Al Munassir
 Bow deck with hatch of the Al Munassir
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The RNOV Al Munassir was a troop transport and landing ship of the Royal Omani Navy . The ship was sunk in 2003 as an artificial reef southeast of Muscat in the Gulf of Oman . Today it is a popular destination for wreck divers .
history
The Al Munassir was built in the UK in 1978 by the Brook Marines shipyard in Lowestoft and entered service in 1979 by the Royal Navy of Oman. The main task was to quickly support the Musandam enclave on the Arab side of the Strait of Hormuz in northern Oman . This area, which is strategically important for the transport of crude oil, was not sufficiently connected via a land connection. In the event of a crisis, troops and equipment were to be transported north by water with the Al Munassir as well as three small landing craft that were procured in Singapore and the landing craft Nasr al Barh , which was put into service in 1985 . The Al Munassir was withdrawn from active service in the mid-1990s and served until its decommissioning in 2002 for training at the Said bin Sultan naval base in Wudam Al Sahil on the Batinah coast. On April 21, 2003, it was sunk southeast of the capital Muscat in Bandar Khairan in the Gulf of Oman as the first artificial reef in Oman. A few parts, such as the loading crane, were removed beforehand, but overall the ship was sunk in a very complete condition. Today the ship is a popular diving spot (position 23 ° 32 ′ 0 ″ N , 58 ° 46 ′ 0 ″ E, ).
equipment
The steel ship is 84.1 meters long and 14.9 meters wide. The ship was equipped with a bow hatch that allowed it to accommodate a variety of military vehicles including battle tanks. There was also accommodation for troops on board. A 4.5-inch rapid fire gun and two 20-mm Oerlikon cannons were available as armament . On the quarterdeck there was a landing pad for a Sikorsky S-61 (Sea King) helicopter.
Dive site
The Al Munassir lies upright at a water depth of about 30 meters at the stern and about 26 meters at the bow. The higher structures protrude to a water depth of about 10 meters. The wreck is well preserved and covered with lots of corals. It is a habitat for a large number of fish. On the starboard side there is a corridor that can be dived from the stern to the bridge. Here only the railing separates the divers from the open water. The bridge and the large holds can also be dived through the open hatches from the deck. It is still possible, with the appropriate safety precautions, to dive the interior down to the engine room. Even if the wreck was sunk for diving, the risk potential from loose cables, sharp edges, darkness and other obstacles is particularly high here. The visibility on the wreck is often limited due to the high nutrient supply for plankton in this region, and currents can also hinder the dive.
View from the passage into the open water
Gun turret on the bridge
Schools of fish on the backboard side
Footnotes
- ↑ RNOV Al Munassir
- ↑ Cultures in Conflict: Arabian Peninsula - Oman ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b Global Security ORG: Royal Navy of Oman (RNO)
- ↑ “Al Munassir” A Divers Guide ( Memento from February 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive )