16 June 2010 | An Albanian-American expedition reported on Monday that it has found the wreckage of a WWII Italian merchant ship that was torpedoed on June 14, 1943 by a British submarine.

The remnants, found off the coast of the Karaburun peninsula with the help of undersea scanning devices, are probably part of the 8,000 ton Rosandra freighter, the team said on the 67th anniversary of the sinking.

“This discovery will be of interest for experts of the period to shed light on the fate of this Italian ship that was sunk at a time when Italy was capitulating on the war front,” a statement from the expedition read. The team is headed by Dr Jeff Royal and Dr Aurel Anastasi, head of Albania’s Institute of Archeology.

The expedition, financed by the RPM Nautical Foundation of Key West, Florida, will continue to scan the Albanian coast for relics for two more months.

Together with Albanian archaeologists the group has found 18 wrecks from ancient, medieval and modern times in their survey off the Balkan country's coast in the last three years.

“The final aim of this project is to create an underwater culture heritage museum, possibly in the Porto Palermo area,” said Auron Tare, the expedition’s coordinator, in a statement. [This museum] would be unique because it would allow Albania to not only preserve its underwater relics but also to display them,” he added.

Porto Palermo, located in the 140-kilometer stretch of coastline between Vlora to Saranda, with a 18-century castle of Ali Pasha, is regarded as one of the most attractive locations in the Albanian Riviera.

This article is courtesy of Balkan Insight, the online publication of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, which contains analytical reports, in-depth analyses and investigations and news items from throughout the region covering major challenges of the political, social and economic transition in the Balkans.

Read more about Albania on BalkanTravellers.com