The submarine "Fresnel", the steamships "Carola", "Goritia", "Verbano" and "Bojana", the fishing vessel "Špiridon", an unknown war cargo ship and a fighter plane, sunk in the sea of Ulcinj, even for those who are engaged in wreck research, they are still a rather mysterious page in the history of a city that is more than two and a half millennia old.
And while history is more or less known on land and sea, while the Romans, Nemanjićs, Balšićs, Venetians and Turks took turns on the throne, while the demolition hordes of Genghis Khan besieged the ancient walls, while the city suffered all the destruction of war, its seabed mostly was silent, faithfully reflecting the tragedies on the surface. In the rich historical treasury, deeply hidden from the eyes of the majority of the public, sunken ships, submarines and airplanes still bear witness to true suffering, in which hundreds and thousands of people lost their lives.
Diving instructor and one of the most famous active divers in Montenegro, from Ulcinj Ilir Chapuni, he dived to all those wrecks. And he does not hide impressions, but also sadness and discomfort during certain dives.
"All those ships and submarines, during their tragic sinkings, took countless lives with them. Those sufferings are history, which motivates us to investigate these wrecks to the end and find out what really happened to them", says Čapuni in an interview with "Vijesti".
Heritage at shallow depths
Ulcinj's underwater heritage is reputed to be one of the richest on the Adriatic. Most of the wrecks are located at depths of less than 19 meters, which, he says, makes them accessible to divers, and especially to those who deal with these challenges professionally.
"There are really luxurious wrecks, like the 'Goritie' and the 'Corola', which remained intact even after sinking. On the other hand, it is very unpleasant to dive on shipwrecks while knowing that the remains of your dear friends may rest in them", says Čapuni, referring to the Spiridon boat, the owner Krsta Knežić from Bar.
His body, as he says, was never found after the shipwreck in February 2007.
"I can't help but mention the Spiridon wreck and the first dive on it, when it was in the old, original position where it sank. It's difficult to dive in a wreck where there might be a man who helped me with the coordinates of the plane and other wrecks", Čapuni says about Knežić, who, he says, knew the positions of all the wrecks in the Montenegrin underwater.
The wreck of the French submarine "Fresnel", according to historical sources, is significant because it probably sank due to a navigation error at the southern, common mouth of Bojana, on the night of December 5.12.1915, 4. years. According to the same sources, even though it sank into the sand, the erosion that has been ravaging Ada in recent years is uncovering more and more of the wreck every day, at a depth of only 10 meters. 10 years ago, it was only about XNUMX centimeters sticking out, and now you can see the entire upper deck with torpedoes.
The steamship "Goritia", according to historians, was a luxurious mixed cargo steamship of the Austrian "Lloyd". It sank in two parts near Copacabana beach for unknown reasons.
According to Čapuni, "Goritia" is divided into two parts that are about 80 meters apart.
"Even in the first dive towards the wreck, in 2004, I first saw the luxury of this steamship, but also the fact that it was badly damaged and stripped. The ship no longer had any windows. We do not know the exact cause of the sinking, but most historians think that it was an underwater mine, which were even at the mouth of Bojana at that time. Namely, at that time, steamships sailed closer to the coast precisely because of submarines, for which shallow water is an enemy," explains Čapuni.
He adds that "Carola" is a luxurious ship from the end of the 19th century.
"Several divers fell in love with this wreck because it is complete, and you can see the place of the collision with the ship 'Matiyas Kiraly,'" says Čapuni.
The steamship "Carola" of the company "Ungharocroata" sank on 22.07.1916 July XNUMX, during a foggy evening after a collision with the steamship "Matyas Kiraly" of the same company.
Valuables in private hands
The domestic steamer "Bojana", adds Čapuni, is in better condition than others because it is in deeper waters and has not been stolen like other ships. That steamship, he points out, is one of the most beautiful and "most Ulcinj" wrecks in our sea because the crew on it was from Ulcinj, and it maintained the regular line Durres-Dubrovnik, with stops in Ulcinj, Bar, and also entered Shkodër via Bojana. The ship sank a few miles south of Cape Đerana, at a depth of 52 meters, on October 20.10.1943, XNUMX, while sailing from Durrës to Tivat. He was hit, as written in historical records, by a British submarine while sailing with a load of tires.
The steamship "Verbano", which had a carrying capacity of 2.700 tons, ran into a mine south of Mendra in Valdanos, on November 13, 1918. As it was badly damaged, water began to seep in, but even in this condition it continued on and reached almost Durres, where it sank to a depth of 80 meters.
In search of wrecks, courage, mastery, but very often the instinct of the moment are necessary. Čapunji needed all that while he was with his friend Dino Shat, was in search of a wreck near Liman, which had a load of ammunition around the steam engine.
"We did the first dive in 2004 at dusk, before a strong southerly wind. Considering that it was a small ship, it was difficult to stumble upon the wreck. We decided to follow schools of fish and very quickly spotted the silhouette of a steam engine and a propeller," says Capuni.
Satisfied that they had a successful dive, they went ashore where a surprise awaited them.
"Although it was a routine dive, the police were waiting for us on the shore. We were reported by the locals due to the fact that the wreckage is dangerous due to the load of ammunition. But everything went without a problem," says Čapuni about the unusual event.
That wreck is the remains of an unknown ship from the First World War. A steam engine with a propeller is visible, and the superstructure is destroyed.
"Obviously, it was a small cargo ship that transported ammunition that can still be seen today. The digitization of the wreck will help us identify this steamship," said Capuni.
He also remembers that the deceased was a fisherman Dulo Bazi In 2006, he showed the place where his nets got stuck.
“In that position, I then found his net entwined around the mast sticking out of the sand. That position is located exactly where the Venetian ships were waiting for the invasion of Ulcinj across Cape Đerana from July 25 to August 4, 1718," says Čapuni.
The remains of a German fighter plane were found on the border with Albania, about 5 miles from the mouth.
"In 1989, fishermen pulled out an airplane wing. Today, fisherwomen walk around it left and right," says Čapuni.
He points out that Ulcinj missed the first option and the possibility of valorizing underwater resources, because the wrecks were unsecured.
"That's how our artifacts from the ships - telegraphs, rudders, compasses and bells - ended up in private collections instead of in the museum," says Čapuni.
He states that all wrecks have an exceptional potential for valorization.
The phase of recording and digitizing the underwater cultural heritage of Ulcinj, Čapuni points out, is part of the "Underwater Cultural Areas of Montenegro" project, which is led by the Maritime Archeology Laboratory, Maritime Faculty in Kotor, University of Montenegro, with the support of coastal municipalities. The goal of the project is to first complete the legally required inventory of its underwater cultural heritage, and then promote the tourist potential to divers, who are mostly high-paying guests.
The history of the Ulcinj undersea is no counterpart to the stormy one on land and sea. But it is very significant and precious as a segment of historical structures, which Ulcinj can promote as an unmissable destination for all divers around the world.
"Brindisi" and "Regina Margherita" claimed more than a thousand lives
Čapuni, among other things, was also in underwater expeditions in which sunken ships of great historical importance were discovered and investigated - the Italian warship "Regina Margherita" and also the Italian ship "Brindisi", which transported Montenegrin volunteers from America and Canada, whose wrecks located in the sea of neighboring Albania.
He tells that he was on the "Regina Margherita" during his first dive.
"I assisted an Italian who was looking for a wreck. I learned a lot from him and became a technical diver".
He reminds that "Regina Margherita" was an Italian warship.
"It sank at 21:11.12.1916 p.m., 675/XNUMX/XNUMX, between the Sazan island and Cape Karaburun in Valona. XNUMX people lost their lives in the accident, including Captain Giovanbattista Bozzo Gravina," says Capuni.
The wreck of a large warship of almost 14,5 thousand tons of full displacement and 138 meters long lies at a depth of 66 meters.
After Valona, a new search followed near Medova in Albania - the target was the wreck of the "Brindisia". Čapunija was accompanied in the 2005 expedition by fellow citizens and excellent divers Ibro Mila and Gano Resulbegović from the Diving Club "Dolcinium".
Then the position of the ship was determined and the first photos and videos were taken.
The ship sank on Christmas morning, December 25.12.1916, 400. Nearly XNUMX Montenegrin patriots and well-wishers died, who responded to King Nikola's call to join the defense of the homeland during the First World War.
The steamer ran into an underwater mine that morning and quickly sank, and among the dead were members of the American Red Cross mission led by Stephanie Hemple from the Bronx. A small number of passengers survived the shipwreck, who in the cold weather and despite the icy water, still reached the Albanian coast.
Capuni wrote the book "Historical Records" on the occasion of the discovery of the "Brindisia" wreck.
The legendary Krsto Knežić, the "Mali veseljak" and the black "Ford"
Čapuni says that the owner of Špiridon, Krsto Knežić, who died in a shipwreck in 2007, had another boat.
"It's the tugboat 'Mali veseljak', which served him as a fishing boss," Čapuni tells about the legendary Knežić.
A few years after the tragedy, Knežić's black "Ford" was in the parking lot of the marina.
"Someone was cleaning and polishing it while waiting for the owner to return," says Capuni.
Bonus video:
