Beneath the historic waters of the Dardanelles in northwestern Türkiye's Çanakkale, where the course of World War I was fundamentally altered more than a century ago, a silent fleet of steel and iron rests on the seafloor.
For decades, these battle-torn shipwrecks have served as both underwater memorials and thriving marine ecosystems. Now, an innovative preservation initiative is underway to ensure that these relics of the historic Battle of Gallipoli survive for centuries to come.
The Çanakkale Wars Gallipoli Historical Site Directorate, in partnership with the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge and Motorway corporation, has officially launched the "Deep Heritage" (Derin Miras) project. The initiative marks an important milestone for the Gallipoli Historic Underwater Park, which opened in 2022 as the world’s first World War I-themed underwater park.
The project utilizes specialized cathodic protection technology to arrest the physical and biological decay of these historic vessels, digitally catalog the sites and establish the region as a premier global destination for sustainable diving tourism.
The underwater park hosts 29 distinct diving locations across the Gallipoli Peninsula, featuring 27 historical shipwrecks and two natural reefs. Out of more than 100 recorded WWI-era wrecks in the area, these sites offer divers an immersive window into history.
However, rising sea temperatures fueled by climate change and fluctuating marine ecosystems have accelerated corrosion of the steel hulls. To combat this, engineers are deploying a sophisticated, eco-friendly method known as cathodic protection.
Yusuf Kartal, the head of the Site Planning and Project Group for the Directorate, explained the science behind the initiative, noting that the marine environment naturally turns the metal into a mass of rust.
"As this rusting occurs, the metal loses electrons to the water. Without intervention, the structures will collapse," Kartal said. "To prevent the metal from losing its own electrons, we introduce a 'sacrificial' element next to it, which we call an anode," he said.
"Materials like zinc, copper, or aluminum are hooked up to the wreck. The anode sacrifices its own electrons, corroding and dissolving away instead of the historical ship. This stops the rust and prevents the buildup of harmful bacteria," he added.
This non-invasive method requires zero physical alteration to the actual ships. According to project officials, each application is expected to extend a shipwreck's lifespan by 30 to 35 years.
Furthermore, keeping the structures intact preserves vital habitats for fish, invertebrates, and diverse marine organisms, blending cultural heritage with ecological conservation.
The project’s rollout was showcased during a multi-day press event in the coastal district of Eceabat. Journalists received baseline diving instructions from technical dive instructor Murathan Yıldız before completing a trial dive in Anzac Cove to view the SS Milo on Tuesday.
Built in 1865 as a steam-powered passenger ship, the SS Milo was requisitioned by the British Admiralty during World War I and outfitted with generators and searchlights to illuminate the battlefields. Today, it rests just 5 to 7 meters (15 to 23 feet) below the surface.
The true milestone of the launch took place at Suvla Bay, where teams initiated the first official cathodic protection system on the HMS Louis.
Resting at a depth of 13 meters, the British Royal Navy destroyer was sunk by the Ottomans in 1915. Despite the passage of 111 years, however, the vessel remains remarkably intact.
An expert team of dive instructors accompanied world-renowned Swedish underwater photographer Alex Dawson, who captured the newly protected destroyer.
The event also featured a remarkable display by Bilge Çingigiray, a Turkish national free-diver and Guinness World Record holder, who executed a successful free-dive to the HMS Louis.
For Ismail Kaşdemir, the President of Çanakkale Wars Gallipoli Historical Site Directorate, the initiative is a declaration of national stewardship over what Türkiye's "Blue Homeland" (Mavi Vatan).
"The Gallipoli Underwater Park is not merely a diving center. It is an underwater park holding treasures of historical and cultural importance," Kaşdemir said.
"Divers do not just dive in the Gallipoli Underwater Park, they take a journey through a time tunnel ... We want to reach the best place, the No. 1 spot in the world and we are making progress toward this goal," he added.
Kaşdemir emphasized that the Turkish state is fully committed to safeguarding these international monuments.
"We want to tell the entire world that all cultural heritage elements here are under the protection and guardianship of the Republic of Türkiye," he said.
"These cultural heritages have been waiting under the water for a hundred years; now we are working to preserve them for posterity," said Kaşdemir.
The venture represents a major corporate-public partnership. The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge and Motorway corporation views the project as an extension of their regional infrastructure commitments.
CFO Murat Sarıkaya drew parallels between saving history and maintaining the nearby record-breaking suspension bridge.
"We are actually doing similar work on the pier legs of the bridge. We try to extend the lifespan of our bridge with cathodic protection. Here, there is also a historical dimension to the work. There is no other geography in the world where so many shipwrecks coexist," Sarıkaya said.
He noted that the company has completed 321 social and environmental projects in Çanakkale, earning a special award from the United Nations in Athens.
"But one of the most special pieces of work we’ve done, and in my opinion, the most special, will be this one. Because it is a project that we believe will greatly benefit our country and the world," he said.
