The government has pledged to back an ambitious scheme by local authorities on the island of Kea to build a state-of-the-art diving center, which will familiarize visitors with its underwater shipwrecks and other treasures.

“The island of Kea could become an internationally renowned diving center with its museum-shipwrecks under the surface of the sea,” said the deputy minister to the prime minister, Terence Quick, Thursday.

Kea is home to the underwater wreck of a German Junkers 52 aircraft from WWII and two famous shipwrecks – the HMHS Britannic, a sister ship of the Titanic that was sunk during WWI by an underwater mine, and the Patris, a paddle steamer that ran aground off the island in 1868. Quick said the wrecks could become a major draw for visitors.

“These underwater treasures of Kea are indeed unique,” he said, adding that, to make the center a reality, it is imperative that the ministries of Tourism, Shipping and Culture work together.

“I, for my part, will coordinate the effort so that ministries work together with the island’s mayor,” he said.

Originally published in ekathimerini.com