New life for ships
November 27, 2000
Australian warships are gaining an international reputation for being recycled
as dive sites with one destroyer escort becoming a major tourist attraction
off the WA coast and two of the navy's elite ex-destroyers facing watery
graves.
Former destroyer escort HMAS SWAN started the trend when she was scuttled
off the Dunsborough coast in WA back in December 1997.
Sister ship TORRENS is also providing a home for sea creatures, but unfortunately
not divers, following her spectacular departure to the deep by a MK48 torpedo
fired by HMAS FARNCOMB off the WA coast last year in an awesome display
of submarine firepower.
The SWAN's sinking has been used as a shining example of the benefits that
can be gained by using former warships as dive sites, with two DDGs bound
for Davey Jones' locker.
Options for the future of SWAN before she became a dive site included a
floating museum, restaurant, church or a shelter for the homeless.
A report prepared for the WA Tourism Commission found more than 10,000 divers,
with almost 20 per cent of them coming from overseas, were attracted to
the SWAN in the first 12 months after she was scuttled.
There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of fish species in
the area with researchers recording a 10-fold increase compared to a nearby
control site.
"During a survey in December 1998, the number of fishes present at the SWAN
was nearly 400 times that of [a nearby] control site," the report said.
The next ship to become an artificial reef and must-see attraction on the
international backpackers diving circuit is the PERTH which is in Albany.
The PERTH is undergoing an extensive clean up which is being carried out
mainly by a hard-core group of 10-15 volunteers and a work-for-the-dole
project team.
Taking part in this effort is Pat Keenan, who is compiling a photographic
record of the operation for historical purposes.
Mr Keenan said he has photographed every aspect of the operation since the
PERTH arrived in Albany.
He said the volunteers mainly worked on weekends while the work-for-the-dole
crew worked four days a week.
Crosshead in 16 point across centre of page Scuttling
So far 1600 man hours has been chalked up preparing PERTH for scuttling.
Some of the tasks have included stripping down machinery, removing more
than 5,500 kilos of lead ballast to comply with environmental requirements
and 80 three tier metal bunks.
Scuttling
Cabling has also been removed from passageways to provide clean access for divers.The Vietnam veteran PERTH may be setting a precedent because part of its mast will be visible above the waterline when the 50 metre high ship is scuttled in 38.9 metres of water.
Sue Campbell from the Albany-based Great Southern Development Commission said she was hoping the ship would be scuttled in May/June next year, before the whaling watching season started.
But Peter Madigan from the Albany Council, which is overseeing daily operations, believes the date will be later in the year, around November.
The Great Southern Development Commission was instrumental in getting the PERTH allocated to Albany after a sometimes heated contest between the coastal communities of Roebourne, Carnarvon, Rottnest, Rockingham and Esperance to obtain the ship.
PERTH'S name will not be forgotten with the ship's proud history set to live on when the eighth ANZAC class frigate bears its name after it is commissioned in 2004.
PERTH'S sister ship HOBART has recently been towed to South Australia where the 35-year-old veteran will soon become a home for SA marine life.
SA Tourism Minister Joan Hall said the HOBART could attract about 16,000 divers by the third year of the ship's sinking, with about half being overseas visitors.
"This number of visitors would generate around $10 million in business turnover throughout the Fleurieu region, creating 127 new jobs," she said back in June when the Commonwealth Government handed over the ship to SA.
HOBART will lie in 30 metres of water, four nautical miles off the Fleurieu Peninsula, when it is scuttled, probably during June next year.
Former HOBART crew members are planning to hold a reunion in Adelaide to coincide with the ship's scuttling.
By Tim
Slater
PACC/WA