The Rosalie Moller suffered much the same fate as the Thistlegorm, leading many divers to consider the two wrecks closely related, even though they had little to do with each other in their sailing careers. Originally a merchant transport ship, the Rosalie Moller was called into service at the beginning of World War II, like many other British ships. Its final mission was to transport a full load of Welsh coal to Alexandria, but with the Axis powers controlling the Mediterranean, the only route was by way of South Africa, the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal.
Reaching the southern end of the Suez Canal in the fall of 1941, the ship anchored up on one of the so-called safe anchorages, a series of anchor points out of reach to the axis bombers patrolling the Gulf of Suez. This particular one was called “Safe Anchorage H.” Unknown to the Allied forces, though, German pilots had managed to extend their range, and on October 6th, they found and struck the Thistlegorm. With bombs hitting its munitions depot, the explosion was so powerful that it briefly lit up the night sky and exposed the Rosalie Moller to the pilots. They returned a few days later, attacked, and sank the second ship, with a loss of two crewmen.
Today, the wreck of the Rosalie Moller sits upright on its keel in deep water. Impressively, its main mast is still intact, including the radio equipment attached to it. The mast starts at a manageable 55 feet (17 meters), but to explore the main part of the ship, you need to go much deeper, and if you aim to explore the bottom of its hull, you’ll be moving into technical diving territory, as this sits at 164 feet (50 meters). However, for recreational divers with an advanced certificate or equivalent, the Rosalie Moller still offers great diving, as a maximum depth of 100 feet (30 meters) or so will put you near enough to the decks that the usually good visibility will allow a survey of the ship, including the clearly distinguishable hole made by one of the bombs that sank it. Compared to the Thistlegorm, the wreck is surprisingly intact, save for the bomb hole and some damage done by spending more than 60 years at the bottom of the ocean. Usually teeming with life — in particular the omnipresent glassfish — the wreck offers something for both animal lovers and wreck aficionados.
