Shaab Suedi - The Blue Belt Wreck

The 7-nautical-mile-long reef complex runs parallel to the coast. At its northern end, on the outer side, lies the wreck of the “Blue Belt.” A truck chassis standing on the reef crest marks the site of the sinking. In 1977, the Blue Belt was en route from Jeddah to Port Sudan with a cargo of “Toyota” passenger cars and trucks. For this reason, it is often referred to as the “Toyota Wreck.” The cause of the sinking is clearly a wrong course (about 40 nautical miles too far north!), but the reason for this remains unclear to this day. Was the sinking a planned insurance fraud? If you head north at the end of the dive, you’ll come to a beautiful coral garden with hundreds of table corals in all sizes and colors, ranging from beige to blue. In October 2013, after nearly 40 years, the “Blue Belt” wreck slid off the reef and now lies at a depth that is no longer accessible to divers. The vehicles on the reef’s crest now merely mark the spot where the “Blue Belt” wreck could be dived for so many years.