Strait of Otranto

The Strait of Otranto^[1] connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. Its width between Punta Palascìa, eastern Salento, and Karaburun Peninsula, western Albania, is less than 72 km (45 miles; 39 nautical miles).^[2] The strait is named after the Italian city of Otranto.

Strait of Otranto
Map showing the location of the Strait of Otranto
Strait of Otranto Show map of Europe Strait of Otranto Show map of Italy Strait of Otranto Show map of Albania
Coordinates	40°13′10″N 18°55′32″E
Basin countries	Italy, Albania
Min. width	72 km (45 mi)
Average depth	18 m (59 ft)

Bay of Vlora

Otranto harbour

History

Since ancient times, the Strait of Otranto was of vital strategic importance. The Romans used it to transport their troops eastwards. The legions marched to Brundisium (now Brindisi), had only a one-day sea voyage to modern Albania territory and then could move eastwards following the Via Egnatia.

The Strait of Otranto on a map from the early 17th century

World War I

During World War I, the strait was of strategic significance. The Allied navies of Italy, France, and Great Britain, by blockading the strait, mostly with light naval forces and lightly armed fishing vessels known as drifters, hindered the cautious Austro-Hungarian Navy from freely entering the Mediterranean Sea, and effectively kept them out of the naval theatre of war. The blockade was known as the 'Otranto Barrage'.

However, the barrage was notoriously ineffective against the German and Austrian U-boats operating out of the Adriatic, which were to plague the Allied powers for most of the war throughout the Mediterranean.^[3]

After the fall of the Iron Curtain

In 1992, Albania and Italy signed a treaty that delimited the continental shelf boundary between the two countries in the Strait. Whatsoever the administration rights over the Strait were given to Albania not changing much from the former deal of Otranto.

In 1997 and 2004, nearly 100 people died trying to illegally cross the strait following the 1997 unrest in Albania and poor economic conditions in the Tragedy of Otranto and the Karaburun tragedy.

In 2006, the Albanian government imposed a moratorium on motor-powered sailing boats on all lakes, rivers, and seas of Albania to curb organized crime.^[4] The only exemption to the rule are government-owned boats, foreign-owned boats, fishing boats, and jet boats. In 2010, the moratorium was extended until 2013.

Swims

Eva Buzo, a 36-year-old Sydney-based lawyer and long-distance swimmer, became the first woman to complete the swim. In August 2024 it took her 35 hours to cross 92 kilometres from Lecce in Italy to Vlora in Albania.^[5]

See also

• Otranto Barrage
• Otranto Raid
• Battle of the Strait of Otranto (disambiguation)
• Karaburun tragedy