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Marsa Alam, Fury Shoals & the Deep SouthBeginnerwreck

Abu Galawa Kebir

Also known as Abu Galawa Kebira; Abu Galawa Big; Tienstin wreck; Tienschin wreck; Tien Hsing

The tug lies at roughly 45 degrees against the reef, bow at ~5 m and stern at ~18 m

No detailed dive map yet

A close-up reef map of Abu Galawa Kebir will appear here when available.

The tug lies at roughly 45 degrees against the reef, bow at ~5 m and stern at ~18 m. The pilot house is open and swim-through-able. The hull is draped in soft coral. Depth 5–18 m; liveaboard only; Light current. Tien Hsing (also written Tienstin, Tienschin, Tien Hsing) - a ~34 m Chinese-built tugboat, built 1935, which ran aground and sank at Abu Galawa Kebir in 1943. She rests against the reef at about 45 degrees with the bow shallow (~5 m) and the stern at ~18 m. Red Sea Protectorates / Marsa Alam–Wadi el Gemal marine park area; Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) Red Sea Protectorates, with HEPCA involvement in…

Highlights

  • The tug lies at roughly 45 degrees against the reef, bow at ~5 m and stern at ~18 m
  • The pilot house is open and swim-through-able
  • the hull is draped in soft coral

Marine life

  • pink and purple soft corals encrusting the hull
  • glassfish
  • reef fish

Good to know

Protected status
Red Sea Protectorates / Marsa Alam–Wadi el Gemal marine park area; Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) Red Sea Protectorates, with HEPCA involvement in mooring and site management.
Fees
Red Sea marine park / environmental fees have been levied intermittently; HEPCA records that as of January 2011 'no fees collection at all except the entrance fees to Samadai reef'. Day-boat operators commonly bundle a marine-park charge into the trip price.
Wreck
Tien Hsing (also written Tienstin, Tienschin, Tien Hsing) - a ~34 m Chinese-built tugboat, built 1935, which ran aground and sank at Abu Galawa Kebir in 1943. She rests against the reef at about 45 degrees with the bow shallow (~5 m) and the stern at ~18 m. dive-the-world gives 'Tien Hsing tugboat (1935, sank 1943, 18 m depth)'; diveclub-marsaalam.com gives 5-16 m and calls it a Chinese barge.

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