Other events in Baltic States

Researchers in Klaipeda prepare to launch a search for sunken Lithuanian ships, including the Prezidentas Smetona, the first Lithuanian warship of the interwar period, at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, informed LETA/BNS.

Klaipeda University's sailboat Brabander expects to set sail shortly, Vladas Zulkus, who heads the project.

This is the second such expedition organized by the university.

"Our primary aim is to identify the Prezidentas Smetona and other ships. The coordinates of the ships seem to be known, but they differ slightly in different sources. Thus, our aim is to check two options," Zulkus said.

"We will use special equipment of the Lithuanian Navy -- we have two of their specialists on board -- to establish the details and identify (ships). There are several tens of vessels in that area and we expect to identify our ships based on their characteristic details," he said.

The Brabander will carry out the research in Estonian waters.

The expedition is aimed at identifying not only the Prezidentas Smetona, which sailed under the Soviet flag when it was sunk in 1945, but also smaller, merchant vessels of the interwar Republic of Lithuania.

There are no plans to raise the sunken ships to the surface.