Turkey’s first touristic submarine makes first trip into depths of WWII wreck in Antalya

ANTALYA - Doğan News Agency

Turkey’s first touristic submarine, Nemo Primero, made its maiden dive into the depths of the Mediterranean just off the coast of Antalya on April 11 in a bid to provide further boost to tourism. 

The submarine’s first stop was the wreck of St. Didier, a French ship which sunk during the WW II in 1942 just one kilometer off from Antalya’s harbor.

The submarine, which can carry 48 people, is owned by Submarine Turkey, HIS Travel and Touristfly. 

Antalya Governor Münir Karaloğlu said Turkish tourism now had its first civilian submarine, adding that this step was taken to create alternative tourism attractions in the country’s hottest tourism destination Antalya. 

“We know that Turkey and Antalya have great alternative tourism potentials in addition to mass tourism opportunities. We need to realize these potentials,” he said. 

He added that Antalya has ample rich undersea life and a number of steps are taken to uncover this wealth. The undersea life is located on the province’s 650 kilometer long coastline. 

“For instance, the undersea life and sunken wreckages were photographed from Kaş to Gazipaşa throughout under the leadership of famous photographer Tahsin Ceylan and in cooperation with the Antalya Chamber of Maritime Commerce. These photographs will be exhibited and collected in a book,” he said, adding that a battle tank, which is no longer used by the Turkish army, will also be sunken off Kaş to create a further undersea hype. 

Submarine Turkey, IHS Travel and Touristfly Chair Yunus Emre Yavuzyiğit said the company aims at creating an additional 45 million Turkish Liras (over $12 million) of value to the Turkish economy through this investment. 

The submarine, which is 20 meter long, 4 meter wide, 6.5 meter high and 106 tons in weight, will make six trips a day. 

The underwater adventures will continue throughout 11 months of the year and the company plans to enlarge the underwater tours over the coming years, according to previous reports.