From the 31 August to the 6 September 2017 the divers of the Underwater Operative Group (GOS) of the Submarine Command and Navy raiders conducted a delicate underwater operation in the waters of the port of Bari, aimed at neutralizing numerous explosive remnants of war.
The company (STES), in charge of exploring explosive ordnance on the back of the port of Bari during the dredging activities, reported the presence of numerous objects at the local Capitaneria di Porto which, for security reasons, intercepting navigation on that stretch of sea and informing the Prefecture of Bari requesting urgent reclamation to the Naval Operations Group of the Navy.
The divers of the Italian Navy detached at the Nuclear Defense Anti-media Insidious Mine (SDAI) of Taranto, immersed themselves at 50 meters from the docks where they cruise the cruise ships, on a depth between the 9 and the 15 meters, identifying and removing 1 projectile from American 12 inches, 3 37 mm Italian bullets, 246 rounds 20 / 70 caliber and 1 105 mm artillery shell, all dating back to World War II.
The devices were then towed, keeping them at a safe distance, until they reached an area identified by the maritime authority, where the underwater operations that allowed the blasting were carried out.
This intervention represents one of the many activities that the submarine divisions of the Navy carry out to safeguard public safety in many Italian ports and coasts, carrying out high-risk underwater operations aimed at restoring the safe conditions of bathing and navigation.
Last year, the divers of the Italian Navy recovered and destroyed a total of 12.400 explosive devices remaining from the war, while from January 1, 2017 they have already neutralized 16.011 from the Italian seas, rivers and lakes, not counting the thousands of bullets of caliber less than 12,7 , XNUMX mm that have been removed.
For sea enthusiasts who, with the summer, increasing their recreational underwater activity, it is advisable not to touch any objects that may be found to be dangerous, whose form may or may not remind you of an explosive device or parts of it.
What we should do instead, for everyone's safety, is to identify the site where they were found, photograph the hypothetical device (if you have an underwater camera with you) and immediately report the discovery to the local Harbor Office or station of the carabinieri, which will require the intervention of the divers of the COMSUBIN Diving Operative Group in order to restore the usability in full safety of that stretch of sea.
