Louisville Diving Review

Recently the old World War II vessel, Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, was sank off the coast of Key West. This project has been in the making for several years in an attempt to divert the traffic of divers and other ocean visitors away from the natural reef and onto this man made site. Protecting the natural reef of the keys was not the only purpose of the sinking, the ship will become a new habitat for the sea life of the Keys.

According to Foxnews.com “Preparation for sinking has taken months of inspections and cleanup to remove contaminants. Workers hauled off more than a million feet of wire, 1,500 vent gaskets, dozens of watertight steel doors, 81 bags of asbestos, 193 tons of potentially cancer-causing substances, 46 tons of garbage that could come loose and float to the surface, 300 pounds of materials containing mercury and 185 55-gallon drums of paint chips.”

This is a great addition to the Key’s already well known coral reef. The sunken ship should generate revenue and lots of interested divers to the area.