Wrecks

Ships that became something else. The Numidia and Aida at Brothers Islands buried in soft corals, the legendary Umbria in Port Sudan filmed by Hans Hass in 1949, and old cannons off Faial. Human-built things the ocean decided to keep.

Shipwreck railings furred with white soft corals and marine growth trace the old deck line.

Shipwreck railings furred with white soft corals and marine growth trace the old deck line. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • 15mm • f/7.1 • 1/160s

Coral-coated railings of the Aida climb toward a bright sunball in clear Red Sea blue.

Coral-coated railings of the Aida climb toward a bright sunball in clear Red Sea blue. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 40D • 10-17mm • f/8 • 1/250s

Orange soft corals cloak the Numidia while anthias flicker through rusted beams in the Red Sea.

Orange soft corals cloak the Numidia while anthias flicker through rusted beams in the Red Sea. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 40D • 10-17mm • f/7.1 • 1/200s

Numidia mast fades into blue while orange and pink soft corals overrun the structure.

Numidia mast fades into blue while orange and pink soft corals overrun the structure. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • 15mm • f/7.1 • 1/60s

Pink soft corals cloak the Numidia while anthias swarm through the rusting metal.

Pink soft corals cloak the Numidia while anthias swarm through the rusting metal. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 40D • 10-17mm • f/8 • 1/125s

Shipwreck structure furred with orange and yellow soft corals, fish suspended against the dark water.

Shipwreck structure furred with orange and yellow soft corals, fish suspended against the dark water. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 40D • 10-17mm • f/8 • 1/250s

White soft corals and hydroids blanket the rusted deck of the Aida in clear blue water.

White soft corals and hydroids blanket the rusted deck of the Aida in clear blue water. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • 15mm • f/7.1 • 1/160s

Coral-draped Aida alive with anthias, pink soft corals, and divers hanging as blue silhouettes.

Coral-draped Aida alive with anthias, pink soft corals, and divers hanging as blue silhouettes. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • 15mm • f/7.1 • 1/160s

Red and orange soft corals cover the Numidia while anthias cloud the blue behind it.

Red and orange soft corals cover the Numidia while anthias cloud the blue behind it. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 40D • 10-17mm • f/7.1 • 1/200s

Red and yellow soft corals smother the Numidia's metal frame while small fish flicker past.

Red and yellow soft corals smother the Numidia's metal frame while small fish flicker past. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 40D • 10-17mm • f/9 • 1/250s

Soft corals cloak Aida debris in the foreground while the ship's dark outline fades into depth.

Soft corals cloak Aida debris in the foreground while the ship's dark outline fades into depth. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • 15mm • f/7.1 • 1/200s

Soft corals cloak the Numidia in red, orange, and pink while anthias gather above the structure.

Soft corals cloak the Numidia in red, orange, and pink while anthias gather above the structure. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 40D • 10-17mm • f/9 • 1/250s

Orange anthias weave through soft corals growing across a coral-encrusted Red Sea wreck.

Orange anthias weave through soft corals growing across a coral-encrusted Red Sea wreck. 📍 Brother Islands, Egypt 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • 15mm • f/7.1 • 1/60s

Coral-covered Precontinent II habitat on stilts above the Sudanese seabed, framed by clear blue water.

Coral-covered Precontinent II habitat on stilts above the Sudanese seabed, framed by clear blue water. 📍 Port Sudan, Sudan 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • EF8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM • f/7.1 • 1/160s

Coral-coated wreck bow rises from the seabed, sunbeams fanning through the water behind it.

Coral-coated wreck bow rises from the seabed, sunbeams fanning through the water behind it. 📍 Port Sudan, Sudan 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • EF8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM • f/8 • 1/200s

Corroded cargo and debris lie scattered inside the hold of the Umbria, Port Sudan.

Corroded cargo and debris lie scattered inside the hold of the Umbria, Port Sudan. 📍 Port Sudan, Sudan 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • EF8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM • f/7.1 • 1/50s

Encrusted engine-room machinery inside the Umbria, pipes and metalwork fading into the gloom.

Encrusted engine-room machinery inside the Umbria, pipes and metalwork fading into the gloom. 📍 Port Sudan, Sudan 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • EF8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM • f/4 • 1/60s

Twin lights cut through the Umbria interior as blue daylight filters through the structure above.

Twin lights cut through the Umbria interior as blue daylight filters through the structure above. 📍 Port Sudan, Sudan 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • EF8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM • f/4 • 1/40s

Glassfish whirl through the Umbria interior, packing the coral-crusted passage like living smoke.

Glassfish whirl through the Umbria interior, packing the coral-crusted passage like living smoke. 📍 Port Sudan, Sudan 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • EF8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM • f/8 • 1/200s

Coral-covered mast rises from the Umbria, ringed by orange anthias and sponges.

Coral-covered mast rises from the Umbria, ringed by orange anthias and sponges. 📍 Port Sudan, Sudan 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • EF8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM • f/6.3 • 1/30s

Coral-crusted Umbria propeller fills the frame, a diver hanging small in the distance behind.

Coral-crusted Umbria propeller fills the frame, a diver hanging small in the distance behind. 📍 Port Sudan, Sudan 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • EF8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM • f/7.1 • 1/100s

Umbria propeller thick with coral growth looms in murky green water, framed in circular fisheye.

Umbria propeller thick with coral growth looms in murky green water, framed in circular fisheye. 📍 Port Sudan, Sudan 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • EF8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM • f/7.1 • 1/200s

Coral-covered Umbria propeller rises from the reef, a diver silhouette hanging in the background.

Coral-covered Umbria propeller rises from the reef, a diver silhouette hanging in the background. 📍 Port Sudan, Sudan 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • EF8-15mm f/4L FISHEYE USM • f/7.1 • 1/100s

Old cannons and wreck debris lie carpeted in orange growth, a diver exploring beyond.

Old cannons and wreck debris lie carpeted in orange growth, a diver exploring beyond. 📍 Faial, Azores 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • 15mm • f/8 • 1/80s

Coral-crusted cannons and wreck remnants on the seabed, a diver's torch cutting down from above.

Coral-crusted cannons and wreck remnants on the seabed, a diver's torch cutting down from above. 📍 Faial, Azores 📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark II • 15mm • f/7.1 • 1/200s

The wrecks that started it

Brothers Islands, Red Sea, as a kid. The Numidia was the first real wreck I ever explored. She sits on a steep wall, exposed to current, covered in soft corals so thick you forget you are swimming along a ship. The reef has taken her back almost completely. The Aida, just around the corner, is quieter at first. But drop deeper and the blue turns dark, the structure grows mysterious, and the wreck stops being scenery and starts being a place with its own atmosphere. I came up seeing wrecks differently. Not debris. Structures with a second life, and stories the ocean hasn’t finished telling.

Ships that became something else. Human-built things the ocean decided to keep.

My most treasured wreck is the Umbria in Port Sudan. Her Italian captain scuttled her at Wingate Reef in 1940 rather than lose her cargo. She went down upright and has barely moved since. Hans Hass filmed her in 1949, and his footage turned the Umbria into one of diving’s great legends. Swimming through her cargo holds today, past crates of bombs, trucks, wine bottles still stacked where they were loaded more than eighty years ago, you feel the weight of that history in a way no documentary can deliver.

The wreck image I’m after

Not the wide shot that says “there’s a ship down here.” The detail that says what happened to it. Soft corals claiming a railing. A propeller blade disappearing into blue. A diver framed in a doorway that was never meant to be open water.

Some wrecks belong visually with Reef & Corals because the reef has nearly won. Others sit closer to the quiet darkness of Caves. And on remote reefs like Brothers, wreck dives share the same current and anticipation found in Sharks. Truk Lagoon is still on the list. A fleet of wartime ships in a Pacific lagoon, coral-covered and untouched. Until then, I keep returning to the wrecks I know and watching the reef write another year over the steel. More about how these places fit the wider journey on the About page and in My Big Five for Life.