If you’re planning a visit to the Grand Caymans this winter, make sure you don’t miss this once in a life-time opportunity to witness the creation of an artificial reef with the scheduled sinking of the USS Kittiwake on the 5^th of December 2010.

The USS Kittiwake was in service from 1945 to 1994 and was a United States Navy Chanticleer-class submarine rescue vessel. Kittiwake was decommissioned on 30 September 1994 was transferred in November 2008 for an undisclosed amount to the government of the Cayman Islands who intended to sink this  251 ft (76.61 m) vessel to serve as an artificial reef off Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman.

The Cayman Islands Tourism Association has elaborate plans to convert the wreck into a private park and attraction named the “Kittiwake Shipwreck Park” that is managed by Tourism Association where Scuba Divers will be expected to pay an entry fee of $10 per visit/dive and snorkelers $5 per visit and will be issued a BCD tag or wristband for snorkelers. The funds collected will be used for maintenance of the ship wreck, safety equipment and management of the attraction and a portion of the visitor fee is paid to an Environmental Contingency Fund. The Tourism association has already printed out wreck dive slates providing visitors with detailed information about the wreck available for purchase from a Licensed Kittiwake Dive Operator.

The Ship itself is currently in dry docks is being stripped bare and being made secure for divers and environmentally sound for sinking. The sinking itself is planned to be a huge event and was originally scheduled to take place between July 24th – 27th, 2010, but was postponed due to the delay in towing the ship from the US to the Cayman’s and plus the time and work required to make the ship “diver & environmentally friendly”.  The sinking ceremony on the 5^th is expected to draw huge crowds and be covered by the media fully. Several visiting journalists, guests and ex-crew members plan to attend and witness the sinking of the ex-USS Kittiwake in the Cayman Islands. Cayman resorts along the seven mile beach have almost sold out on special packages for tourist wishing to witness the sinking as well as be some of the first divers to visit the wreck once it’s in place.

To find out more about the scheduled sinking of the Kitiwake visit http://www.kittiwakecayman.com/

images from US Navy Archives & flickr by Willamor Media

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | Witness The Sinking Of The USS Kitiwake at Grand Cayman This December is an original article from Aquaviews.net | Be the first to comment!

Of all the strange wrecks one can dive at around the country, the sunken subway cars around the waters of Atlantic City are by far an unusual spectacle.

The Artificial reef program in the waters of the mid-Atlantic was an attempt to provide a way to bring fish and other marine creatures back to the featureless flat bottomed ocean bed.  The Atlantic City Reef is one of the oldest artificial reefs in existence today and is made up of several man-made objects ranging from large ships to army tanks that have been sunk strategically around the waters.

In August 2001, New York City subway cars were slid off a barge into the Atlantic Ocean ten miles east of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. This artificial reef was a success and resulted in a subsequent attempt at the Atlantic City Reef in April 2008 where 44 decommissioned stainless steel “Brightliner’ subway cars were placed in a circular pattern in the reef to provide Scuba Divers access.

A total of 600 subway cars are scheduled to be sunk in the Atlantic to be used as artificial reefs, as the high cost of disposal of these cars otherwise due to the asbestos present in them would be prohibitive. The Asbestos has no apparent effect underwater, which is why for the New York MTA, this method of Subway car recycling is favorable.

Before the rail cars were sunk, materials that were potentially dangerous, such as the oily and greasy undercarriages, were removed; doors and windows were taken off; and the interiors were steam cleaned.The ends of the cars were taken off to allow for fish and scuba divers easy access to enter at either end of these 60 foot cars.

The site of the sunken Brightliner subway cars can be reached by charters run by several local dive centers. Depths vary from 80feet up to 130ft, and visibility is often poor.

Currently the subway cars are still undergoing their transformational process, inhabited only by black sea bass, tautog, and lobsters, but over time, coral anemones, barnacles and mussels will attach to the surface and attract hundreds of fishes.

However as of July 2009 the New Jersey state announced that it would no longer sink New York’s old stainless steel subway cars into the Atlantic Reef, as reports that the stainless steel cars were deteriorating rapidly as compared to the steel ‘Red Bird’ cars which are still intact. Divers are advised to take care while penetrating these wrecks.

So the next time your in Atlantic City, why not take the underwater subway and remember to pack your scuba gear… if your longing to see these magnificent structures underwater better hurry, as there may not be much left of them over time.

Photos by: andrewl04

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2009. | Dive in a New York Brightliner Subway Car in Atlantic City is an original article from Aquaviews.net | One comment

As reported by the Sun Sentinel 20^th June 2009,” A proposal to install an electrified artificial reef on the ocean floor off Lauderdale-by-the-Sea has won approval from a key federal agency, making it more likely the high-tech conservation project will get built.

The Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit to the town to work with Global Coral Reef Alliance, of Cambridge, Mass., to install a cluster of metal structures that would use a low-voltage current to stimulate the growth of corals, creating habitat for fish and other marine creatures. The group has used the patented Biorock process to construct artificial reefs in several other countries, including Mexico, Jamaica and Indonesia.”

The electrified reef project will consist of assembling hut like metal structures, to which pieces of living coral would be attached to them. Buoys fitted with solar panels would provide electricity to the structures and draw dissolved minerals from the sea water causing the corals to grow almost five times faster. The contract is estimated to be worth $65,000, but  it is still unclear when the project will commence building.

Photos: Sun Sentinel , Biorock Technology

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2009. | Electrified Reefs in Florida get Green Light is an original article from Aquaviews.net | One comment