Rosalie Moller

Launched in Glasgow in 1910 as the Francis and later sold to the Moller line of Shanghai, the Rosalie Moller spent three decades in the unglamorous coal trade. In 1941 she was ordered toward Alexandria with a full load of best Welsh steam coal and anchored in the Gulf of Suez to await routing — near enough to Sha'ab Ali that the bombers which destroyed the Thistlegorm on 6 October found her two nights later. A bomb struck near the after hold, and she went down at her anchorage with two of her crew. Because she lies deeper and farther from the day-boat ports than her famous neighbor, she kept her atmosphere: an intact, upright Edwardian steamship standing in green-blue gloom, derricks in place, coal still in her bunkers. Divers who make the trip tend to rank her above the Thistlegorm for mood, if not for cargo.

How she sank: Bombed by German He 111 aircraft at anchor near Gubal Island, 8 October 1941.

Condition: Exceptionally complete for her age — masts standing, hull fair — with fine silt over everything and slow corrosion at depth.

Penetration: Limited. Open holds and companionways are approachable for trained wreck divers; the engine room is deep, silty, and best left to technical teams. Entering any overhead environment requires specific training — a wreck certification at minimum, technical wreck training for full penetration.

Recommended certification: Deep-trained Advanced Open Water; technical certification for the seabed and interior

Current: Mild · Visibility: 10–20 m

Marine life: Glassfish swarm the walkways in curtains, big groupers hold the deck, and tuna and trevally sweep past out of the haze.

Hazards: Depth is the defining risk: the deck alone sits past 30 m, ambient light is low, and currents occasionally pick up; plan gas conservatively.

Fittings remain because looters rarely reach this depth; keep it that way.