planet earth
BRIDGING
HISTORICAL RESTORATION AND MARINE CONSERVATION Text Isadora Abuter Grebe
Photo Derk Remmers
Combining History with Conservation? Healthy Seas, Ghost Diving and the Society for Documentation of Submerged Sites (SDSS) bridged historical restoration with marine conservation in June 2023, when technical and experienced divers set onboard for an 8-day expedition to remote locations, far away from shore in the open sea.
THE TARGET: ships sunk during WWII in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy’s Lampedusa Island and Tunisia. During World War II, the Central Mediterranean Sea served as a significant battleground where the naval and air forces of Italy-German and the British Commonwealth engaged in an intense conflict. This three-year-long struggle was primarily focused on safeguarding their respective sea routes and disrupting those of their rivals. Specifically, the Italian Navy faced the challenging responsibility of supplying the Italian-German Armies engaged in North African desert warfare. The British forces aimed to impede enemy
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maritime traffic, dismantle Axis supply lines at sea, and provide support to the strategic island base of Malta. Ghost Diving, led by Ben Oortwijn and Pascal van Erp, alongside a team of dedicated volunteer divers, played a key role in this project. Their mission was to remove ghost nets entangled in the wrecks, blocking entrances and endangering marine life on several WWII ships lying at various depths, ranging from 42 up to 62 meters. A perfect cooperation: Ghost Divers clearing the structures from ghost nets, enabling Mario Areana and his SDSS team to document the historic wrecks from the Mediterranean Convoy Battle.