Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Aqaba location page.
Overview
Lebanese freighter sunk in 1985 at the request of Jordan's late King Hussein as an artificial reef. Lies on her port side between 7 and 25 m. Mast and superstructure are draped in soft corals; glassfish swarm the holds.
What you'll see
3 species curated- year-roundGlassfish
- year-roundLionfish
- year-roundMoray eel
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceGlassfish
- Last confirmed
- May 2026
- Recent records
- 130 within 10 km
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
The wreck
Ship history- National marine sanctuary
Freighter · Lebanon
Cedar Pride
- Built
- 1964
- Sunk
- Nov 16, 1985
- Length
- 74 m
- Tonnage
- 1,320
- Diveable depth
- 7–27 m
- How she sank
- Scuttled as artificial reef
Lebanese freighter scuttled in the Aqaba Marine Park as one of the world's first deliberate artificial-reef wrecks. Sits on her port side, heavily encrusted with coral.
Notable features
- intact superstructure
- bridge swim-through
- abundant coral cover
Vessel histories sourced from the Naval History and Heritage Command (DANFS), NOAA ENC Direct, and editorial research. Bathymetry per GEBCO. See the methodology for limits.
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20–22 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| Feb | 19–21 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| Mar | 20–22 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| Apr | 21–23 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| May | 23–25 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| Jun | 25–27 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| Jul | 26–28 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| Aug | 27–29 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| Sep | 26–28 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| Oct | 25–27 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| Nov | 23–25 °C | 20–30 m | none |
| Dec | 21–23 °C | 20–30 m | none |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- 5mm wetsuit — Winter water in the Gulf of Aqaba sits in the high teens.
Next step
Book your trip to Aqaba
Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
Plan your trip →Some links earn us a commission. Learn more