Wrecks of UK mine-hit warship found in Albania

TIRANA, Nov 2 – A US-Albanian archaeological team on Monday said they had found the remains of a British destroyer hit by mines at the Corfu Channel in 1946 sparking a diplomatic and financial row between the two countries for almost half a century.
The wreckage is believed to be a section of the bow of the British destroyer HMS Volage, said Auron Tare, coordinator of a project of the Key West, Fla.-based RPM Nautical Foundation and local authorities compiling an underwater cultural heritage map of the Albanian coastline.
Volage struck a mine on Oct. 22, 1946 while assisting another British destroyer, HMS Saumarez, which had itself struck a mine. Forty-four sailors were lost but neither ship sank.
The incident closed talks between communist Albania and Great Britain on restoring diplomatic ties that had broken earlier that year.
Tirana and London re-established diplomatic ties in May 1991.
Britain was awarded damages of 843,947 pounds at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Albania refused to recognize the judgment.
In retaliation, Britain refused to permit the release of Albanian gold held since the War by the Tripartite Gold Commission.
In 1992 the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in Rome, Italy on providing 1,574 kilograms (3,470 pounds) of gold to London giving an end to its financial claims.
James Delgado, president of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, who was part of the international team of experts, said that “while largely obscured by mud, the remains show steel frames (ribs), electrical wiring, ammunition, stacks of ceramic plates, a British canteen and the remains of boots or shoes.”
The artifacts are to be raised and analyzed for confirmation “but the nature of the finds strongly suggested that this was where HMS Volage hit the mine that tore off its bow, killing eight of that destroyer’s crew, as she attempted to tow the damaged Saumarez to safety,” according to Delgado.
“The area of Volage blasted off by the mine was forward of the deck guns and included the forward mess, where some of the crew ate and slept, as well as storage compartment. The dishes, shoes and ammunition are evidence that fit,” he added.
The wreckage, which lies in proximity to the Albanian shore near the port of Saranda, 186 miles (300 kilometers) south of capital Tirana, some 50 meters (yards) deep, was examined by a Remotely Operated Vehicle through three attached cameras as its visibility was poor due to suspended sediment and low light degraded the imagery. A number of provisional identifications were made for many of the principal features.
The wreckage lies close to where a recent study by Albanian naval officer and historian Artur Me谬lari indicated the mining incident occurred. After the investigation of the site, the team met with Me谬lari and found that his charts of the incident agreed with the location of the find. Until both governments had been notified, however, the find was kept secret.
Considered a war grave, nothing was disturbed or removed, said Tare, adding that Albania and Great Britain had been officially notified of the find, and a report of the investigation, including ROV footage, was provided by the RPM Nautical Foundation to both governments.
The wreckage was found by an international team with members from the RPM Nautical Foundation (RPMNF), the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), the Albanian Institute of Archaeology Albanian National Trust and the Albanian Ministry of Defense as part of a comprehensive search for shipwrecks and other sites for Albania that began in 2007.
The survey of the Albanian coast began in 2007 under the direction of Neritan Ceka and Adrian Anastasi of the Albanian Institute of Archaeology and RPMNF Archaeological Director Jeffrey Royal. A number of discoveries were made, including Corinthian wrecks from the 6th through 3rd centuries BC, Roman wrecks from the 2nd and 4th centuries AD, along with scattered amphora and modern shipwrecks.
In the late summer of 2009, the team was joined by INA president James Delgado. Delgado, whose archaeological experience includes participating in the study of a number of modern naval wrecks, including USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor and the sunken ships of the 1946 atomic tests at Bikini Atoll.
RPM Nautical Foundation is a non-profit organization based out of Key West, Florida that utilizes state of the art technology to advance research in the field of nautical archaeology. RPMNF has the staff and equipment to perform a wide variety of surveys, documentation of sites, and the archaeological excavation and recovery of artifacts.
The Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) is a global leader in the field of underwater exploration and discovery. Based out of Texas A&M University and Bodrum, Turkey, since 1973, it has sponsored more than 160 excavations and surveys around the world, from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea to the Yukon River.