For five days now, the water surface on the coast of Durrës has shrunk. The sea has receded by around 60 cm, as a result of the ebb phenomenon.

Second Rank Captain Emrush Bejdo, former hydrographer, explains to “Euronews Albania” that this is a complicated phenomenon, caused by gravitational and centrifugal forces.

“Mainly it is the Moon and the Sun. Although it is smaller in mass than the Sun, the Moon has a greater influence because it is closer to the Earth. So, these two forces attracting each other create what is called a tide, but if on one side we have the tide, when the water is drawn towards the Moon, on the other side we have centrifugal forces that create the opposite effect”, – Emrush Bejdo, effective of the naval forces.

But does this phenomenon affect the daily work of the largest port in Albania?

“There is no impact in the port of Durrës, because all ships use nautical charts. The lowest tide ever measured in Albania is set there. That is why the ships have those security measures, that whenever they come to the port, the calculations make them as if they will come with a minimum tide. So, on the maps, this movement of water is predicted vertically”, said Emrush Bejdo, an officer of the naval forces.

“Nowadays technology has advanced and this phenomenon is very predictable.”

“Thanks to an investment made by the Navy with foreign donors, since 2018, 4 sea level gauges have been placed on vertical sensors in the country’s main ports, which measure water movement every 10 minutes.”

The phenomenon is more pronounced at this time of the year, as we are approaching the spring equinox, a period when the earth moves closer to the sun and moon during its rotation.