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Navy Purposely Sinks Retired Battleships

Old ships get a second life as artificial reefs, beacons for fishermen

By Sarah Whitmire,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 24, 2011 5:13 PM CDT

(Newser) – Where is the best place for a retired battleship to spend the rest of its days as an off-duty vessel? For the US Navy, the answer is sometimes the bottom of the ocean, where the ships can become artificial reef habitats for fish—not to mention popular tourist attractions. But a growing number of environmentalists are worried about the ecological impact of purposely sinking a 563-foot naval destroyer like the USS Arthur W. Radford, which could potentially bring toxins or chemicals with it deep into the ocean, the Washington Post reports.

In coastal environments where old New York subway cars were sunk off of Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware, there’s no question that schools of black sea bass and triggerfish have successfully taken to the artificial reefs. The number of fishing trips in one area shot from 300 a year to 17,000. But tissue samples of seafood from another area where one naval aircraft carrier was sunk showed a spike in contaminants. The chemicals likely wouldn’t be harmful to humans unless a person was fishing sunken ships for his exclusive source of food, but a marine sanctuary expert says the uncertainty could be dangerous: "There’s no need to get any more artificial reefs done at this point, until we know the impact of what we’ve already done."

It's one thing if a battleship sinks in an attack, but should we sink them on purpose?
It's one thing if a battleship sinks in an attack, but should we sink them on purpose?   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 15 comments
JackNelsonSteward
Jul 24, 2011 9:58 PM CDT
Please be aware that "Battleship" is a class of vessel.  It isn't just any naval vessel.  If you're talking about sinking a "destroyer," you're NOT talking about sinking a "battleship."  The Arizona is a battleship, as is the Iowa. "Mighty Mo"  the Missouri, where WWII ended, and the Wisconsin both saw service in "Desert Storm. ... and I'll bet you there are DAMN FEW "Battleships" being sunk for reefs.
Mr._Awesome
Jul 24, 2011 8:56 PM CDT
In other news, the Army has begun shooting it's veterans to provide food for flies and maggots. ^That's a joke. I like the Navy's idea.
GreekChorus
Jul 24, 2011 7:54 PM CDT
I assume that these idiots didn't try to find a buyer for it first.  I would think it would be far more valuable before sinking it. You'd think the government were flush with cash or something.

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