Standing on the dive platform all ready to go at 6.30am, I recalled last nights conversation. Some thought it was morbid that we were going to dive the Salem Express as it had sunk only nine years previous, with the loss of so many lives. After all, would we even think of diving the Herald of Free Enterprise, had it not been scraped?
The Salem Express was a sizeable roll-on-roll-off car ferry. Disaster struck close to midnight on December 15th 1991, when she was over crowded with passengers returning from Mecca. She struck a coral reef off Safaga, in the Egyptian Red Sea. The collision left a large hole in the hull, and caused the huge car loading doors to burst open. The ferry immediately began taking on water, and within a couple of minutes, was swallowed up by the sea.
Official records state that there were 690 passengers on board, and only 180 survivors, however there are claims that many more passengers where aboard than were listed, and as many as 1600 people lost their lives in this tragedy.
We all entered the water at once, and followed our dive guides, Gamal & Sandra down to 20m, where out of the gloom she appeared. Laying on her starboard side, she looked quite eerie, with some of her lifeboats still hanging precariously from their davits.
Our first dive was to be an orientation dive, to get our bearings for the afternoon dive. We started at the twin props at 32m, around to the port side, with suitcases, radio cassettes and sun deck roofing plates laying all around the seabed, with all the personal effects laying around you couldn't help but think of all the poor souls that went down with her.
Two of her lifeboats sat upright on the seabed, a reminder of how quickly she went down.
We were shown which doorways we were allowed to enter, ready for the second dive. As so many people remain unaccounted for, and for safety reasons, you are only permitted to enter down to the first level.
The bow section, which is also the upward hinging vehicle loading door, has been forced upwards 90° due to the force of the impact on the coral reef, and she is quite buckled.
Soft and hard coral has now began its slow overtaking of this shipwreck, with small straight seahorse like creatures festooned around the superstructure. The Egyptians call these creatures the angels of the lost souls, as they are not found in such abundance anywhere else in the Red Sea.
We made our way back to the shot line alone the Port side at around 10m. We passed the ships name on the bow, only just visible due to the erosion of the currents, the Port anchor, and the funnel with its heavily coral encrusted emblem.
We carried out our safety stops on the shot line, before surfacing and a hearty breakfast.
The second dive for those who wanted to, was to be a penetration dive, my buddy Jerry and I had already planned our dive. We entered the water and made our way down to the ship. First stop was the lifeboats lying on the seabed for a couple of photos, and then into the rear doorway which lead into the restaurant seating area. It was a bit disorienting swimming through the wreck as she was lying on her side, all the debris and personal effects had dropped down to what was once the ceiling. From there we made our way to the bridge, with the flying bridge controls still set to their original speed.
Next we dropped down what was once a corridor, which ran from port to starboard. In the first room we entered, it must have been a crockery store for the restaurant, as there were plates and bowls strewn everywhere, we came across the pelvic bone of one of those not so lucky. This made me feel like I was decimating a grave, and I think Jerry must have felt the same, as we both signalled to exit the wreck at that point. We spent the rest of the dive swimming along the companionways, peering through windows to the upper deck cabins, there were mattresses and suitcases in most.
Red Sea 2000,
Gallery, Diving the Salam Express,
Thirtysomething,
"Birds" Eye View of Big Brother
The Scilly Isles - 2003, Red Sea 2003 - North, Red Sea 2003 - South
Scapa Flow 2002,
Red Sea 2002,
Weymouth 2002,
Australia,
Red Sea 2001,
Red Sea 2000,
Brixham,
Weymouth,
Key Largo,
Red Sea 1999,
Diving Down Under.
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