DIVING SUDAN Endless hammerhead sharks

What to expect from diving? Massive hammerhead sharks, reef sharks, white tips, dolphins, various wrecks like Umbria or Precontinental II, stunning reefs
Experience level? AOWD and min. 50 logged dives, comfortable with currents
Best time to see hammerhead sharks? February – May
How to dive in Sudan? Only liveaboard diving, no reasonable resorts available
Water temperature? 26-28° Celsius
Visibility? Northern Sudan up to 40 meters, Southern Sudan up to 20 meters
Currents? Mild at the reefs, could be strong at the plateaus and reef edges
Dive equipment needed? Reef hook recommended, 3-5mm wetsuit
What else should I know? You need a visa for Sudan

 

HONESTLY, WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO DIVE IN SUDAN?
 
It all started when one of our liveaboard partners invited me to come to Sudan and dive there in the hammerhead shark season early March. Before the invitation I had never thought about diving there! Why would anyone want to dive in Sudan? Isn’t that the country, which was blacklisted by US president Trump for terrorist support? Was it safe? What would the diving be like? Are there priates? I had more question marks in my mind than real answers.
 
... BUT IS SUDAN SAFE?
 
When researching more about Sudan I found out that the political situation has been peaceful for years. There haven’t been any terrorist attacks or civil wars. Sudan is often confused with South Sudan, the neighboring country, which had continuous outcries over the last years! After all I was on a boat for a week! What could have happened on the ocean? Pirates have never been an issue there and I was more than ever convinced to dive in Sudan to see its unknown pristine marine world and the stunning reefs.
 
... AND HOW TO GET TO PORT SUDAN?
 
The flight was easy. I took a connection flight from Dubai to Port Sudan. Further, there are flight options via Cairo. After a 3 hours flight we arrived to Port Sudan’s airport. We could see cats straying around the airport and plain desert around the runway. When entering the luggage hall, a visa representative welcomed me to Sudan. He would collect my passport to get the visa done in the capital of Khartoum during the course of the next days. Yes, it was quite a strange feeling being in the continent Africa without a passport. The transfer to the port was easy and we could see a bit of the country side before arriving to the ocean. The check-in went very smooth and I could see there was a whole industry flourishing from the divers coming to Port Sudan for their holidays.  I was so surprised of the top yachts waiting in the port for their diving guests to arrive! The ambiance was laid back, but still we were all excited to start the cruise. Surprisingly, we had wifi on the boat and I could frequently update on what is going on during the dive cruise.
 
OK! AND ARE SHARKS GUARANTEED?
 
Sudan kept all of its diving promises – massive hammerhead sharks coming closeby and an unbelievable amount of reef sharks, silky sharks and white tips. Sharks are guaranteed between February and May. It is only a question of how close they get! Almost all the shark dives in Sudan are deco dives and can be really challenging with currents forcing us to the edges of the plateau! You need to be an experienced divers and it certainly helps to be physically fit or at least to have a reef hook :D My personal moment was the barracuda tornado formation at the Sanganeb Southern plateau (see video). The barracudas were already coming into the plateau in the morning to form endless streams close to the reef. In the afternoon we were lucky. They were gathering to form a huge tornado with thousands of barracuda joining in. I went to the bottom of the tornado to get some cool shots, when suddenly the barracudas started embracing me. I was in the eye of the tornado, a moment I will never forget and which might happen only once in your lifetime. Also the Umbria wreck is one of a kind! A 150meters long Italian cargo ship which sank full of ammunitions such as 360,000 bombs, 60 boxed os detonators and other stores totaling 8,600 tons in peparation for the forthcoming Italian war effort for troops stationed in Italy’s East African colonies. On 03 June 1940 it arrived to the Port of Sudan and was closely followed by the British Royal Navy. When she got closer to the port, the crew was forced to anchor her for investigations of the freight. The Umbria’s captain was listening to his radio that morning and heard the news that Italy had formally declared war. He wanted desperately not to allow his precious cargo to get in the hands of the British and decided on the best solution – on sinking the boat. The boat is still well maintained and mostly untouched. 
 
Diving Sudan felt like the ‘wild west’ with few rules made for experienced divers who like to plan their own dives! Some of the dives were just out of this world and I can only recommend you to follow my example to further explore on these stunning dive spots! For sure, I will be back... 
 
I am looking forward to your comments!
Your dive buddy
Sarah
 
Planning your own trip to sudan? Let me help you: service@divingspecials.com
 
posted by Dr. Sarah Schuebl, August 2018

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