Porto Palermo Tunnel () is claimed to be a submarine bunker built in the

Socialist People's Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

during the rule of leader Enver Hoxha. It is situated at the northern end of the bay of

Porto Palermo Porto Palermo Castle (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Kalaja e Porto Palermos'') is a castle near Himarë in southern Albania. It is situated in the bay of Porto Palermo, a few kilometers south of Himarë along the Albanian Riviera. Huffington P ...

. It is no longer in use as such, but remains in a military restriction zone. Almost certainly its main function was as a homebase for fast attack craft. Unlike submarines, these craft are short range coastal defence vessels that lie hidden during the day near to where they have to operate at night. Albanian

Whiskey class submarine Whiskey-class submarines (known in the Soviet Union as Projects 613, 640, 644, and 665) are a class of diesel-electric attack submarines that the Soviet Union built in the early Cold War period. Design The initial design was developed in the ...

s were long range vessels and were normally based further from Pashaliman Naval Base in the Bay of Vlore. Retired in 1998, submarines are still located in

Pashaliman Orikum or Pashaliman is a town and a former municipality in Vlorë County, southwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Vlorë. It was named after the ancient city Oricum, which was located ...

Modern Use

Porto Palermo has been used recently for joint exercises with other countries. On 28 April 2013, the USS ''Monterey'' took part in a four-hour exercise testing the capabilities of the

Albanian Naval Force The Albanian Naval Force ( sq, Forca Detare të Republikës së Shqipërisë) is the naval branch of the Albanian military. Their name was changed from the Albanian Naval Defense Forces in 2010. The Naval Force is headquartered in Durrës, and o ...

at Porto Palermo. The exercise involved Albanian sailors reacting to simulated distress calls and reports of suspicious activity. The 2014 Albanian Lion exercise involved Albanian and UK forces practicing an amphibious assault on Porto Palermo. Albanian Lion '14 exercises also took place in Biza, Zall-Herr, Kuçova, and

, and was headquartered in Kepi i Palit. The Albanian Ministry of Defense reported that 600 troops and four ships took part in the exercise. Submarine port Albania 2018 1

References

Porto Palermo Submarine Base, Albania - guerrillaexploring.com
{{Commonscat, Porto Palermo submarine base

Bibliography

* ''Historia e Shqiperis ne Kohe Kommuniste'', p. 241, published 1996, Olsen Albanian Navy bases Submarine bases People's Socialist Republic of Albania Buildings and structures in Himara Military history of Albania