27/10/2012: There is a partial collapse of the hull in amidships resulting in the beloved front loader toppling to its side. However the ship is 90% intact and still a great place to dive!

20/03/2011: Merdjefare was an pharaoh of ancient Egypt during the fourteenth dynasty. So upon hearing the name Medhufaru, one can be forgiven of evoking visions of a similar pharaoh of ancient egypt; who having reigned over a splendid era of prosperity now lie in an unmarked tomb in the famed valley of the kings.

But it is not so! For the tomb of Medhufaru lies not in Egypt but in Sri Lanka, just off the coast of Mount Lavinia. And Medhufaru is a ship presumably of Male origin that was entombed in the confines of Sri Lankan waters on the 31st of May 2009. While why and how it reached its watery grave remains a mystery, dark theories are rife and abound with regard to its demise.

Until now the Sri Lankan Navy had kept a close watch on the ship for legal and salvage related issues. Now this veil of security has suddenly been lifted and the ship which rests upright on 30 meters of sand is full of fish and divers!

Two years ago, when it sank, we heard of this ship as the Nedafaru. With a few dives we soon found its true name engraved on its stern. It was Medhufaru and obviously registered to Male, Maldives. Through this information we were able to trace the IMO number of the ship and obtain pictures of its former life! Introducing the past life of Medhufaru; this is AL TAREK! It seems that Medhufaru, like a true pharaoh of Egypt, had many lives. Chances are that it had even traveled through the Suez canal to Egypt.

Our first glimpse of the tomb of Medhufaru was in fact from the surface. On this day of great visibility we could see the white colored bridge from our boat. The sea was beguilingly calm and the visibility was exceptional.

The ship still seems new. Well at least parts of it. Some parts are slowly turning wizened and derelict. A number of fishing nets adorn the ship like some sheathes of silk fit only for the wardrobe of a godly pharaoh.

This wreck offers a superb multi level dive. One can start from 30 meters and slowly work their way around the ship rising across the bow towards the stern. Here there are many interesting things to see. Broken pipes, parts of machinery, damaged area of the wreck and the crown jewel of Medhufaru; a fully intact Backhoe (construction vehicle) in excellent condition!

Medhufaru may have ended one life on that fateful day 2 years ago. Yet now it is well on its way into its journey of afterlife accompanied not by precious jewels & gold normally found in a pharos tomb; but by a startling profusion of reef life.

In death Medhufaru has breathed new life to the seas of Colombo!