In Search of the Shipwrecks of Lampedusa

Each year, shipwrecks are uncovered around the world. Technological advances have made sonar and GPS essential for maritime explorations. But do these innovations really make the searches easier? The answer is not so obvious… So, where to head to discover new ocean floors? An unexpected encounter led us to Lampedusa, setting aside our certainties to embark on a new fascinating adventure!

Discovery of Lampedusa

Lampedusa, a small Italian island of 20 km² within the Pelagie archipelago, is located south of Sicily, 290 km from Libya and about a hundred km from Tunisia. Approximately 7,000 residents live on the island typically, but this figure climbs to 200,000-300,000 tourists between May and November. Although traces of Greek, Roman, and Muslim settlements have been found, it remained nearly deserted until 1843. That year, King Ferdinand II of Bourbon appointed Frigate Captain Sanvisente as governor with a military detachment to colonize it. In 1872, it became a prison, then a military base during World War II, receiving Allied bombings during the Sicily landing (Operation Husky). By the late 1980s, Lampedusa had become a popular destination for its idyllic beaches and pleasant climate.

Genesis of the Adventure

How did we get the idea to explore the waters around Lampedusa? Simply during a trip to Croatia organized by Fréderic Swierczynski, dedicated to the search for deep wrecks. During this trip, we met a group of Portuguese divers, including Teresa, who was training on a rebreather with Italian instructor Aldo Ferrucci. Fred later met with Rocco Canella, the head of a diving center in Lampedusa. He revealed that there were many little-explored wrecks around the island, with information from fishermen to locate them. That was enough for us to embark on this exciting adventure! After many email exchanges and video calls to prepare the logistics and set the date, everything was ready.

For the trip, we chose a van to store our equipment: rebreathers, bail-out, underwater scooters, lime, boosters, cameras, lighting. Due to everyone’s schedules, our departure was scheduled for mid-June. We traveled across Italy to reach Villa San Giovanni, took a ferry to the Strait of Messina, and finally another ferry from Porto Empedocle to Lampedusa after 10 hours of navigation—a journey of nearly three days. Along the way, we stopped in Taormina to enjoy a lunch at the famous restaurant ‘Le Grand Bleu’. A moment of pure bliss!