PANAGIA SOUMELA - Eilat
The Panagia Soumela is a proper leviathan, a tanker well over 170 metres long, grounded just off Eilat’s shore. We love that it’s such an accessible wreck, completely broken up into enormous sections and spread out at a mere five metres depth. You'll spend most of your dive just swimming around the enormous metal plates and twisted girders, feeling the scale of the thing. Schools of damselfish shimmer over the buckled hull, and we’ve spotted moray eels tucked into the dark crevices more times than we can count. This is our pick for an easy, fascinating dive where you can really take your time exploring a big piece of history; it’s perfect for photographers wanting good light or anyone who just wants to drift and soak it all in. We'd suggest aiming for a calm morning; less surface chop makes for an even more relaxed experience.
- Location
- Eilat, Israel, Red Sea & Middle East
- Coordinates
- 29.338333, 32.603333
- Type
- wreck
- Maximum Depth
- 5m
Nearby Dive Sites in Eilat
- Abū Daraj Reef (reef)
- Al Qaţafah (reef)
- AL TAIF - 16m (wreck)
- AMERICANA - 16m (wreck)
- An Numūsīyah (reef)
- ASAKURA MARU NO 12 - 15m (wreck)
- As Sab‘ Ḩaţābāt (reef)
- Ataqa Reef (reef)
- Caves (cave)
- Ceasaria Maritima Old City
- Coral Beach Nature Reserve - 3-20m (reef)
- Dolphin Reef (reef)
- EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN - 3m (wreck)
- EL HADEY - 15m (wreck)
- EL IMAM MALEK - 1m (wreck)
Nearest Dive Centres to PANAGIA SOUMELA
- AVIDAG
- Divers & Co - ["PADI"]
Marine Life in Eilat
Home to 147 recorded species including 100 reef fish, 16 hard corals, 8 sea snails & nudibranchs, 5 whales & dolphins, 4 clams & mussels, 3 seagrass & algae.
Notable Species
- Marbled Spinefoot (Siganus rivulatus) - Reef Fish
- Lesser valley coral (Platygyra lamellina) - Hard Corals
- Fluorescence grass coral (Galaxea fascicularis) - Hard Corals
- Red lionfish (Pterois miles) - Reef Fish
- Staghorn coral (Acropora eurystoma) - Hard Corals
- Grey Dolphin (Grampus griseus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Rock Cod (Epinephelus fasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Small giant clam (Tridacna maxima) - Clams & Mussels
- Snakefish (Trachinocephalus myops) - Reef Fish
- Starflower coral (Astreopora myriophthalma) - Hard Corals
- Red Squirrelfish (Sargocentron diadema) - Reef Fish
- Blacktail Butterflyfish (Chaetodon austriacus) - Reef Fish
- Klunzinger's wrasse (Thalassoma rueppellii) - Reef Fish
- Arabian Pinfish (Diplodus noct) - Reef Fish
- Rainbowfish (Stethojulis albovittata) - Reef Fish
- Banded Blue Sprat (Spratelloides gracilis) - Reef Fish
- Starry cup coral (Acanthastrea echinata) - Hard Corals
- Long-spined sea urchin (Diadema setosum) - Sea Urchins
- Cauliflower coral (Pocillopora verrucosa) - Hard Corals
- Yellow scroll coral (Turbinaria reniformis) - Hard Corals