New Artificial Reefs

As the year comes to an end, we take a look back at the positive steps taken over the past year or 2 to increase the quality of both diving and marine life in certain areas. We'll go through artificial reefs and wrecks which have been sunk lately and what promises they may hold in the near future.

HMAS Canberra - Melbourne, Australia

Image by Saspotato

The HMAS Canberra is a 138 meter long frigate which was sunk this year, and no doubt will become an excellent wreck diving site in the future. She served the Australian navy for nearly a quarter of a century and was originally launched in 1978, so you can expect a wreck which will be in great condition.

The HMAS Canberra was sunk in October 2009 and is said to be opened to scuba divers by as soon as November. She now lies at a depth of a comfortable 30 meters, just off shore of Port Phillip on the Victorian Coast. This area is known for its diverse marine life and there are high hopes for the diving this wreck will bring.

It is said that the wreck will allow for amazing penetration with much of the ships original equipment still in place inside, allowing divers a good opportunity to feel the atmosphere of diving a 'real wreck' and not just an object thrown to the ocean floor. It is highly recommended that divers keep an eye out on the word of exactly when this wreck will be opened for diving, but without a doubt the best diving should occur within 2-5 years from now when marine life have turned the HMAS Canberra into their own home.

Vandenberg - Florida Keys

Image by Tiswango

On May 27, 2009 Florida Keys received a new addition to its reef arsenal, the Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a troop ship which was sunk to create an artificial reef. The Vandenberg was sunk in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the sinking was hailed as a great success, completing sinking in under 2 minutes, sinking perfectly upright.

The sinking of the Vandenberg was an extremely large and costly project which had been ongoing for 13 years, costing a total of $8.6 million. This is probably one of the most prolific artificial reefs for scuba divers over the past few years.

This wreck reportedly was attracting marine life the same day of its sinking and has already in a period of 5 months become an excellent dive site and over the next few years will only become better as marine life increases and more coral growth develops. For those who somehow did not know about the Vandenberg, we highly recommend you add it to your 'to dive' list.

Quezon Artificial Reef - Quezon, Philippines

Recently members of the Quezon community in the Philippines, fuelled by the increasing lack of fishing quality in the area, sunk a large artificial reef to help increase the marine life in the area. This man-made reef weighs 85 tons and is made out of concrete, it's 21 meters in diameter and 4 meters high. The artificial reefs construction began in November of 2008 and was placed into the ocean in August this year.

Locals blame the intrusion of illegal fishing practices to the decline in marine life in the area and say that Whale Sharks which were once prominent in the area have dwindled down and are rarely seen. They believe the sinking of the artificial reef will bring back some of the fish life which used to inhabit the area.

From a scuba divers perspective, it is unclear if there will be any restrictions on diving this interesting structure, but if open to diving it sure could hold some good diving in a couple of years as marine life makes their home around the reef.

Patrol Boat Wreck - Comino, Malta

Earlier this year Malta saw a new addition to the diving sector with the sinking of a P31, 52 meter long patrol boat which was sunk in an area of shallow water, with a maximum depth of only 18 meters in the Tal-Matz area, in the Gozo Channel. Due to the shallow depth this patrol boat wreck was sunk at, it's bound to allow the less experienced scuba divers a chance to get some exciting wreck diving done.

Malta is known for its clear waters, marine life and beautiful corals. This wreck is likely to be subject to all of the above in a short period of time. It's definitely a new dive site that you'll want to keep an eye on over the coming years to see how it progresses.

Artificial Reefs - Fort Pierce, Florida

Three new artificial reefs were created off the east coast of Florida this year, St. Lucie County got the gift of 2000 tons of concrete as well as a barge to add to its collection of dive sites when the McCulley Marine Services took on this project.

The reefs were sunk in comfortable diving depths of around 17 meters and the three artificial reefs are located only a couple hundred yards from one another. The above mentioned barge will likely be the primary focus of this trio, it is a total of 65 feet long and will likely attract marine life to make it their home.

Another area of dive sites which should offer some good diving in the near future.