All Star Ghani — a recently renovated Red Sea dive boat built around serious diving

All Star Ghani is for divers who want the Red Sea's big names without booking onto a larger vessel. The 2025 renovation matters because this is an older hull given a new working life, not a brand-new yacht sold as a luxury object. Its purpose is clear: get divers to reefs, pinnacles and marine parks, then make the hours between dives practical. More than 18 dives per week, night dives, technical diving and rebreathers put the emphasis where it belongs. The boat suits a diver looking for Brothers, Daedalus or Elphinstone, but it also reaches northern reefs and Tiran. Come aboard for the diving first; the private cabins, buffet meals and shaded spaces make the repeated kit-up, jump and return easier on the body.

The first impression is of a substantial Red Sea liveaboard recently brought back into service. The 2025 renovation is the useful fact here: it supports the boat's claim to be an affordable, intimate alternative rather than a polished new-build. Inside, movement is straightforward, with a climate-controlled lounge, upper-deck cabins, an outdoor terrace and a separate dive area below. The working parts are close at hand: gear storage, rinse tanks, camera facilities and a platform leading to the tenders. There is enough shared space to step away from the dive deck, but the boat remains small enough that the same faces will be around the table, in the lounge and at the next briefing.

The atmosphere is shaped by a crew of roughly nine to ten people serving a maximum of 24 guests. That is a useful scale on a week of diving: the crew can remain visible without turning the boat into a resort with anonymous service. English is spoken, and the crew also includes Arabic speakers. Divers meet in the lounge and around the buffet after dives, then return to the same shared subjects—current, visibility, a shark seen at the edge of the wall, or a photograph that needs a second look. Audio and video entertainment exists for the evening, but the boat's strongest social space is still the one created by people coming back from the water together.

The routes range from North trips of 5 days and 4 nights to 8-day, 7-night itineraries covering North and Tiran, North and Brothers, or Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone. The southern route is the one for dramatic walls and pelagics. Elphinstone drops to -60m, with oceanic whitetips, hammerheads and other sharks possible along its remote walls. The Brothers reach -85m and combine isolated oceanic reefs with walls, strong marine life and the possibility of grey, hammerhead, silvertip and white-tip reef sharks. Big Brother reaches -40m, where current-swept walls meet the wrecks of two iconic ships. Daedalus reaches -40m and is known for a remote pinnacle, steep walls and pelagic encounters. In the north, Fanadir North falls to -30m along a vegetated wall, while Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar reaches -40m, moving from a fish-filled oval reef to pinnacles and the remains of at least three wrecks. Shaab Sabina stays shallow at -14m, and El Fanous West and East offer protected coral gardens at -15m and -18m.

Daedalus →

Max. depth · 40 m

Elphinstone →

Max. depth · 60 m

Big Brother →

Max. depth · 40 m

Fanadir North →

Max. depth · 30 m

Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar →

Max. depth · 40 m

Shaab Sabina →

Max. depth · 14 m

El Fanous →

Max. depth · 27 m

Coral Garden →

Max. depth · 20 m

Across the route, the recurring cast is substantial: sea turtles, grey reef sharks, reef sharks, hammerheads, barracuda, tuna, dolphins, jacks, anthias, morays, hard and soft corals, parrotfish and scorpionfish. Currents and isolated offshore reefs are what bring the larger animals into the picture, so the sharks and manta rays remain encounters to earn rather than promises. El Fanadir has a cleaning station on a shallow coral pinnacle, where morays and other reef life gather around the work. At Elphinstone, the unusual records include blacktip reef sharks, gorgonians and labrids. Brothers is the place associated with white-tip reef sharks and anemones. Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar is the only listed site for giant grouper, while Shaab El Erg offers the possibility of a Willani nudibranch and glassfish. Hammerheads are recorded at Tiran in summer, and dolphins may appear at Shaab El Erg or the protected reefs of El Fanous.

Manta Ray →

Mobula birostris

Nudibranch →

Nudibranchia

The diving is run by an English-speaking crew with local and international experience, and the boat can support recreational, technical and rebreather diving. Advanced or Deep Diver certification and at least 30 logged dives are required for participation in the marine parks. Courses and further certifications can be arranged onboard, including Advanced Open Water, Nitrox, Deep Diver, Naturalist and Night Diver training, subject to instructor availability. The crew carries oxygen and first-aid kits, and the vessel has radio, GPS, radar, sonar, emergency beacons, life rafts, life jackets, fire alarms and extinguishers. What is not published is a guide-to-diver ratio or a fixed number of instructors, so divers should expect the operation to organise groups according to the itinerary and conditions rather than assume a stated ratio.

The dive deck is shaded and arranged for repeated use, with gear storage, a camera table, air blower, separate rinse tanks for equipment and cameras, charging stations and hot outdoor showers. A platform gives direct access to two Zodiac tenders, which transfer divers to the sites and collect them after the dive. Tanks and weightbelts are provided; DIN adapters are available, and sidemount is supported with a single bottle. Technical and rebreather diving are allowed, with advance notice for technical requirements. Nitrox is available as an optional extra rather than included by default. Rental equipment can be arranged in advance and paid for onboard. The deck is also set up for photographers, with a dedicated place to handle cameras between entries.

Between dives, the shaded outdoor areas and the air-conditioned lounge are the useful refuges. A diver can leave wet gear on the working deck, move into the lounge to cool down, or take a place on the terrace and watch the reef recede while the boat moves on. The observation deck gives the trip a place to look outward rather than only downward. There is also a library, an indoor social space and a photo area for the work that starts after the dive: drying, backing up and comparing what was found. The boat's quiet hours are therefore split between recovery and the small jobs that keep four-dive days manageable.

A day is built around the dive operation rather than a sightseeing schedule. A light pre-breakfast comes before the first entry, followed by the first dive briefing and the trip to the site, then breakfast and the next surface interval. Lunch and snacks keep the gaps short enough for another dive, while the shaded deck gives wet gear and divers time to settle before gearing up again. Depending on the itinerary, the boat works toward more than 18 dives during the week, with night dives included. Dinner closes the working part of the day, but the evening may continue in the lounge with photos, video or conversation about the reef just visited. Then the boat, the compressor and the dive deck begin again.

Food is served buffet-style, with a light pre-breakfast, breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus snacks between dives. The kitchen combines international dishes with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking, so the table is not limited to generic Western liveaboard fare. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets can be accommodated when arranged in advance. Non-alcoholic drinks, water, tea and coffee are included; beer and wine are available separately. Four meal services give the day its structure. After a dive, food is ready without turning the surface interval into a formal event, and the buffet lets a diver take what is needed before the next entry.

At night, All Star Ghani gives the diver a private bathroom, air conditioning, hot water and a standard cabin window rather than a dormitory berth. Twin/King cabins cover the usual choice of separate or shared sleeping arrangements, while Master Cabins provide the larger category. The value of these rooms is practical: after repeated dives, a door that closes, a bathroom nearby and individual climate control matter more than decoration. Cabins are on the upper deck, so the night is removed from the busiest working area. The boat's engine, water movement and the activity of a liveaboard remain part of the setting. That is the trade for spending the week close to the dive operation.

Recorded Ghani trips depart from and return to Hurghada, Egypt, with boarding on Monday from 6:00pm and disembarkation after breakfast by 10:00am. Local transfers between Hurghada International Airport or a local hotel and the vessel are included. The transfer details are provided for the specific departure. Arriving in Hurghada the night before gives useful margin for a delayed flight and makes the boarding day less rushed.

All Star Ghani aims to reduce single-use plastics while following local environmental guidelines. That is the concrete conservation measure identified for this vessel.