Because of the close proximity to Port Sudan the central dives are the better known and are adaptable to all levels of experience. The anchorage is safe and comfortable and the marine life prolific so is a good choice for a first visit to Sudan.

The Wingate Reef lies just outside Port Sudan Harbour and it is here that you will find the infamous Umbria Wreck. The Umbria was an Italian cargo ship that was scuttled in 1940 and lies intact in shallow water allowing the diver plenty of exploration time. She is a beautiful wreck and hasn’t been spoilt by divers or ‘brass seekers’. You can dive into her cargo holds and marvel at the amount of wine and bombs she was carrying, look at the huge coral encrusted brass propellers or you can swim through the engine rooms, corridors and cabins for the more experienced diver. The Umbria is a wreck that all levels of diver will enjoy.

Sanganeb is a great coral atoll with spectacular plateaus in the North and South. There is a lighthouse built on a cement platform and a visit here is compulsory! There are breathtaking drop-offs on these reefs and in amongst the hundreds of different species of fish you will be sure of encountering the resident reef sharks.

Shaáb Rumi is a ‘must be’ for visitors. It is here that you will find the remains of Jacques Cousteau’s most famous expedition, the Precontinent II, where divers attempted to make longterm underwater stays in 1963.
You can dive this site all day and still see different things. It is fascinating to think that this experiment took place 37 years ago in a place as far away as Sudan - no easy feat even for today. South of Shaáb Rumi you will find a plateau lying in around 23m. Here you will find numerous sharks, barracudas, jack fish, humphead parrotfish and almost anything else that you can imagine.

About 20 miles north of here is the wreck of the Blue Bell, known affectionately as ‘the wreck of the Toyotas’. The Blue Bell was a large cargo ship that sank in the seventies after inexplicably striking the reef. She was carrying a cargo of Toyota vehicles and these now lie scattered along the reef bed. The Blue Bell lies upside down and tilted on the reef with the stern resting on the sea bottom in some 80 metres of water. To see this huge ship disappearing into the abyss is indeed a sight to behold.