Sha’ab Rumi South

Verified2026-09-30 checkedWallDriftPelagic

The plateau where Cousteau sank Conshelf II, and the hammerheads are still there.

Depth: 12–40 m39–131 ft
Difficulty: Advanced
Entry: Liveaboard
Typical current: Strong
Coordinates: 19°55.998′N 37°25.002′E
Activities: Scuba

Sha'ab Rumi is a reef forty kilometres off Port Sudan, and its southern plateau runs out to a corner at 25 m where the current meets it and the sharks stack up. Scalloped hammerheads come through in schools in spring, grey reefs are there every dive, and the coral is what the Red Sea looked like before anybody built a resort on it. The remains of Conshelf II — Cousteau's 1963 underwater village — lie on the shallow shelf nearby, the hangar still standing. Sudan is liveaboard-only and the boats are few; that is why it is like this.

Liveaboard from Port Sudan, five to seven nights. Flights via Khartoum or Jeddah.

Best season

ExcellentMar–Apr
ExcellentNov
GoodMay
GoodOct
GoodDec
FairJun–Sep
FairJan–Feb

Before you get in

Past 30 m, where no-stop time and gas both go quickly and nitrogen narcosis starts to show.
A wall. There is no bottom in sight to judge against, so depth is kept by the gauge alone — and it is easy to end up deeper than intended.
Recorded as a site with strong current. Settle your gas reserve, when you would call the dive, and your surface signal before you get in.
A drift dive: you do not come back to where you went in, so boat pickup and an SMB are part of the plan rather than extras.

Taken from this site’s recorded depth, type and current, and nothing else. An empty list is not a safe site — the sea on the day, the local geography and the boat traffic are not in it. The briefing on the spot comes first.

Conditions

Water temperature: 31.1°C88°F
Wave height: 0.4 m1 ft
Air temperature: 30.4°C87°F
Wind speed: 16.8 km/h10.4 mph

Updated 2026-10-07 15:45 UTC · Source: Open-Meteo

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Conditions are reported for information only. Assess the site yourself and follow your guide and your training.

No live conditions for this site yet.

We only show numbers we can attribute to a source.

Sea state and tide

On a date

Tide · 10/7

Low09:000.22 m

Forecast heights against mean sea level. Real tides in a bay, a harbour or over a flat can differ — check an official tide table before you get in.

Pick a day to see its tide

Only wave height and wind are scored, because those are what close a boat ramp or a shore entry. Water temperature is reported and never scored: 12°C is an ordinary dive in a drysuit and punishing in a 3 mm, and a number that cannot see your suit has no business marking it down. Stars do not decide whether you get in — you and your guide do, on the day.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Marine life you may see

Scalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewiniFeb–MaySeasonal
Grey reef sharkCarcharhinus amblyrhynchosCommon
Soft coralDendronephthya spp.Common
Scalefin anthiasPseudanthias squamipinnisCommon
Bluestripe snapperLutjanus kasmiraCommon
Emperor angelfishPomacanthus imperatorCommon
Fire coralMillepora spp.Common
Green turtleChelonia mydasSeasonal

From divers

What people who were in the water reported. Not a forecast, and not a judgement about whether the site is safe to dive.

No recent reports from divers. If you dived here in the last two weeks, you can say how it was.

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