Scuba Season
Underwater at Zainab Wreck

Zainab Wreck

Dive site

The MV Zainab is a 48-metre supply vessel intentionally sunk off Abu Dhabi in 2005 as part of the emirate's artificial reef programme, resting on its keel at 22 m in the calm Arabian Gulf. It is the most intact and least dived of the UAE's purpose-sunk wrecks, giving it an undisturbed quality rarely found in Gulf diving — the wheelhouse is still largely intact, and hawksbill turtles have established a multi-year residency on the stern deck. Large schools of yellowfin goatfish carpet the sand around the hull, and the cooler months bring whale sharks to the general area around the Abu Dhabi coastal wrecks, visible from the surface when conditions are clear.

Conditions

Depth

8 to 25 m

Open water and up

Current

Variable

Can pick up on the edge

Visibility

4 to 8 m

Clearest in the calm season

Water

21 to 34°C

shorty

Month by month

MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Water (°C)212122252730313130282522
Vis (m)888654334688
Currentcalmcalmcalmcalmcalmcalmcalmcalmcalmcalmcalmcalm

Field journal

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Gear

  • Basic kit

    • Mask and fins
    • BCD and regulator
    • 5mm full wetsuit · cooler water
    • Dive computer