#7 Russian Wreck, South Egyptian Red Sea

Known simply as the “Russian Wreck”, this sunken ship is thought by some to have been the Khanka, a Russian spy ship that sank sometime before 1982. Whether or not it is the carcass of the Khanka, most seem to agree that it was a communications and surveillance ship of some sort. The Soviets began to use commercial vessels like fishing trawlers for intelligence gathering from the 1950s onwards and apparently established a surveillance facility in Yemen’s nearby Ras Karm Military Airbase in 1971.

In and around the Russian shipwreck, divers have found a plethora of electronic equipment, including over 200 batteries, large multi-core cables in the communications mast, and directional-finding antennae. Located off Zabagad Island up to 80 feet below the surface, the ship most likely sank after a head-on collision with a reef.

Russian Wreck, South Egyptian Red Sea