Coming up next on Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, shipwrecks that are turning into coral reefs.
Hi I’m Jonathan Bird and welcome to my world!
In shallow tropical oceans, coral reefs provide habitat and protection for thousands of species
of marine animals, especially fish.
In places where the sea floor is too sandy to give coral a place to grab on and grow,
there is very little fish life because there is very little protection from predators.
For years, fishermen have known however that a shipwreck out in the middle of a flat featureless
sea floor becomes a magnet for marine life.
Not only is it a place for fish to hide from predators, but it’s also a place where coral
can take hold and grow.
For this reason, shipwrecks are often called artificial reefs.
Most shipwrecks are the result of accidents or warfare.
They have become popular not just with fish, but with divers who want to see the fish or
explore the wrecks.
Sometimes these shipwrecks are not in the most convenient place for divers however,
far from shore, sometimes in deep water.
So why not intentionally sink a ship in a convenient spot?
That’s exactly what people are doing all around the world--sinking old ships as a way
to create an artificial reef in a particular spot, sometimes to help out the fishermen,
sometimes to give divers a place to go, and sometimes to help out the local marine life.
Yes, it’s hard to believe, but sinking a big piece of junk on the bottom of the ocean
can be a huge help to local marine life!
My question is…how long does it take for a shipwreck to turn into an artificial reef?
To answer this question, I’m off to beautiful Key West, Florida where a relatively new shipwreck
awaits.
In 2009, a 522 foot long decommissioned missile-tracking warship called the Vandenberg, was sunk off
Key West.
Before the sinking it underwent an extensive clean-up at a shipyard in Virginia to remove
anything that might be harmful to the marine environment, and to make it safer for divers.
Then it was towed all the way to Key West.
Carefully placed explosive charges flooded the ship and sent her to the bottom in under
two minutes!
Immediately after the sinking, the ship looked like something from outer space—a completely
white, brand-new looking ship on the bottom of the ocean.
One of the antennae looked ready to be used.
Now, four years later, the Blue World dive team is heading back down to Key West to visit
the Vandenberg and find out what 4 years on the sea floor have done to the ship.
We head over to Southpoint Divers in Key West where we load the boat and join a regularly
scheduled dive to the Vandenberg.
Since this wreck is the second largest artificial reef in the world, it’s pretty popular with
divers who come from all over the world to see it.
It’s only a few miles off shore to reach the site.
Captain Mike drives our dive boat in Key West style!
Soon, it’s time to suit up.
Mike gives the dive briefing then it’s time to go.
Well, it’s been four years since the last time I was here, when they sank the Vandenberg.
I wonder what four years under the ocean has done to this ship?
Let’s go find out!
It’s a windy day and the visibility is not as good as I had hoped, but soon the ship
comes into view.
No longer is she ghostly white.
The Vandenberg is now covered in a thin layer of marine growth.
Encrusting sponges, hydroids tunicates, as well as small patches of coral festoon her
hull.
Schools of small fish have discovered the ship as well, keeping their distance from
me as I move through the passageways.
I love to swim up the stairs of a shipwreck.
It gives me the feeling of zero gravity to be hovering above such an iconic symbol of
our daily human struggle against the forces of gravity on land!
Making my way towards one of the masts, I observe a lot of encrusting marine growth.
One of the antennae is covered in the same growth.
While the reef is growing well, it still looks like a ship.
Four years underwater has allowed the ocean to partially reclaim the ship.
There is a thin layer of marine growth, and the fish are starting to call the ship home.
Soon it’s time to head up to the top of the mast where the mooring line is tied.
Fighting the current, I make my way to the line that will lead me safely back to the
boat.
The next day, we head north up the keys to Key Largo.
Key Largo has some world-famous wrecks.
We stop in at Horizon Divers, Key Largo wreck diving experts.
Tim and I load our gear onto the boat.
Soon we’re on our way, navigating through the canals to the open ocean on a beautiful
Keys day.
We arrive at the wreck of the Speigel Grove.
A slightly older wreck, the Speigel Grove was sunk in 2002.
As the crew ties the boat up to one of the mooring lines, I’m getting suited up for
my dive.
So this is the wreck of the Speigel Grove.
It’s eleven years old—a little bit older than the Vandenberg.
Let’s go see what it looks like.
As I follow the mooring line down through the blue water, the first thing I see is the
top of a mast.
Looking closer, I can see quite a bit of sponge and coral growth here, as well as fish.
Deeper on the wreck, a school of Jacks regard me with indifference as I make my way towards
the main deck.
This eleven year old wreck definitely shows much more marine growth than the four year
old Vandenberg.
And there seem to be more fish.
The presence of smaller fish has attracted predators like barracuda.
Some sections of the wreck are so overgrown with sponges and coral that they are completely
unidentifiable.
And while I definitely know I’m diving a shipwreck, it’s undeniable that nature is
taking this man-made object back.
There is also no denying that exploring a shipwreck is fun.
Since the Speigel Grove was prepared in advance for divers just like the Vandenberg, it is
safe for exploration.
Inside a hole in the deck, I find….wait for it…a bathroom!
Of course, I explore another set of stairs.
I’m rising up to the top of the wreck on my way back to the surface.
These ships are so big that they have to be sunk in fairly deep water so they don’t
stick up and pose a threat to boats on the surface.
As a result the dives tend to be around a hundred feet deep, which limits bottom time.
I spend a few minutes doing a safety decompression stop on the mooring line just under the surface
while I contemplate the wreck.
You know, for being only eleven years old, that wreck has a lot of marine growth—it’s
really pretty, but not a lot of schools of fish.
This if course makes me wonder…what would an even older wreck look like?
Our captain drives us a few miles to another, even older wreck, the Duane.
120 feet beneath this boat is the wreck of the Duane, which is 25 years old!
I’m really curious to see what a 25 year old shipwreck looks like.
Down on the wreck, I make a beeline for the bridge, known to be one of the most beautiful
parts of the Duane.
Inside I discover a refuge for fish completely decorated with sponges and coral.
The walls look nothing like the plain metal of 25 years ago.
Now they are splashed in yellow, red, orange and pink pastels.
Leaving the bridge, I investigate yet another staircase, still recognizable as such, but
so overgrown with sponges and coral that it now looks more like an abstract sculpture.
Everywhere I look, the wreck has grown thick colonies of cup corals.
And under every overhang, a school of fish, hiding from predators.
The fish don’t know this was once a warship.
For them, it’s just a great place to live, like any other reef.
It seems that 25 years old is a good vintage for an artificial reef.
All too soon the dive must come to an end and I head back towards the mooring line to
the boat.
My adventures on shipwrecks have been illuminating.
What I have learned is that the Vandenberg has a bright future as an artificial reef
as the years go by.
I’ll be checking in now and then to see how she does as she progresses from a ship
to a mature artificial reef!