There are 1,061 ships that sank in Greek waters in WWII alone, however very little has been done to properly document these.
Hellenic Navy Commander Panagiotis Tripontikias hopes to change this with his book, “Shipwrecks in the Greek Seas (1830-1951)”. He believes that it would be a resource for exploring the “sunken treasures” lying in Greek waters.
“Research shows some very good examples of how, for example, the US navy manages its own shipwrecks. In the US there are about 2,500 shipwrecks of war ships alone and 14,000 aircraft,” he told the Athens Macedonian News Agency’s radio station Praktorion 104.9, adding that in the United States the shipwrecks are left undisturbed except for educational and historic purposes in order to protect them from looters and smugglers.
In Greece, all shipwrecks over 50 years of age have been designated as protected areas, however diving is allowed provided that certain procedures are adhered to.
To fully exploit the wrecks for diving tourism, Commander Tripontikias stated that it was necessary to authenticate and record the shipwrecks systematically.
His book is available in electronic form for free at the site: https://www.openbook.gr/nayagia-stis-ellinikes-thalasses/.