From 18 to 19 September 2018 the divers of the Underwater Operating Group of the Underwater Command and Incursors (COMSUBIN) of the Navy, seconded to the SDAI Nucleus of La Spezia (Demining Defense Antimezzi Insidious), conducted an emergency intervention in the waters of the municipality of Andora (SV) aimed at removing a large and dangerous explosive device.
Following a recreational dive by a sports diver, there was a report of the discovery at the Maritime District Office of Loano-Albenga of the presence of a spherical artifact that could be traced back to a large explosive device. The intervention was immediate to forbid the transit of the area and to warn the Prefecture of Savona which arranged and coordinated the emergency reclamation intervention of the GOS.
The divers have carried out, just 3 meters deep and 30 meters from the cliff where a train was derailed last year, the intervention to remove from the bottom the object that has been identified as a moored underwater mine of the Second World War .
At the end of the operation, the commander of the SDAI Core of La Spezia, lieutenant of vessel Angelo Pistone, declared: "We intervened in Andora aware that it was a large bomb, thanks to the photograph that was sent to us which was made by the person who made the discovery. Thus, extracted from the sandy bottom, we classified it as a perfectly preserved Italian model P5 mooring mine, containing 200 kg of explosives. Towed at a safe distance to reach an area on the high seas identified by the Maritime Authority, we proceeded to destroy it according to the consolidated techniques aimed at preserving the marine ecosystem. I would like to recommend to people who come across artifacts with shapes similar to those of an explosive device or parts of it, not to touch or tamper with them in any way, because they could be very dangerous. What must be done is to report the discovery immediately to the local Harbor Master's Office or to the nearest Carabinieri station, so that our intervention can be requested.".
This intervention represents one of the many activities that the Marine Underwater Departments lead to safeguarding public safety, also performed in inland waters, as reiterated by the Decree of the Ministry of Defense of 28 February 2017, carrying out high-risk diving operations aimed at restoring the conditions safety of bathing and navigation.
Last year, the divers of the Italian Navy recovered and destroyed a total of 22.000 explosive devices left over from the war, while from 1 January 2018 they have already neutralized 25.057 from the Italian seas, rivers and lakes, not counting the 33.995 bullets of caliber below 12,7, XNUMX mm also removed and destroyed.
With a history of 169 years behind, divers offer national excellence in the field of underwater activities being able to conduct work dives up to 1.500 meters of depth and in any operational scenario, as part of their school tasks (rescue the crews of submarines in difficulty and the neutralization of explosive devices found in maritime contexts) and in favor of the community.
For these peculiarities, divers from other Armed Forces and Armed Forces of the State may be formed exclusively by the Comsubin School Group, which, through dedicated training courses, enables them to conduct bottom dives according to their respective skills.
