After a decade of planning and an $8.6 million, the General Hoyt S. Vandenberg was finally sunk on May 27 and is now a public dive site. The Vandenberg is on it’s way to becoming the second largest internationally sunk artificial reef in the world.
Built as transport for US Army troops the USS General Harry Taylor was later renamed USAFS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg in 1963 after it was transferred to the US Navy. She was converted to a Missile Range Instrumentation Ship used to track missiles and space flights and finally decommissioned in 1983 after a good long run. The ship was transferred to the Maritime Administration in 99 and got approval to be sunk to create an artificial reef in Key West in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Sunk recently on the 27th of May this 524-foot-long ship now lies at 140 feet, just 7 miles south of Key West. With the top most part of the Ship at 40 feet the wreck will be accessible to all kinds of divers. Minutes after the 44 explosive charges went off sending this beauty to it’s final resting place a pod of dolphins, barracudas and a turtle checked out the new arrival, a sign of a promising future reef and a divers delight for many years to come.
So if you haven’t yet got a glimpse of this brand new artificial reef here’s a look at the scuttling of the General Hoyt S. Vandenberg little over a month back-
* Photo (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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