Chrisoula K

Overview

The Chrisoula K — universally known as the "Tile Wreck" — is the most beginner-friendly of the four ships on Abu Nuhas reef, and one of the most photogenic. A Greek cargo steamer that drove onto the reef in 1981 with a full load of Italian floor tiles, she sits broken on the north-facing slope with her bow crumpled into the shallows and her stern and engine room intact in deeper water. The endless stacks of tiles still filling her holds are the signature image of Red Sea wreck diving, and the gentle depth makes this a wreck the whole boat can enjoy.

The Dive

The Chrisoula K lies on her starboard side on the sandy slope below the reef, and the profile is unusually forgiving for a wreck this complete. The mangled bow section sits shallowest, around 4–5m right up against the coral, while the main hull steps down the slope from roughly 10m at the bridge to about 26–28m at the stern, propeller and rudder. Most dives start deep at the stern — circling the big intact propeller — then work forward and up through the holds, where light pours through the collapsed decking onto the tile cargo, before finishing in the shallows over the bow. The well-lit holds offer easy swim-throughs suitable for any diver, while the engine room is a tighter penetration best left to those with wreck training and a torch.

Current at Abu Nuhas runs along the reef and is usually mild to moderate, but it can pick up; the slope and shallow bow make for a relaxed safety stop. Advanced Open Water is the comfortable level, though competent Open Water divers regularly dive the upper wreck with a guide.

Marine Life

Decades on the reef have grown a healthy coat of coral over the hull, and the wreck is busy with reef life — glassfish pack the holds, anthias swarm the structure, and lionfish, scorpionfish, groupers and the occasional moray work the wreckage. Out on the surrounding sand and coral, keep an eye for rays, napoleon wrasse and passing schools of snapper and goatfish.

History

The Chrisoula K was built in Germany in 1954 (originally the Dora Oldendorff, later the Anna B) — a roughly 98m, 3,720-ton cargo ship that ended her career under the Greek flag. On the night of 31 August 1981, en route from the Adriatic to Jeddah with a cargo of Italian floor and wall tiles, a navigational error put her hard onto the reef at Abu Nuhas. The crew were taken off safely; the abandoned ship slid down the slope to the position she holds today. Her identity is famously contested — for years the wreck was dived as the "Marcus," and some researchers argue the true Chrisoula K hull lies further out in deep water while the tile wreck on the reef is actually the Marcus. The names are used interchangeably by most operators, and divers will hear both on the boat.

Good to Know

Abu Nuhas is reached as a day trip from El Gouna or Hurghada (around 2–2.5 hours by fast boat) and is a fixture of almost every northern Red Sea liveaboard, where it is often paired with the Giannis D and Carnatic on the same reef. Diveable year-round, with visibility typically 15–25m. It is the easiest of the Abu Nuhas wrecks and a perfect first "proper" wreck — shallow, light-filled and unmistakable, with those tiles making it one of the most recognisable dives in Egypt.