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Chrisoula K

Also known as Chrisoula K wreck; Krisoula K; The Tile Wreck; Dora Oldendorff; Abu Nuhas - Chrisoula K

Cargo holds still stacked with Italian floor tiles - the source of the site's nickname

No detailed dive map yet

A close-up reef map of Chrisoula K will appear here when available.

Cargo holds still stacked with Italian floor tiles - the source of the site's nickname. Large four-cylinder engine and engine-room machinery. Bow crushed and folded onto the reef, stern keeled over on the sand. Depth 4–30 m; day boat; Moderate to strong on the north-east corner of the reef; the site is exposed to the prevailing northerly current. ship_type: General cargo motor vessel (built as Dora Oldendorff); builder: Orenstein, Koppel und Lubecker Maschinenbau, Lubeck, Germany; year_built: Launched 16 December 1953; completed early 1954; length_m: 98.0; tonnage: 3,720-3,807 GRT; date_sunk: Late August 1981; cause: Struck the…

Highlights

  • Cargo holds still stacked with Italian floor tiles - the source of the site's nickname
  • Large four-cylinder engine and engine-room machinery
  • Bow crushed and folded onto the reef, stern keeled over on the sand
  • Frequently confused with the neighbouring wreck of the Marcus - many older guidebooks have the two identities swapped

Marine life

  • glassfish
  • lionfish
  • scorpionfish
  • moray eels
  • anthias
  • soft corals on the stern rails

Good to know

Best season
Year-round. Water 22-29 C; calmest seas and best visibility March-November, with the coolest water and strongest northerlies December-February.
Protected status
Egyptian Red Sea marine protected area; HEPCA-maintained mooring buoys, anchoring prohibited
Fees
No separate site fee published; environmental tax historically 3.5 LE/diver/day (Red Sea Governorate, 2001), collection suspended after January 2011 per HEPCA.
Wreck
ship_type: General cargo motor vessel (built as Dora Oldendorff); builder: Orenstein, Koppel und Lubecker Maschinenbau, Lubeck, Germany; year_built: Launched 16 December 1953; completed early 1954; length_m: 98.0; tonnage: 3,720-3,807 GRT; date_sunk: Late August 1981; cause: Struck the north-east corner of Sha'ab Abu Nuhas at full speed on passage from Italy to Jeddah; cargo: Italian ceramic floor tiles for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; orientation: Settled at the base of the reef roughly upright, though the stern has rolled almost completely onto its starboard side; bow wreckage from about 4 m on the reef slope, holds 20-26 m, stern and propeller 27-30 m.; wreck_depth_m: 4-30; penetration: Yes - the engine room is accessible but disorienting because the stern lies on its side; hull gaps give access to the tile-filled cargo holds.

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