Italian ROV Assists with Classification of Wrecks

Archaeological operations and classifications of wrecks off the coast of Corsica have been successfully completed. The work was coordinated by the French DRASSM (Département des Recherches Archéologiques Subaquatiques et Sous-marines du Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication) and used an Ageotec ROV PERSEO GTV piloted by the crew of Copetech. This operation will also be the subject of a 12-episode documentary to be aired on French television in autumn 2016.

The project of archaeological research, coordinated from Marseille, was aimed at classifying wrecks previously identified by DRASSM. These wrecks include the Italian steamer Francesco Crispi that was sunk off the Corsican coast in the spring of 1943 by the torpedoes of the British submarine Saracen. The steamer was sailing with 1,300 men on board, 943 of whom died. The steamer was found in May 2015 by the Italian ROV pioneer Guido Gay of Gaymarine, during one of his many surveys in the area.

Almost Intact at 507m

On 1 December 2015, some 72 years after the tragedy, the crew of Malraux, thanks to the hydraulic arm installed on board of Ageotec ROV Perseo GTV, deposited a silver medal in honour of the victims on the Francesco Crispi wreck, which is lying in perfect navigation trim and almost intact at a depth of 507 metres.

At these abyssal depths, only an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) can descend to retransmit the ghostly images of buildings covered with algae undulating, traversed by fish. The director Renaud Dalmar recorded acute sonar signals and feedback from technicians that have guided the progress of the robot in the marine darkness. The mix is enriched with contemporary music to enhance the mysterious atmosphere of a world whose only these remote controlled machines. Ageotec ROV Perseo GTV used to perform the operations is also equipped with high-resolution cameras with optical fibre transmission and a panoramic sonar essential for the identification of wrecks on the bottom. On board the underwater vehicle, it has been installed a video system capturing and recording system developed by DRASSM, in order to acquire high-resolution video and photogrammetry images for the realisation of orthophotos.

Now the project will also be the subject of a documentary called 'La fabrique de l’Histoire' to be broadcast on the France Culture channel.