Ex-Navy Destroyer submerged into Atlantic Ocean to create artificial reef

TV crews and members of the public turned up to witness the final voyage of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Arthur W. Radford earlier this month as it was submerged into the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

The vessel was sunk at the Del-Jersey-Land Reef, a site that is located approximately 30 miles off the coasts of Cold Spring Inlet in Cape May County, Delaware and Maryland (U.S).

Former sailors who had served on the ship gathered to watch the ship descend into the ocean so that it could create an artificial reef for recreational scuba diving and fishing.

Lee String from Westville served on the ship in 1985 as a plumber, welder and pipefitter. While watching the event, he said: "It's sad to see it being sunk. It was once a proud-looking ship, but it's better to see it go to that purpose rather than razor blades."

The process took three and a half hours as water entered USS Arthur W. Radford through its seacocks and flooded the bottom of the ship’s hull. The bow finally tipped about 4pm and the vessel sunk down to its new home.

Scott Horne, from Portsmouth, VA, served a tour of duty on the ship, and said: "I didn't think she was going to do it at first. She definitely took her own sweet time going down.

"She always put up a fight for a lot of things when we were under way. She always had her own way of doing things, but the mission always got accomplished. It's the same with this — she put up a fight, and then when she finally decided to let go, she did."

More than 200 journalists and people who had served on the ship were taken on a ferry to watch the event, with many wearing T-shirts or hats displaying the destroyer’s name.

"It's been a very quick and relatively inexpensive ship to reef compared to some of the large ships that have been reefed recently," explained Jeff Tinsman, Reef Coordinator with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. "We are excited today. This is the last step in the process."

The 563-foot-long ship is the longest vessel to be sunk in the Atlantic Ocean for the purpose of an artificial reef. USS Arthur W. Radford joins a number of manmade items on the Atlantic Ocean floor such as retired New York City subway cars, which had already been submerged to create habitats for marine life. The vessel is expected to attract many leisure divers taking scuba diving holidays to the area, as well as recreational fishermen.

One former combat systems officer who served two years on the destroyer is planning to visit the ship again by scuba diving down to its new underwater location.

Douglas Warner commented: "Being a diver myself, I'm looking forward to hopefully next year coming back up here and being able to dive on her."

The Del-Jersey-Land reef looks set to become one of America’s most popular scuba diving destinations for divers looking to explore the artificial reef. The reef is joint development by Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey as a regional effort to create a thriving marine environment.