3D mapping of the SS Samuel J. Tilden wreck off the port of Bari
Complex 3D underwater photogrammetric survey operations of the wreck of the SS Samuel J. Tilden are underway in the waters off the port of Bari. The project is the result of a collaboration between ISPRA (Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research), the Carabinieri Subacquei units of Rome and Pescara, the Naval Carabinieri Service of Manfredonia, and the University of Siena – Department of Historical Sciences (LAPE&T LAB).
The activities, both archaeological and environmental, aim to assess the state of conservation of the wreck and the marine biodiversity that currently populates it. The survey is carried out using advanced 3D photogrammetry techniques and multibeam sonar acquisition, thanks to the instrumentation on board the ASTREA ship. The underwater Carabinieri of Rome and Pescara have also collected unpublished images of the wreck, which will be used for the detailed reconstruction of the site.
The SS Samuel J. Tilden, an American Liberty ship built in the 1940s and named after the politician and reformist Samuel J. Tilden (governor of New York and candidate for the US presidency in 1876), sank following the devastating German air attack on the port of Bari on the night between 2 and 3 December 1943. The event, conducted by 105 Junkers Ju 88 bombers, is remembered as the “Pearl Harbor of the Mediterranean”. The operations were also attended by the Director of the Department for Monitoring and Protection of the Environment and for the Conservation of Biodiversity of ISPRA, Luigi Ricci, supported by research staff of the Department.
In the next few days, a complete 3D model of the wreck will be completed, which will constitute a fundamental resource for historical and environmental studies and for the valorization of the submerged heritage.
