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Viroit Cave: Cave Diving in Albania

Diving at a location where only few have gone before is every diver’s dream. Viroit Cave in southern Alban­­ia is such a place.

Words:
Vic Verlinden
Images:
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Tech and Training

Located near the old town of Gjirokaster, Viroit Cave has been on my list of special dive locations I have wanted to visit for a long time. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of information available on the Internet about diving in this country. And regarding cave diving in Albania in particular, there was absolutely nothing. Even for a European country, it was a dark spot on the map.

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Italian Hospital Ship Po

In the Bay of Vlora (Valona), Albania, resting at a depth of 35m, lies one of the largest and most impressive wrecks in the whole Adriatic, that of the Italian hospital ship Po, sunk by British torpedo bombers on 14 March 1941. In the darkness of the night, the pilots were not aware that the ship was a hospital ship. In the attack that ensued, 21 on board the ship died, including three nurses; one of whom was Mussolini’s daughter, Edda Ciano, who was working for the Red Cross.

Words:
Cesare Balzi
Images:
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Wrecks & Archaeology

I am on the coast of the Bay of Valona, together with Massimiliano Canossa, Michele Favaron, Edoardo Pavia, Mauro Pazzi and Igli Pustina for the third IANTD Expedition in Albanian waters. The window of our hotel room overlooks the nearby beach; and as my gaze wanders across the bay, I cannot help but imagine the historical hospital ship Po sitting out there so many years ago.

Wreckage of British destroyer found

Remnants of the bow of a British destroyer that sank off Albania in 1946 has been found. On 22 October 1946, the HMS Volage had been on her way to aid another British destroyer when it hit a mine.

Wrecks & Archaeology

Forty-four sailors perished while another forty-two were injured in the incident. The two ships managed to make their way to the Greek island of Corfu for repairs. Nevertheless, the incident sparked off a diplomatic row at the time.

Then, three months ago, the wreckage of the HMS Volage was discovered in the Ionian Sea, but the discovery was only made public this month.

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