Another vessel has been sunk in an underwater wreck park in Florida - video

The worn-out tanker “Lady Luck” was sunk off the coast of Florida near the town of Pompano Beach, thus becoming another attraction of the underwater wreck park. According to the organisers of the action, this is the first such “interactive” wreck turned into an artificial reef. The sinking process itself was not without problems, but eventually the intended effect was achieved.

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On the day of the sinking of the vessel, nearly 300 boats moored in the vicinity and people gathered on them watched the whole process of setting the tanker at the bottom. Thus, the underwater wreck park located in this place was enriched by another, already the seventeenth wreck. People going to Greater Fort Lauderdale will thus have at their disposal the largest concentration of wrecks located in warm waters.

Before sinking, the tanker’s hull was cleaned of all hazardous elements that could harm the environment or visiting divers in the future. In addition, additional holes were cut in the hull of the ‘Lady Luck’ to facilitate her sinking and subsequent exploration.

The problems with sending the vessel to the bottom occurred from the very beginning. After setting off the explosives, the tanker took on water very slowly, only to sink rapidly after about two hours and disappear under the surface of the water in just a few minutes. Fortunately, the journey to the bottom went according to plan and the wreck settled evenly on the keel at a depth of ~35 metres, just as the organisers had expected.

Before the tanker was sunk, however, local artists gave it a new character and the aforementioned ‘interactivity’. A mass of sculptures were placed on the deck and in various nooks and crannies, turning the wreck into a unique underwater casino!

Visitors to the location will meet giant sharks at a card table, encounter huge dice and get to know an octopus, which plays the role of a croupier, or a mermaid-hostess distributing drinks. And this is still only part of the attractions…

Local authorities, institutions, companies and people involved in the whole project hope that the unique character of the vessel, as well as its size – almost 100 meters – will attract many diving tourists, and the wreck itself will become a habitat of marine life and another well functioning artificial reef. The investment cost almost $650 thousand and its preparation, from selecting the right vessel, through its preparation and sinking took … 10 years!

Owned by the City of New York, the tanker had remained in service since 1967. As the “Newtown Creek” she was in charge of transporting liquid waste from the harbour to a special treatment plant.

Source: sun-sentinel.com