TABUK: A giant Greek cargo ship that ran aground 43 years ago off northwest Saudi Arabia has become one of the main tourist attractions in Tabuk region.
Georgios G, measuring 71.6 meters long, 11 meters wide, and 4.9 meters high, was built in Britain in 1949. It had passed through several owners prior to its drifting.
In 1978, the ship sailed from one of the Greek ports toward the Jordanian port of Aqaba loaded with foodstuffs.
While passing through international waters at night, it drifted from its course eastward to the territorial waters of Saudi Arabia, where it hit coral reefs close to the Bi’r Al-Mashi beach, 55 kilometers south of Haql governorate.
The impact created a big hole in its body, causing flooding in its front section. Attempts to salvage the vessel were in vain and the ship has stood still ever since, with about two-thirds of it covered in water. Its front is on the coast tilted towards the sea, giving a hint of a difficult night that the ship's captain and crew had went through.
