Shaab Rumi & Conshelf II

Shaab Rumi is a large reef about 40 km north of Port Sudan, best known as the site of Cousteau's Conshelf II experiment in 1963. The structures from that experiment — an underwater station where five aquanauts lived and worked for a month — remain on the reef at around 10 to 30 metres depth. They are one of the most historically significant underwater sites in the world.

The reef itself is also outstanding: a large lagoon surrounded by spectacular walls and pinnacles, with abundant marine life including grey reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse, and dense fish populations. It is a regular stop on liveaboard itineraries. Reaching it requires a boat from Port Sudan, typically as part of a multi-day dive trip.

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In 1963, Jacques Cousteau's team lived for a month in an underwater habitat on this reef, at a depth of 10 metres, in one of the most ambitious experiments in oceanic research. The remaining structures of Conshelf II — the 'starfish house', equipment sheds, and a fish pen — still sit on the reef, colonised by coral and fish, as a kind of accidental underwater museum.

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