The story of the Cedar Pride
In 1985, a Lebanese cargo vessel called the Cedar Pride was declared unfit for service and put up for disposal. King Hussein of Jordan — a keen diver himself — arranged for the ship to be purchased, cleaned and sunk deliberately in the Gulf of Aqaba, creating Jordan’s first purpose-made wreck dive. It was a prescient decision: forty years later, the Cedar Pride has transformed into one of the most biodiverse artificial reefs in the Red Sea.
The ship was scuttled on its port side at an angle, which gives the wreck an unusual profile — instead of lying flat, the hull leans at roughly 45 degrees, creating dramatic overhangs and penetration opportunities that would not exist on a flat wreck. The upper edge of the hull reaches to about 10–12 m depth, making the wreck visible on clear days even from the surface.
Site statistics
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ship length | 80 m |
| Original use | Lebanese cargo vessel |
| Sunk | 1985, by Royal Jordanian Navy |
| Depth — hull top | 10–12 m |
| Depth — keel | 25–30 m |
| Entry type | Shore or boat |
| Certification recommended | Advanced Open Water or equivalent |
| Visibility | 20–40 m |
| Water temperature | 22–26°C |
Location and access
The Cedar Pride wreck lies along the south coast road, approximately 4 km south of Aqaba city centre, north of the Japanese Garden site. A marked car park gives shore access via a gentle sand-and-rubble slope.
Shore entry involves wading from the beach and swimming approximately 100 m to the buoyed mooring above the wreck — easy in calm conditions and manageable even in a 3 mm wetsuit with the slight negative buoyancy it provides. Boat entry with a local operator reduces the surface swim and allows a drifting approach to the bow or stern.
Getting there:
- Taxi from Aqaba centre: 4–6 JOD
- With a dive operator: most Aqaba dive centres include hotel pickup in their two-tank boat dive packages
- Self-drive: free parking adjacent to entry point
What you’ll see on the wreck
The Cedar Pride has had four decades to be colonised, and the results are extraordinary. Every horizontal surface of the hull is covered by soft corals — orange, yellow, purple and white Dendronephthya — and large seafan gorgonians spread across the propeller and stern structure. Inspection at close range reveals that what appears to be solid structure is in fact a layer of living coral on top of old steel.
Exterior of the hull (15–30 m):
- Thick soft coral coverage throughout
- Napoleon wrasse (humphead wrasse) patrolling the hull — almost certain sighting
- Large lionfish resting on every overhang
- Glassfish clouds in and around the holds
- Grouper under coral ledges
- Occasional large moray eels (up to 1.5 m) inside the superstructure
Upper hull and deck (10–15 m):
- Sea fans on the railings and mast
- Schools of yellowtail fish (Caesio suevica) above the hull
- Cleaner wrasse stations on every prominent coral head
- Scorpionfish camouflaged against the coral
Penetration (advanced divers with guide):
- The main holds are penetrable with a torch
- Visibility inside the holds is good in calm conditions
- Guide mandatory for any penetration beyond the main hatch
The propeller and stern:
- The most visually striking section — the single large propeller is completely wrapped in coral
- Depth at propeller: 28–30 m
- A popular point for wide-angle photography
Diving the Cedar Pride: conditions and certification
The Cedar Pride is listed as suitable for Advanced Open Water divers and above. Several Aqaba operators will take Open Water divers to the upper hull (10–15 m) under close supervision, but the full wreck experience — including the keel and propeller — requires Advanced certification.
Key conditions that make this a manageable advanced dive:
- No significant current on most days
- Excellent visibility (20–40 m in winter, 15–25 m in summer)
- Safe exit route — the ascent mooring line is always attached to the wreck
- Stable water temperature — no thermoclines to worry about
Night diving on the Cedar Pride is offered by most operators for an additional 10–15 JOD. The transformation at night is remarkable — soft corals are fully expanded, lionfish hunt actively and octopus emerge from their hiding places.
Booking your Cedar Pride dive
Most Aqaba dive centres include the Cedar Pride on their standard boat-dive rotation. It is typically paired with Japanese Garden as a two-tank trip: Japanese Garden first (shallow, wide-angle reef) followed by the Cedar Pride (deeper, structural).
For a pre-booked, equipment-included option with hotel pickup: the 2 boat dives package for certified divers is well-suited for Cedar Pride + Japanese Garden as a combination. Beginners and those seeking a flexible schedule for the day should look at the private Red Sea diving tour from Aqaba , where the guide adapts the dive plan to your certification level.
The Cedar Pride from the surface
Non-divers can still appreciate the Cedar Pride. In good visibility, the upper hull at 10–12 m is visible as a dark mass from directly above on a still day. Several boat snorkeling tours make a surface pass over the wreck, and the glass-bottomed boat option at Berenice Beach Club occasionally includes a pass over the site. For the full underwater experience, a snorkel directly above the wreck in calm conditions gives a sense of the scale — the 80 m length is apparent even from the surface.
Comparing Cedar Pride with other Aqaba wrecks
The Cedar Pride is the only wreck dive site in Aqaba with significant depth and coral colonisation. There is also a small military tank deliberately placed in 6 m of water within the Marine Park — interesting for snorkellers and new divers but not in the same category as the Cedar Pride.
For wreck divers who want variety, the Sinai side of the Gulf (reachable by ferry) has additional wreck sites, and the Egyptian Red Sea at Sharm el-Sheikh has the SS Thistlegorm — a World War II-era cargo ship that is arguably the most famous wreck dive on earth. But for convenience, accessible infrastructure and spectacular coral coverage, the Cedar Pride holds its own.
Conservation at the Cedar Pride site
The Cedar Pride falls within the Aqaba Marine Park boundary. All the standard Marine Park rules apply:
- Anchor dropping prohibited (mooring buoys mandatory)
- No touching or collecting coral or marine life
- No spearfishing
- Penetration only with a qualified guide
The wreck’s structural integrity is monitored periodically. Several sections of railing and deck plating have collapsed over the decades and more sections may shift after storms. Always dive with a guide who knows the current state of the wreck.
Photography at the Cedar Pride
The Cedar Pride is one of the most photographed dive sites in Jordan. The combination of soft coral colour, structural framing and large marine life makes it ideal for wide-angle photography. Key shots:
- Bow-on wide angle: the full hull width at 20 m with soft coral foreground
- Propeller close-up: fill the frame with the coral-encrusted propeller blades
- Lionfish in coral: use natural light where possible (ambient light is excellent in Aqaba)
- Napoleon wrasse portrait: these fish are relatively unbothered by divers and approach closely
Strobes recommended for the holds. Natural light adequate for most exterior shots.
Combining Cedar Pride with your Aqaba itinerary
A Cedar Pride dive fits neatly into a broader Aqaba itinerary. A morning two-tank boat dive (Japanese Garden + Cedar Pride) returns to shore by 1:30 pm. The afternoon is free for Berenice Beach Club, the city’s seafront or planning the following day’s exploration of Wadi Rum or Petra.
For Aqaba’s full diving landscape, including all 12 sites, operator details and PADI course costs, see our main diving guide.
The Cedar Pride’s transformation: 40 years of colonisation
When the Cedar Pride was first sunk in 1985, the wreck was bare steel — a shell sitting on a sandy seabed. Early divers photographed an unencrusted hull with industrial lines and no marine growth. Over the next decade, the transformation began.
The process by which marine life colonises a shipwreck follows a predictable sequence. First come the sessile filter feeders — hydroids, bryozoans and encrusting sponges — that settle on hard substrate within months. These create a textured surface that catches particles and provides anchor points for larger organisms. Within 2–3 years, soft coral polyps (Alcyonaria) begin to establish, growing slowly into the fan and tree-shaped colonies that give the Cedar Pride its signature appearance today.
By the mid-1990s, the wreck was densely colonised by soft corals, and the hard substrate of the original steel structure had largely disappeared under 15–20 cm of living coral. The coral now completely disguises the ship’s industrial origins. Sections of the deck railing have transformed into gorgonian structures — you would not know they were once metal pipes unless you saw an early photograph.
The species count recorded by RSCN survey teams on the Cedar Pride exceeds 150 fish species and 40+ coral species. The wreck functions as an artificial reef in the truest sense — a hard substrate that has catalysed biodiversity far exceeding the sandy seabed that surrounds it.
Structural integrity and diving safety
Any dive on a wreck that is 40+ years old requires awareness of structural changes. The Cedar Pride has undergone visible changes since its sinking:
Changes over time:
- Several sections of upper deck plating have collapsed, opening new swim-through passages
- The mast structure deteriorated and partially fell in the early 2000s, changing the wreck’s silhouette
- Some sections of the superstructure are now fragile — touching or resting against them risks collapse
- Sedimentation inside the holds varies with the angle of the hull
Current safe diving practice:
- Always dive with a guide who has current knowledge of the wreck’s state
- Use the established descent and ascent mooring line — do not tie off to the wreck itself
- Penetration of holds: only through main entry points, with guide and torch
- Do not rest on any horizontal surface — the coral coverage means inadvertent damage is likely
- Maintain buoyancy control throughout the dive; the tight soft coral coverage makes contact with fins extremely destructive
The RSCN and Jordan Tourism Board jointly fund periodic structural surveys of the Cedar Pride. The most recent available assessment (2023) rated the wreck as structurally stable for recreational diving with the caveat that some stern sections are deteriorating faster than others.
Cultural significance: King Hussein and Jordan’s diving heritage
The decision to sink the Cedar Pride was King Hussein’s personal initiative. Hussein was an accomplished diver — he learned to dive in the 1970s and dived Aqaba regularly. His understanding of the Gulf of Aqaba’s reef potential led him to recognise that a well-placed wreck would become a biological and tourist asset.
The Cedar Pride sinking — arranged after the ship was purchased for disposal — was conducted by the Royal Jordanian Navy. The hull was cleaned of fuel and hazardous materials, and positioned on its port side at the chosen depth. King Hussein is reported to have dived the wreck within days of its sinking.
The Cedar Pride was not Jordan’s only environmentally motivated diving intervention. Several years earlier, Hussein had also been involved in the early planning discussions for what would become the Aqaba Marine Park — a conservation initiative that would not be formalised until 1997, after his initial vision for the area had been laid down.
Reaching the wreck independently versus with a tour
Shore approach: The Cedar Pride is approximately 100 m from the car park entry point — a short surface swim. The descent line is marked by a mooring buoy. Independent certified divers with their own equipment can conduct this dive without an operator, though ASEZA regulations technically require diving within the Marine Park to be done through a licensed operator. In practice, independent shore dives at the Cedar Pride are common.
Boat approach: Most dive centres offer the Cedar Pride as a boat dive — the boat is positioned over the wreck mooring buoy, eliminating the surface swim. This is the preferred approach for groups and for divers who want to conserve energy for the dive itself.
Logistics: If doing both Japanese Garden and Cedar Pride in one day, most operators structure it as two boat dives: Japanese Garden for the first tank (shallow, wide), Cedar Pride for the second (deeper, structural). The order is deliberate — diving the shallow reef first and the deeper wreck second maximises bottom time on both dives.
FAQ
Do I need a guide to dive the Cedar Pride?
A guide is strongly recommended for any diver not familiar with the wreck. It is not mandatory for Open Water divers staying above 18 m, but penetration of the holds requires a guide with a torch. Most operators include a guide as standard.
Can snorkellers see the Cedar Pride?
In flat, clear conditions the upper hull is faintly visible from the surface at 10–12 m depth. Snorkelling directly above the wreck is possible and gives a sense of scale. It is not a snorkelling dive in the traditional sense — the reef shallows of Japanese Garden are much more rewarding for surface swimmers.
How long does a Cedar Pride dive last?
Expect 40–55 minutes on the main dive, depending on depth profile and tank size. The propeller and keel at 28–30 m reduce bottom time; divers who stay at 18–20 m on the hull can extend significantly.
Is the Cedar Pride a penetrable wreck?
The main cargo holds are penetrable, and several openings in the superstructure allow light through. Penetration beyond the main entrance is restricted to advanced divers with a guide and torch. The wreck is not a full technical dive — it is a recreational penetration suitable for Advanced certified divers.
Are there sharks at the Cedar Pride?
Occasionally. Small reef sharks (whitetip or blacktip) have been reported near the keel and on the outer slope below the wreck. Sightings are not guaranteed and the species present are not aggressive toward divers.