Spot Light: |
|
|
| SS
Maidan's secret revealed @ 120 MSW |
If
you think there are no more secrets hiding in the
deep waters of the Red Sea you are mistaken. Many
rumours as to the whereabouts of the wreck of the
British Steamship Maidan have circulated among Red
Sea wreck lovers, but no precise location had been
established so far.
The
Steamship Maidan, an impressive 500 feet (152.4
m) long cargo vessel, displacing 8205 tons, was
built by W. Hamilton & Co. (Glasgow, UK) and
launched in March 1902. Owned and operated by
T. & J. Brocklebank, she covered the trade
routes between the main European Ports and India.
Her
final journey started off from Calcutta, India,
heading for Europe, across the waters of the Red
Sea.
She hit the southern shores of Rocky Island in
the Southern Egyptian Red Sea, in the night of
June 9th 1923, and sunk the next day into "deep
water".
|
 |
Her passengers and crew, who had landed on the island
in the morning of June 10th, were rescued that same
day by the SS Warwickshire (for reference please
see Ned Middleton's article "The Maidan",
available on the www.touregypt.net/vdc/maidan.htm).
With this information in the back of their minds,
a team of Trimix Closed Circuit Rebreather divers,
set out to find the wreck of the SS Maidan sponsored
by Tornado Marine Fleet and Tony Backhurst Scuba
Travel, on the MY Excel. They followed the lead
given to them by Captain Nagy, one of the most experienced
and famous captains of the Egyptian Red Sea, and
main captain of Tornado Marine Fleet. The team,
composed of Grant Searancke, permanent liveaboard
guide on the MY Excel, videographer and manager
of www.red-sea.com, and Kimmo Hagman, professional
photographer and Manager of Colona Diving Centre
in Hurghada, searched the area indicated to them
by Captain Nagy on several occasions from May 2003
onwards.
|
 |
Finally,
in October 2003, after many dives and many
unsuccessful attempts, they were able to establish
the exact position of the wreck, and to obtain
the first photographs and video footage of
the vessel, thus discovering the final resting
place of the SS Maidan.The SS Maidan now lies
at a fair distance from the shores of Rocky
Island at a depth of between 80 to 120 meters,
partially on her side.
|
|
She
exhibits vast coral growth, even at that depth,
and her structure is almost intact, making her
an exceptional wreck dive.
Nevertheless,
the dives carried out on the wreck make it clear
that she can only be accessible to experienced,
Advanced Trimix divers, catered for on a liveaboard
vessel fully equipped for technical diving.
|
In
addition to the great depth in which the
SS Maidan lies, a free descent into the
blue to reach her, as well as the changeable
currents around Rocky Island, have to be
carefully taken into account when planning
to dive this wreck.
To be finally able to dive the SS Maidan
in a safe and controlled way, after months
of dedicated exploration and search, has
been one of the most rewarding achievements
of the team's diving career.
Tornado Marine Fleet and Tony Backhurst
Scuba Travel, organize liveaboard cruises
to dive the SS Maidan, offering all the
necessary technical facilities and professional
staff on board to make this difficult technical
dive as safe as possible.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
