Al Munassir wreck

Former Royal Navy of Oman amphibious ship (84 m, launched 1978) deliberately sunk as an artificial reef on 22 April 2003 off Bandar Khayran, south-east of Muscat. She lies at roughly 26–30 m with the top within about 8–10 m of the surface, heavily overgrown with soft corals, sponges and algae; giant honeycomb morays, stingrays, seahorses and nudibranchs live on her, and shoals gather around the decks. Operators dive her from the Muscat marinas and from Jissah Bay.

Facts

• Region: Muscat & Daymaniyat Islands – Oman
• Area: Bandar Khayran & Al Munassir
• Depth: 8–30 m
• Level: advanced
• Current: low
• Type: wreck, artificial reef
• Coordinates: 23.51722, 58.75778 (approximate)
• Highlights: honeycomb moray, stingray, seahorse, nudibranchs, bigeye snapper, cleaner wrasse, yellowbar angelfish, turtle
• Tips: Advanced divers (about 30 m); sources differ on the exact depth and some place the wreck at Bandar Khayran, others near Al Bustan. The position is the Wikipedia coordinate, about 3 km east-north-east of the village, not a surveyed mooring.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omani_ship_Al_Munassir
• https://extradivers-worldwide.com/en/destinations/oman/extra-divers-qantab/
• https://divernet.com/world-dives/oman-a-hidden-diving-gem/
• https://www.dive-the-world.com/diving-sites-oman.php
• https://www.euro-divers.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/diving-prices-muscat-oman.pdf