Tekdeep To Hunt For Lost Italian Submarine In Sudan
Tekdeep, a company that is based in multiple locations around the world which offers technical diver training (TDI, PSAI, IANTD), is running an expedition next year to find the wreck of an Italian submarine which ran aground off the coast of Sudan in the Second World War.
The Mecalle set off to Port Sudan to engage the British on the afternoon of June 10th 1940. It left its home Port of Massawa under the command of Lieutenant Dante Morone. It was his first mission of the war.
There was an overcast sky and navigation was not possible by the stars and landmarks were also difficult to identify. What made it worse was that the route to Port Sudan is littered with islands and reefs.
On June 14th 1940 a lighthouse was sighted which was thought to be Sanganeb Light; it was however the Light on Hindi Gider, which is 30 miles away. This mistake meant that the Mecalle was in much shallower water than Morone realised, and the Mecalle ran aground on the Island of Barra Musa Kebir the next day.
Out of the 45 crew members, only one was lost.
Tekdeep’s wreck hunt for the Mecalle takes place from the 13th – 20th April 2015. The trip will cost approximately €1,200 per person (flights, Visa, taxes, helium and lime not included). A deposit of €200 is required with final payment by 8 January 2015.
For more information and to reserve a space, click here.
