♪♪
NARRATOR: In the Gulf of Mexico, nine miles off the shore of
Freeport, Texas, the stripped hull of the SS George Vancouver
lies quietly.
A wide variety of marine organisms cover the
ship's bulkheads.
Red snapper, grouper, and many other species of fish
lurk about the recesses of the sunken vessel,
searching for their next meal.
Navy sailors and merchant marines no longer clamor about
her deck, keeping an eye for enemy ships, planes,
and submarines.
The ship is now at peace, but she was born as a vessel of war.
♪♪
The SS George Vancouver was one of 2,700 liberty ships
manufactured between 1941 and 1945.
Using an assembly-line process, the ships were built
quickly and efficiently.
The Vancouver was constructed in less than 50 days at a cost
of around two million dollars.
Some liberty ships were assembled in less than a week.
They were the workhorses of World War II carrying troops,
supplies and ammunition to war theaters throughout the world.
Although the liberty ships were not designed to wage war,
they often found themselves in the midst of battle
but having just a few guns, ships were sitting ducks
vulnerable to attack.
(blasts)
In fact, the day these vessels were built,
they were expendable.
Their expected life span was only five years
and so great of casualty rate that the Navy considered
one safe voyage per ship a success.
♪♪
Each liberty had around a dozen naval guards who manned the guns
and defended the ship.
The remaining crew members were civilian volunteers
called merchant marines.
But the government could not enlist enough of these sailors
to man the thousands of liberty ships being built.
Virtually no potential recruit was turned away.
Men as young as 16 or as old as 80 were
officially accepted, even if they had just one eye,
one leg, or heart problems.
♪♪
Serving on one of these cargo vessels was dangerous work.
During 1942, liberty ships were being destroyed
at a rate of about one every three days.
In all, the merchant marines suffered a greater percentage
of war-related deaths than any branch of the armed forces.
(gunfire)
Yet despite all the casualties and hardship, at wars-end,
liberty ships and their crews had carried out the
largest transport of supplies in the history of humanity.
♪♪
By the 1950's, most of the liberty ships had been
scrapped for spare parts or stored away in mothball fleets.
Unwanted relics from the past.
(machinery humming)
In 1972, the state of Texas acquired 12 of the old ships,
including the SS George Vancouver.
In an ironic twist of fate, these ships, which survived
enemy attack during the war, would be intentionally
sunk as artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico.
But first, each vessel had to be prepared for submersion.
All structures above the second deck were dismantled.
The piping, wiring, and propulsion gear were removed.
The fuel and ballast tanks were cleaned, filled, and sealed.
Finally, large holes were cut along the side walls to allow
water and fish to flow throughout the structure.
The ship was now ready to be towed to its final resting spot.
♪♪
Once she sinks, the Vancouver will play an important part in
the area's biological design.
That's because the bottom of the gulf is virtually flat.
But many species of marine life need some kind of hard object
on which to attach.
Include a large structure like the hull of a liberty ship,
and an entire ecosystem forms.
♪♪
(divers splashing)
Today, underwater colonies are thriving throughout
the Gulf of Mexico.
Artificial reefs created from oil rigs, liberty ships,
and other man-made materials contribute almost one-third of
the gulf's hard bottom habitat.
These reefs are also good locations to dive and fish.
SCIENTIST: Jan, ah, they're at C-5.
They're bringing it up to the deck and they say there's
about 10 to 12 fish in there.
JAN: They're gonna start tagging them?
SCIENTIST: They're fixing to start tagging them.
JAN: Good deal.
NARRATOR: And there's another benefit.
Artificial reefs make perfect sites...
DIVER: 5-6-0-4-2.
SCIENTIST: This is number seven right here.
NARRATOR: ...for scientific research.
SCIENTIST: Brian, how are you doing on air time down there?
DALE SHIVELY: The main objective of this study is
to determine whether fish are really utilizing the reef sites.
Are they really reproducing on reef sites.
- And the fish that we are targeting to monitor
are red snapper.
SCIENTIST: 5-6-0-4-0.
NARRATOR: Each year, biologists tag thousands of fish
throughout the state of Texas.
But sometimes, complications arise.
DIVER: This is another recapture snapper.
DALE: Red snapper especially have air bladders
that get extended when you bring them up to the surface.
And mortality has been estimated at this depth.
If you bring a fish up from the 50 foot mark,
you get about a 30% mortality.
DIVER: Snapper 2-0-9.
NARRATOR: So, instead of bringing the fish up to
scientists, the scientists are diving down to the fish.
JAN: The fish never come above 20 feet and they're safe.
They don't embolize.
They are not stressed out by being tagged underwater.
We've seen video of the fish and they're fine.
After they're all standing up after the trap's open,
they look like nothing happened to them.
♪♪
NARRATOR: This is just one of several tagging methods that
help scientists learn about fish migration and population growth.
And the SS Vancouver is an ideal site for tagging these fish.
DALE: Well, the liberty ships or any type of artificial structure
can be compared to an oasis in the desert.
It provides the foundation for the beginnings of life,
for the beginnings of an ecosystem.
♪♪
JAN: And I'm very proud of it because it's
full of gorgonian corals.
It has occulina corals on it.
It has a lot of invertebrates.
It has stone crabs on it.
It's just a wealth of animals are living and growing on this
reef site and it's 20 years old and we're very,
very proud of it.
NARRATOR: The Vancouver has been given a second life,
providing much-needed habitat for marine animals:
a big aquarium in the Gulf of Mexico.
It's a fitting epitaph for a ship that once served
our country in war.
She now gets a retirement of peace and purpose.
♪♪
For more information about the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department's Artificial Reef Program, visit our website.
Use the interactive reef map to explore
over 50 reef locations in the Gulf.