Portuguese have 2 new wrecks

Listen to this article On Tuesday 30 October, the two vessels were placed in the Algarve, off the coast of Portimao in southern Portugal, where they awaited sinking. The ships are the first group of 4 vessels to be sunk to create an artificial reef as part of the Ocean Revival programme. The sinking of

ByTomasz Andrukajtis

Published: November 3, 2012 - 18:05

Updated: July 22, 2023 - 04:36

Listen to this article

On Tuesday 30 October, the two vessels were placed in the Algarve, off the coast of Portimao in southern Portugal, where they awaited sinking. The ships are the first group of 4 vessels to be sunk to create an artificial reef as part of the Ocean Revival programme.

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The sinking of the aforementioned duo went off without a hitch. The first was an 88m Corvette Ex-NRP Oliveira e Carmo while the second was a 44m patrol vessel. Both vessels were donated for this purpose by the Portuguese Navy.

In order to best prepare the entire operation, Revival Ocean project leader Luis Sa Couto enlisted the help of Canadian Artificial Reef Consulting, a company based in British Columbia, Canada, with a track record of sinking dozens of ships.

Thanks to the support received from literally every side, the first part of the preparations, estimated to take 5 years, was completed in just 6 months! After divers from the navy gave the green light for diving on both wrecks, groups of volunteers set off to check out the new locations.

The second part of the Ocean Revival programme is planned for spring 2013. According to our information, the next two vessels to be sunk are a frigate and a hydrographic ship. All the wrecks will be placed parallel to each other.

Source: oceanrevival.pt

About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis

Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.