation to popular Red Sea destinations
being taken and used against his country by the new
that it remains in such great condition. Many who
enemy. On 10 June 1940 the crew sent the Umbria
have had the privilage of visiting it claim it is one of
to the seabed outside Port Sudan by the Windgate Reef. She lies on her
the best shipwrecks in the world.
portside at depths ranging from 37m to 30m from bow to stern. The
They might also agree that it’s probably best not to touch anything.
wreck rises to just a few meters from the surface around the bridge area
26 www.cdws.travel
Issue 5 March - April ‘10
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