The Million Hope

The Million Hope in the Egyptian Red Sea has been overlooked by the majority of divers. Peter Collings, who witnessed the ship’s sinking, returns five years on to take us on a tour of the wreck

The Million Hope in the Egyptian Red Sea has been overlooked by the majority of divers. Peter Collings, who witnessed the ship’s sinking, returns five years on to take us on a tour of the wreck

The story behind the wreck

Built in Japan as a bulk carrier with additional facilities for transporting vehicles, the Million Hope was launched as the ‘Ryusei Maru’ in 1972. She displaced 26,181 tonnes gross, measured 174.6m by 24.8m, and had a draught of 10m. The ship’s five cargo holds were served by four massive cranes, positioned forward of the bridge. Two six-cylinder diesel engines gave her a top speed of 17 knots. Six weeks before the ship sank she was bought by the Aksonas Shipping Company of Limassol, Cyprus for £1.36 million, was renamed ‘Million Hope’ and insured for a total of £4.1 million. On her final voyage the vessel set sail from Aqaba on 19 June 1996 bound for Taiwan with a cargo of potash and phosphates. On 20 June the vessel was approaching the Strait of Tiran when a fire broke out and raged through the superstructure. Out of control, the ship went headfirst into a reef near Nabq, seven miles north of Sharm El Sheikh

A tour of the wreck

The Million Hope is one of the youngest wrecks in the Egyptian Red Sea and the second largest of the diveable wrecks (beaten only by the Siris at 29,400 tonnes). It has for the most part been overlooked as a dive location, perhaps because it is only partially underwater, and is off the regular itineraries. More than five years after it sank it is slowly being colonised by marine life. Its size alone makes it a memorable dive. Five years after first diving the wreck, in November 2001, I went back to see how it was settling in to its new surroundings.

While much of the Million Hope is underwater, the wreck’s four cranes tower above and are visible for miles, providing a visual landmark long before you reach the wreck. We descended at the bow on the port side past the massive anchor (1) down to the sea bed at 19m, where the ship’s impact with the reef was evident, a large dent creasing the hull (2). There were also signs of another wreck – the Hey Daroma – underneath (3). We swam along the port side towards the stern, where tiny growths of coral were colonising the vertical face, and anthias surrounded one of the jibs which at some point had swung around and dipped below the surface (4). Near the third crane I could see a huge vertical crack running up to the gunwales – the wreck looked to be slowly breaking in two (5). Moving on towards the stern we passed a long ladder, which hung precariously but was covered in a carpet of soft corals. The risers were totally obscured by these colourful colonists (6). At the stern, a truly amazing sight came into view – a huge propeller covered in soft corals. As the rudder was gone it made the propeller appear even bigger, and one blade was bent up due to the ship hitting the reef head-on (7). The curving hull provided a haven for the shoaling fish and snapper, which congregated in large numbers joined by jacks and trevallies.

On the starboard side we could see the devastation that the grounding had caused to the reef – it resembled a mountain slope devoid of life. Then, arriving at amidships, we found a huge vertical gash in the hull (8), which was large enough for a pair of divers to swim through. The gash provided us with a route into the gloomy holds, where several large groupers and some moray eels lurked in dark recesses. We left the holds and made a slow ascent to the Million Hope’s deck at 7m. We startled some surgeonfish, but they soon gained the courage to return and investigate the intruders. We swam under the jib of one of the cranes on the port side where a forlorn barrow leaned against the bulwark. The distorted images of the cranes towering above presented a multitude of photo opportunities (9).

Towards the front of the superstructure was a door leading into the accommodation block. Here, the full extent of the fire could be seen – all the wooden coverings had been burned away (10). A word of warning – cables now droop free of their restraints, ready to snare the unwary. Corridors then led us on to the cavernous interior above the engine room, where we could see the engine damage (11). The sudden resistance on the propeller must have placed the power units under immense stress and caused untold damage. Stairs beckoned nearby, but we realised that deeper exploration would be best saved for another dive. Several exits along, there was access to the companionways (12), which in turn led to the huge aft deck. Bathed in the afternoon light this was an atmospheric place to take photographs of divers hovering over the stern (13). A 150m swim took us to the final point of interest, the fo’c’sle – the swim was made more interesting by the scattered remains of the Hey Daroma which lay on the reef. The fo’c’sle (14) was an impressive sight – the huge winches and mooring bollards providing and atmospheric and photogenic end to the dive.

Eyewitness account

It was as if history was repeating itself. Memories of April 1983 and the sinking of the Giannis D flooded back as I watched plumes of smoke rise from the accommodation block of the huge ship heading down the Strait of Tiran. I was running an underwater photography course at Gordon Reef, and looked on helplessly as the Million Hope drove headlong into the reef. It seemed an age before she came to a halt – we later found out she had hit the reef at full speed. Her crew was on the aft deck, partially obscured by the clouds of smoke. We watched from a distance as the crew was rescued. It would be several months before divers would get anywhere near the wreck. When we did get close enough for a look, the wooden name-plate on the superstructure read only ‘HOPE’ – curiously, the word ‘MILLION’ had burned away. The official line was that the Million Hope had been driven ashore in poor visibility.

The Million Hope