A 260m-long Chinese container ship has run aground on Woodhouse Reef in the northern Red Sea causing severe damage to coral.
The CSCL Hamburg on Woodhouse Reef. Photos: Tom Osborn
The 40,000-tonne CSCL Hamburg hit the reef, one of Egypt's most popular, on 31 December. The ship passed Jackson Reef before trying to navigate a narrow channel between Woodhouse and Thomas Reef, which lie in the Strait of Tiran near Sharm El Sheikh. It's reported to have been travelling at some speed and 20m of its bow now lies on top of the reef.
Underwater cameraman Tom Osborn dived there on 2 January and says the ship has caused 'devastating' damage to the coral. He said: 'All of the reef in the area of the collision has been destroyed. It resembles a chalk quarry with fresh white lumps of rock scattered everywhere.
'You can see underwater that large sections of the container's hull has been crushed and sliced open from the force of the impact. As the ship smashed into the reef, she damaged huge chunks of the reef plate near the surface.
'An area approximately 30m wide and 20m long has tumbled away in sections down the steep slope of Woodhouse Reef like an avalanche, destroying any living coral below to a depth of at least 45m. At 35m you can clearly see a large slab of reef plate that used to be near the surface.'
When Osborn dived it, the ship was facing south, but it has since been swung round by tides or wind and now the bow is pointing north, towards the Straits of Tiran. This could have caused even more damage to both the ship and the corals. Luckily, no fuel has leaked from the ship - this could also have damaged marine life.
It's not yet clear what will happen to the ship and if it can be repaired. Wreck divers are hoping it may be scuttled locally to form an artificial reef.
