Researchers have discovered in the strait between Italy and Albania the remains of the Italian steamer Principe Umberto (“Prince Umberto”), which sank in June 1916 after an attack by an Austro-Hungarian submarine.
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The victims of the wreck of the ship, converted into an auxiliary cruiser with the onset of the war, were 1926 people out of more than 2600 on board. This is the largest naval disaster of the First World War.
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The wreckage of the ship, which in the publication of the newspaper il Messaggero is called the “Italian Titanic”, rested at a depth of 930 meters in the waters of the Strait of Otranto. The researchers repeated the route of the convoy, which included the “Prince Umberto”, and using sonar detected the presence of wreckage at great depths After three unsuccessful attempts, an underwater robot was lowered to the crash site, which was prevented by a strong current in the sea strait, and managed to film and photograph what was left of the steamer.
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“The wreck is largely intact. It sank over five meters into the silt, lost its superstructures, and the hull cracked roughly in half from hitting the bottom. The hull is completely covered in white coral, and you can see traces of rust in the form of stalactites like the ones that were on the Titanic,” the official statement said.
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The association notes that the crash site should be considered a war memorial, becoming a grave for military personnel, mainly from the Veneto region.
