2025 Red Sea tourist submarine disaster

Last updated
2025 Red Sea tourist submarine disaster
Date27 March 2025
Time8:00 AM (GMT)
Location Red Sea off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt
Type Shipwreck
CauseUnder investigation
Participants50
Deaths6
Non-fatal injuries14

On March 27, 2025, a tourist submarine operated by Sindbad Submarines sank while being boarded off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt, in the Red Sea, resulting in the deaths of six people and the rescue of 39 others. The incident raised concerns about safety standards in Egypt's tourist submarine industry.

Contents

Background

The tourist submarine Sindbad (right) next to the floating boarding platform in 2023 Sindbad Submarine with the floating boarding platform in 2023.jpg
The tourist submarine Sindbad (right) next to the floating boarding platform in 2023
The submarine's ladder leading out through the hatch is shown in 2023 Sindbad Submarine inside hatch ladder.jpg
The submarine's ladder leading out through the hatch is shown in 2023

The submarine involved was owned by Sindbad Submarines, a tourism company which has operated in the Red Sea as a tourist attraction for over two decades. [1] The company owns two submarines capable of diving 25 meters (82 ft) underwater. [2] Sindbad claimed that its submarines were built in Finland and met safety standards. [3] [4]

The Red Sea coastline is a popular spot for tourists visiting Egypt. However, many vessels in the region operate daily with inconsistent adherence to safety rules. In early November 2024, 30 individuals were rescued from a boat that was sinking near Daedalus Reef. Later in the same month, the tourist boat Sea Story sank, leaving four people dead. [5] Similarly, in June 2024, 24 French tourists had to be evacuated before their vessel went under.

A Maritime Survey International report published in March 2024 revealed that none of the examined vessels had proper maintenance systems, safety protocols, or stability documentation. The report highlighted that the industry operates with little to no regulation. [6] The submarine had experienced technical issues prior to the accident. [7]

Sinking

The tourist submarine was carrying 45 tourists from Russia, India, Norway, and Sweden, including kids, along with five crew members on part of a tour organized by Biblio Globus. [3] [c] It sank about 1 km (0.6 mi) [15] off the shore of Hurghada near the Hurghada harbour. [2] [16] Ambulances were swiftly deployed to the scene to transport the injured people to nearby hospitals. Six people were killed and at least fourteen others were injured, including four critically. [7] The immediate cause of the sinking is disputed. A survivor reported that water poured into the submarine through two open hatches as passengers boarded, while other unconfirmed reports suggested the submarine hit a reef at 20 meters depth, leading to a loss of pressure. [17]

Aftermath

Following the sinking, The Egyptian Navy and the Egyptian Coast Guard launched a swift rescue operation, with emergency teams retrieving 39 survivors, 14 of whom were hospitalized. [18] Red Sea governor Amr Hanafy assured that an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the accident. [16] Meanwhile, Russian consular officials arrived in Hurghada to assist the families of the deceased and survivors, some of whom required medical treatment for injuries and shock.

Sindbad Submarines immediately suspended all excursions and canceled upcoming trips. [17] The company, which described itself as having "years of experience" in underwater tourism, faced scrutiny over its safety protocols. While Sindbad claimed its submarines were engineered in Finland and built to withstand depths of up to 75 meters, survivors and past passengers raised concerns about the lack of safety drills and emergency preparedness. [17]

Concerns have been raised about the impact of the sinking on Egyptian tourism in the area, following several high-profile incidents (including several shark attacks between 2022 and 2024 off the coast of Hurghada) and more than one incident of boats capsizing since 2021. [19]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Natalia Protsenko (Russian: Наталья Проценко) husband is Sergey Vladimirovich Protsenko (Russian: Сергей Владимирович Проценко; born 18 May 1966, Serakhs, Ashgabat region, Turkmen SSR, USSR) who graduated from FSB Academy in 1995 and was counterintelligence KGB, FSK, FSB of Russia for 23 years from 1983 to 2006 and since 7 March 2013, is the Director of the Administrative Department of the Government of the Russian Federation. [8] [9] [10]
  2. ↑ Biblio-Globus Rus LLC (Russian: ООО «Библио-Глобус Русь») was owned by both Alexander Tugolukov (80%) and Biblio Globus Consultant LLC (Russian: ООО «Библио Глобус Консультант») (20%), which, in turn, is owned by Elena Petukhova (Russian: Елена Петухова; born one year younger than Vasily Petukhov, Krasnodar) and Natalia Protsenko (Russian: Наталья Проценко). [a] Elena Petukhova and Natalia Protsenko founded BG Consultant (Russian: «БГ Консультант») at the end of April 2015. In 2017, Elena Petukhova together with FSB Major General Vyacheslav Polezhaev, founded BG Innovations (Russian: «БГ Инновации»), in which Tugolukov also had a share, and, in 2018, transferred all assets from BG Consultant to BG Innovations. [9] [10] [11]
  3. ↑ Biblio Globus (BG) (Russian: «Библио Глобус» («БГ»)) was formed in 1994 by Alexander Tugolukov (Russian: Александр Туголуков; born January 1971) and his wife Yulia Tugolukov (Russian: Юлия Туголукова) after he graduated from Higher School of the KGB (FSB) in 1994. They opened their first office, which was only 3 square meters in Moscow on Lubyanka in 1994 in the Biblio-Globus bookstore, which was co-owned by Alexander Tugolukov's father-in-law Boris Yesenkin (Russian: Борис Есенькин): the bookstore gave its name to the Tugoklukov associated travel company "Biblio Globus" (BG). Beginning in July 2015, all Biblio Globus associated tours outside of Russia were sold by BG Caribbean LLC (Russian: ООО «БГ Карибы») whose founder is Denis Shchukin (Russian: Денис Щукин) and general director is Anna Bagdasaryan (Russian: Анна Багдасарян). In addition to tours to Cuba, Biblio Globus is a monopolist for tours to Jamaica. Inside of Russia since 2015, Biblio Globus is closely associated with the interests of the family of FSB General Vasily Petukhov (Russian: Василий Петухов) who, in 2021, is the head of the FSB Investigation Department (Russian: главы Следственного управления ФСБ) after Mikhail Shishov (Russian: Михаил Шишов) resigned due to senority on 5 August 2020. In 2015, Biblio-Globus Rus LLC (Russian: ООО «Библио-Глобус Русь»), [b] BG Asia and Africa LLC (Russian: «БГ Азия и Африка»), which was founded by Denis Moiseev (Russian: Денис Моисеев), and BG Caribbean LLC form a tourist product for Biblio-Globus Operator LLC (Russian: ООО «Библио-Глобус Оператор»), which was founded by its general director Irina Kostenko (Russian: Ирина Костенко). [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

References

  1. ↑ "What Is Sinbad Submarines? What We Know About Egypt Tourist Company". Newsweek.
  2. 1 2 "Tourist Submarine Sinks Off Egypt, With 6 People Dead". NYT.
  3. 1 2 "Six Russian tourists killed after submarine sinks off Egyptian coast". CNN.
  4. ↑ "Map of Submarine Delivery Locations". Mobimar.
  5. ↑ "Four bodies recovered from capsized tourist boat in Red Sea with nine missing". The Guardian. 26 November 2024.
  6. ↑ "Dive Liveaboard And Safari Vessel Surveys". Maritime Survey International (MSI). Retrieved 2025-01-15.
  7. 1 2 "Tourist submarine carrying 45 Russians sinks in Egypt's Red Sea: What we know so far". The Times of India. March 27, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  8. 1 2 "Проценко Сергей Владимирович: Директор Административного департамента Правительства Российской Федерации" [Protsenko Sergey Vladimirovich: Director of the Administrative Department of the Government of the Russian Federation]. Government of Russian Federation (in Russian). January 2025. Archived from the original on 22 January 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 "The family of the FSB general in charge of the Safronov case turned out to be a co-owner of Biblio-Globus" [Семья генерала ФСБ, курирующего дело Сафронова, оказалась совладельцем «Библио-Глобуса»]. Открытых медиа (openmedia.io) (in Russian). 22 September 2020. Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 "Структура бизнеса семьи генерала ФСБ Василия Петухова" [Business structure of the family of FSB General Vasily Petukhov]. Открытых медиа (openmedia.io) (in Russian). 22 September 2020. Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Музей Алтайского государственного технического университета им. И.И. Ползунова: Спортсмены, служащие и деятели культуры" [Museum of the Altai State Technical University named after I.I. Polzunov: Athletes, employees and cultural figures]. Музей Алтайского государственного технического университета им. И.И. Ползунова (in Russian). September 2025. Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  12. ↑ Мироненко, Петр (Mironenko, Petr or Pyotr) (16 October 2015). "Глава «Библио Глобус» – РБК: «Мы обсуждали слияние с «Трансаэро»: Летом туроператор «Библио Глобус» перечислил «Трансаэро», оказавшейся на грани банкротства, около 8 млрд руб. за билеты для своих клиентов. Что ждет туристов, РБК рассказал основатель «Библио Глобуса» Александр Туголуков" [Head of Biblio Globus – RBC: "We discussed the merger with Transaero": In the summer, the tour operator Biblio Globus transferred about 8 billion rubles to Transaero, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, for tickets for its customers. What awaits tourists, the founder of Biblio Globus Alexander Tugolukov told RBC]. «РБК» (www.rbc.ru) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Жохова, Анастасия (Zhokhova, Anastasia) (22 November 2013). "Путевка в жизнь: как туроператор «Библио-Глобус» изменил правила игры в отрасли" [A start in life: how the tour operator Biblio-Globus changed the rules of the game in the industry]. Forbes «forbes.ru» (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "Начальник Следственного управления ФСБ Шишов уходит в отставку" [Head of the FSB Investigation Department Shishov resigns]. «Коммерсантъ» (in Russian). 5 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  15. ↑ "At least 6 dead after submarine carrying tourists on a reef tour in Red Sea sinks off Egypt". Associated Press.
  16. 1 2 "Six people dead after tourist submarine sinks off Egypt's coast". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  17. 1 2 3 "Six dead and 39 rescued after tourist submarine sinks in Red Sea, says local governor". BBC.
  18. ↑ "Tourist submarine sinks off Egypt's Red Sea coast, killing at least 6".
  19. ↑ "How the tourist submarine tragedy is the latest blow for Egypt's tourism". The Independent. 2025-03-29. Retrieved 2025-04-01.

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