Deja vu: Carrier going down

criticalmass

Vice Admiral
Rather unrelated to anthing WC-ish, the USS Oriskany was sunk on purpose to build a giant artificial reef in the Mexican gulf. Scrapping the decommissioned carrier was considered too expensive as well as inconsiderate for its veterans, so the alternative was to establish it as natural preserve and scuba diving location.

I just thought I'd seen that picture before..

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The full article (regrettably only in German, I haven't found any English article yet) is here.
The official site of the Oriskany is here.
 
There was an article here in Adelaide, Australia (The Advertiser) which talked about that
It was a nice pic and nice send off for an oldie
 
Personally I find this to be wonderful news on multiple grounds. As a Divecon I have been reading about this for years waiting for this sinking. It is a marvelous use for an old vessel, considering the alternative is chopping it up for cheap knife metal or leaving it to rust. Sinking this ship, relatively intact allows it to provide a home for countless lifeforms in place of a coral reef (which could take centuries to build a structure so massive, and helps with some economic value as a tourist attraction. And as was pointed out, it allows people to visit a great vessel long after most of its like are scrapped.
So far as dive sites go it should be astounding. Though I haven't found a final write up of positioning it sounds to have gone off as planned so should be close to expectations. Deck should be at 100 feet with the tower rising to 50 feet and the hanger above the 130 ft recreational limit. Some level of the vessel could be available to everyone from beginner to advanced tech and deep divers, with a vessel to massive it will be nigh impossible to see all of it. Average visibility in ocean water can be from 5 to 100 feet, possibly more. The best vis I have ever encountered is 300 feet, and the carrier is almost 900. A fate which allows the ship to serve and be remembered for years to come.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if older ships are sunk not only to create reefs, but also to create diving sites that are a unique experience. There are few places in the world where one can dive on an aircraft carrier and I imagine the experience would be pretty amazing. I've always wanted to go out to Bikini, Truk and the other atolls where major ships have been sunk. The pictures from such sites are quite amazing.
 
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