The wreck Umbria has a cargo of 360.000 bombs that makes the exploring of the wreck still more exciting. The Umbria is one of the most famous sunken ships in the world. The Umbria was built in Hamburg in 1912 and started life as a freighter. It’s big enough to give you plenty to explore but small enough to cover in one dive.

The central part of the ship can even be explored without breathing apparatus and there is much to be said for getting a general impression of the wreck with just musk and fins. Corals and fish are plentiful in this area. The fish which have made the Umbria their home are use to divers and let them come to close quarters, almost posing for photographers.

The depth it lies in means you get plenty of bottom time and there is plenty of easy penetration to be done. For those who want to, it is possible to get to the engine room, in the holds, the bakery and thoroughly explore the interior of the wreck. The cargo of fiat lagunas, wine bottles and munitions provide interest and the wreck is festooned with coral and fish life. Even just swimming the length of the wreck and observing the holds from a distance is an excellent experience.

Be sure to head around the stern of the wreck to the propeller, and there is a nice swim through underneath the large rudder, which is home to lots of snapper and some featherstars. On one of the gangways towards the collapsed funnel midships live some tiny cleaner shrimps, and if you put your fingers on the handrail they will come up and begin to ‘clean’ you, which is very entertaining. We did 3 dives on the Umbria whilst in Sudan; I could have happily done three more. It really does deserve its reputation as one of the world’s best dives.

Suddenly feeling the urge to get away from it all? Get away to Sudan for some winter sun and some of the best scuba diving to be found in the World.

Get far enough south in the Red Sea and you won’t see other safari boats, or overdived reefs – just marine life, and lots of it! Sudan is known as the gem of the Red Sea and with reason! Untouched reefs, a splendour of corals in thousands of amazing colours, huge schools of fish and of course, sharks in abundance can be found here. And no wonder that Captain Cousteau built his underwater observatory here the parts of which can still be explored by divers.

After visiting Angarosh, one of the most famous shark sites in the world, a really exciting wreck awaits us – the Umbria. Besides the beauties of the sea, we must also mention Suakin, the ghost town, which once was the main port in the Red Sea.

As we did this year, we are returning to Sudan again in February, 2011 until June, 2011, so we look forward to seeing you and your guests again onboard for another amazing season in Sudan and we hope to see some new faces as well for an unforgettable experience.

We offer a collection of unbeatable, special offers to Sudan from 12 February 2011 until 04 June 2011.

Got a question or want to check availability? Please send us an enquiry!

Szilvia Gogh and Hilaire Brosio dive The Red Sea courtesy of the Andromeda. Here they explore Jacques Cousteau’s underwater village Conshelf II, The Blue Bell and The Umbria. The Blue Bell sank in 1977 and was packed full with Toyotas bound for Sudan.

The Umbria was scuttled by it’s Italian Captain one hour before Italy entered into WWII. This kept the English from capturing its 6,000 bombs, 36,000 detonators, rifle ammo and 3 Fiat Lungas. Oh yeah, and several thousand bottles of wine.

UMBRIA, an old italian freighter that provided war material for the italian troops in Eritrea in 1940. When the British entered the vessel, the Captain decided to sink his own ship. Now it´s a terrific place for diving.

The wreck “Umbria” was built in Hamburg 1912 and started life as a freighter. Umbria has a cargo of 360.000 bombs that makes the exploring of the wreck still more exciting. The “Umbria” is one of the most famous sunken ships in the world. Lying in the shelter of Wingate Reef, just outside Port Sudan and largely unaffected by currents and tides, it is within easy reach of Port Sudan harbour.

The wreck lies at an angle on her port side with her starboard davits breaking the surface. At a maximum depth of 36m, the Umbria is shallow by most wreck divers’ standards. With plenty of light and good visibility, entering most of the ship is easy. The hull itself is completely intact, if heavily encrusted with marine life, and can be explored internally and externally along its entire length.