Scientists discover military ship wreckage dating back to Rif war, off Hoceima

Six Moroccan researchers have discovered five possible locations of military wrecks that sank during the Rif war, off the coast of Al Hoceima, using remote sensing.

The Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology (EEET) journal published a study on August 1st, announcing the detection and mapping of ship debris off the coast of Al Hoceima where several ships sank during the Rif War, in Eastern North Morocco.

The detection and mapping of these locations of wrecks have been made using a synthetic aperture radar image (SAR).

The radar image, provided by the European Space Agency (ESA), was captured by the Sentinel-1 satellite in SLC (Single Look Complex) mode.

The open-source software (SNAP) designed by the same agency was also used in the said study.

“The use of the Sentinel-1 image and SNAP software can provide good quality detection of wrecks, especially at shallow depths. A technique, which, moreover, costs nothing,” reported the Moroccan researchers, while recommending to “verify the results by other means, before diving to search for wrecks.”

“The result obtained shows that the coast of Al Hoceima has a huge archaeological site, composed of ancient wrecks, with a large potential for the development of the tourism sector,” they conclude.

The study, carried out by Moroccan researchers from Abdelmalek Essaâdi University in Tetouan, has led to the discovery of five possible locations of military wrecks, which are still unidentified.

Two other locations located at the coast of Bokoya, are consistent with data provided by Instituto Hidrográfico de la Marina (the Spanish hydrographic institute).

The Spanish Hydrographic Institute had already confirmed the sinking of a frigate and a gunboat during the Rif War, near the Bokoya coast. These include the frigate “Juan De Juanes” targeted on March 18, 1922 by a cannon shot of Rif fighters, and the gunboat “General Concha” which sank in June 1913.