SS Scalaria

Like all Shell tankers, the Scalaria was named after a mollusc, in this case a mollusc with a spiralled shell. On 19 October 1942, under the command of Captain J. Waring, the ship was anchored at Ras Gharib taking on 7,000 tons of crude oil when she was attacked by a German Heinkel 111. The aircraft dropped a torpedo that struck the starboard side, aft of the bridge, in no. 3 tank, and then a bomb struck the foredeck, leaving the ship on fire. HMS Euryalus was sent to the scene and found that the tanker was a total loss, aground and fouling the outer oiling berth. In all, 11 men lost their lives in the attack. The captain, the chief officer and the bosun managed to lower a lifeboat, and a launch from the shore picked up the remaining survivors.

Today the hull is scattered and heavily broken up in the middle, with the bow and stern separated from the rest. The bow is still quite intact, and the stern is missing its propeller. In the aft section, among ladders, plates and pipes, the three well-preserved boilers can be seen, and the triple-expansion steam engine is still in place, with the steam control handwheel recognizable. The wreck lies a few hundred metres from the MS Aboudy, also at Ras Gharib. On 3 April 2006, an expedition located and identified the remains of the Scalaria.