Sarandë & Ksamil · Albania · Wreck
SS Probitas
A Second World War cargo ship so shallow that part of it shows above the water
Photo: Aurontare · CC BY-SA 4.0
A 100 m Italian cargo ship sunk in a 1943 air raid, lying close to shore in the bay of Sarandë. It is one of the two sites dived every day from the town, a large hull that rises from 18 m to within 3 m of the surface, so much of it can be seen from a shallow depth.
Also known as Probitas, MV Probitas, Probitas Shipwreck.
Where it is and how deep
39.8627° N, 20.0169° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The ship lies on its side in the bay, and part of the hull shows above the surface; a buoy marks the site. The shallowest parts of the wreck sit about 3 m down, so the descent reaches structure almost at once.
From there the dive follows the 100 m hull along its length and down its side to the seabed at the deepest level, at about 18 m. It is the deepest of the daily dives from Sarandë, which is why it runs first in the morning.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS Probitas
- Type
- Italian cargo ship
- Length
- 100 m (328 ft)
- Built
- 1918
- Sunk
- 1943
- Cause
- Bombed by the Germans in an air raid in 1943
- Lies
- On its side in the bay of Sarandë, from 3 m below the surface to 18 m
The Probitas was built in Italy in 1918 at the Ansaldo G. & Co. shipyard. During the Second World War the Italian cargo ship was on its way back from an attack on the Balkans when German aircraft bombed it in 1943, and it sank in the bay of Sarandë close to shore. It has stayed well preserved on its side there.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Sarandë & Ksamil: Diving runs all year with the right wetsuit; June and September pair warm water with fewer divers than July and August.
Dive videos
SS Probitas Shipwreck Dive | Scuba Diving in Saranda, Albania · Saranda Diving Albania on YouTube
MV Probitas The Engine Compartment · albaniadive on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is an Open Water card enough to dive the Probitas wreck?+
A certification alone is not enough: the Probitas needs a certification plus a number of logged dives. The wreck itself stays between 3 and 18 m.
Sources
- Scuba Tours in Saranda & Ksamil — Saranda Diving
- Diving In Saranda — Visit Saranda
- MV Probitas — ScubaGo
Photo credits
- Aerial view of a long ship hull lying just below clear blue-green water, with a small white boat and a buoy beside it by Aurontare, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Sarandë & Ksamil
Wreck
Two cars that fell off a broken ferry, resting on the seabed
Reef
A bay named for the red rock that rings it, dived every day from Sarandë
Reef
Moray eels and lionfish in the rock formations near Gjiri i Hartës
Loggerhead turtles in the channels between the four islands
Cave & cavern
Rock arches that frame the open blue on the way through
Ex-navy ships still carrying their machine guns and cannons
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