Diving the Shipwrecks of the Egyptian Red Sea
The Sinai Peninsula is a triangular land bridge located between the African and Asian continents, with the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south. The Sinai Peninsula is the only Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa. The two continents are separated by the Suez Canal.
The Suez Canal is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, providing the shortest maritime route between Europe and the countries lying in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Navigating through the canal has proven to be difficult because of the many reefs that come to the surface. Due to these reefs and acts of war over the years, there are several shipwrecks to explore in the Northern Red Sea.
Nineteenth-Century Shipwrecks of the Sinai Peninsula: SS Carnatic and SS Kingston
The keel of the SS Carnatic was laid down in London in early 1862 and the ship was launched on June 12. The 294-foot-long steamship was completed on April 25, 1863. She had an iron-framed, wooden-planked hull, square rigged sails, with a single-shaft, 4-cylinder, compound inverted steam engine which produced a top speed of 12 knots and carried a capacity of 250 passengers.
During the night of September 12, 1869, she ran aground on the Abu Nuhas coral reef located near the mouth of the Gulf of Suez, in the Red Sea. Captain Philip Jones believed the ship’s pumps could handle the water leak, so he reassured the passengers the ship was safe and they should wait for rescue from the passenger liner Sumatra that was transiting the area.
As she remained affixed on the
