Sinking ships for wreck diving sites is the practice of scuttling old ships to produce artificial reefs suitable for wreck diving, to benefit from commercial revenues from recreational diving of the shipwreck, or to produce a diver training site.

To avoid undesirable ecological impact, and to maximise utility, the vessel should be selected and prepared, and the site chosen, with due consideration to the local environment.

Preparation To prepare a hulk for sinking as a wreck site, several things must be done to make it safe for the marine environment and divers. To protect the environment, the ship is purged of all oils, hydraulic fluids, and dangerous chemicals such as PCBs. Much of the superstructure may be removed to prevent the hazard of it eventually caving in from corrosion. Similarly, the interior of the ship is gutted of components that corrode quickly, and would be dangerous to divers if they came loose. The ship is thoroughly cleaned, often with the help of volunteers interested in diving. A significant part of the cost of preparing and sinking the ship may be recovered from scrapping the contents of the ship, including valuable materials such as copper wiring. The hulk's suitability as a diving site may be enhanced by cutting openings in its hull and interior bulkheads, and removing doors and hatch covers to allow divers access at reduced risk.

Choice of site Several factors influence the choice of site for recreational diving purposes, and these should take into consideration the possibly conflicting economic and ecological considerations. The wreck should not create a significant hazard to navigation. For maximum accessibility and diver safety, a shallow site in protected waters is preferred. To reduce cost of access, the site should be near to a suitable harbour or launching site, in a region where existing or planned recreational diving infrastructure is available. There may be a conflict of interests between groups which may profit from access to the wreck. Sites further offshore make shore dives impracticable or dangerous. Deeper water reduces access to less qualified divers, but increases risk for all divers. More protected waters reduce risk to all divers and increase the useful lifespan of the wreck as a diving attraction. Placement of the wreck will do some ecological damage. An ecological impact assessment should indicate acceptable long term consequences. The site will influence the marine organisms that will colonise the wreckage, and the rate at which they will grow. Some may be more desirable at a dive site than others. The site will influence the rate of silt deposition in and on the wreckage, which will affect safety and the local ecology.

Sinking

The preparation phase usually removes a significant amount of weight, so the ship floats higher in the water than normal. This may make it necessary to stabilise the vessel by filling some compartments with water as makeshift ballast tanks to prevent excessive rolling in port or during towing. The ship is towed to the sinking location, usually in waters shallow enough to allow access by numerous divers, but deep enough to be relatively unaffected by surface weather conditions. The ship is usually scuttled using shaped explosives, in a controlled demolition. The holes may be blown so that the heavier engine room and stern floods first, then the rest of the hull. The aim is to sink the ship in an upright position.

Reception The sinking of ships as recreational dive sites can provide wreck diving opportunities where they previously did not exist, and can provide wrecks which are particularly suitable for penetration by less skilled and experienced divers, when they have been prepared for the purpose by removing potential hazards and contents which would contaminate the site or region. However, some divers see them as artificial, less interesting and less challenging, and prefer to explore the relatively unknown or mysterious surroundings of historic and significant wrecks which occurred outside planned scuttling events, considering them to be more authentic. Scuttling programs may relieve more culturally significant wreckage from overexploitation, particularly incidental damage by less competent divers, but do not remove the threat of illegal intentional damage by removal of artifacts by wreck-robbers, who will target wrecks where there are more likely to be artifacts worth stealing.

List of ships sunk for wreck diving

+ Ships sunk for wreck diving Year Vessel name Location Country/territory1942/1984Scirè Haifa, IsraelIsrael1944Jun'yō MaruSamalona Island, South SulawesiIndonesia 1968 Palm Beach, Florida United States 1970 Glen Strathallen Plymouth Sound United Kingdom 1970 Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina United States 1972 Key West, Florida United States 1974 SS Theodore Parker North Carolina United States 1975 Wachapreague, Virginia United States 1978 North Carolina United States 1980 Oro Verde Cayman Islands 1980 Isla Mujeres Mexico 1980 Daytona Beach, Florida United States 1982 Waianae, Hawaii United States 1982 Grand Bahama Island Bahamas 1983 Key West, Florida United States 1985 Florida United States 1987 Gulf of Mexico United States 1987 Panama City, Florida United States 1987 The Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior Matauri Bay New Zealand 1987 Florida United States 1987 Florida United States 1987–2000 Wreck Alley San Diego, California United States 1988 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina United States 1988 Virginia United States 1988 Stuart, Florida United States 1988 North Carolina United States 1989 Port St. Lucie, Florida United States 1989 Ocean City, Maryland United States 1989 YO-257 Oahu, Hawaii United States 1990 Morehead City, North Carolina United States 1990 Destin, Florida United States 1990 T-Barge Durban South Africa 1990 USCG Hollyhock Florida United States 1990 Fontao Durban South Africa 1991 MV G.B. Church British Columbia Canada 1991–2001 "Wreck Alley" – Marie L, Pat and Beata British Virgin Islands 1991 New Jersey United States 1992 Ċirkewwa Malta 1992 North Carolina United States 1992 British Columbia Canada 1994 Nova Scotia Canada 1994 SAS Pietermaritzburg, formerly Miller's Point, Western Cape South Africa 1994 Rottnest Island Australia1994INS SufaEilat, IsraelIsrael 1995 MV Jean Escutia Puerto Morelos Mexico 1995 British Columbia Canada 1996 Inganess Bay British Virgin Islands 1996 MV Captain Keith Tibbetts (formerly Russian-built frigate 356) Cayman Brac Cayman Islands 1996 British Columbia Canada 1997 Dunsborough, Western Australia Australia 1997 British Columbia Canada 1998 Tug No. 10 Marsaskala Malta 1998 Marsaskala Malta 1998 Um El Faroud Qrendi Malta 1998 Looe Key, Florida United States 1999 Gozo Malta 1999 Tutukaka Heads New Zealand 1999 Cozumel Mexico 1999 Qawra Malta 2000 Stanegarth Stoney Cove United Kingdom 2000 San Diego, California United States 2000 Hai Tzu Kuo, Xiaoliuqiu Taiwan 2000 Puerto Morales Mexico 2000 Tutukaka New Zealand 2001 Veracruz Mexico 2001 British Columbia Canada 2001 Albany, Western Australia Australia 2002 Yankalilla Bay, South Australia Australia 2002 Florida United States 2002 Mombasa Kenya 2003 HTMS Khram (L-732) Ko Phai Thailand 2003 Chaikou, Green Island Taiwan 2003 Quebec Canada 2003 CS Charles L Brown Sint Eustatius Leeward Islands 2003 MV Camia 2 Boracay island Philippines 2004 Whitsand Bay, Cornwall United Kingdom 2004 Morehead City, North Carolina United States 2004 Hebat Allah Hurghada, Red Sea Egypt 2005 Mooloolaba, Queensland Australia 2005 Wellington New Zealand 2006 Xihwu Boeing 737 British Columbia Canada 2006 Florida United States 2006 HTMS Kut (L-731) Pattaya Thailand 2006 Gozo Malta 2006 Gozo Malta 2007 Ċirkewwa Malta 2007 USTS Texas Clipper South Padre Island, Texas United States 2007 Bay of Islands New Zealand 2007 Delaware Bay United States 2009 Key West, Florida United States 2009 Comino Malta 2009 Barwon Heads, Victoria Australia 2011 West Bay, Grand Cayman Cayman Islands 2011 Avoca Beach, New South Wales Australia 2011 HTMS Prab (LCI-741) Chumphon Thailand 2011 HTMS Sattakut (LCI-742) Koh Tao Thailand 2011 Cape May, New Jersey United States 2012 Lee County, Florida United States 2012 HTMS Mataphon (LCT-761) Ko Larn Thailand 2012 HTMS Phetra (LCT-764) Ko Man Nok Thailand 2012 NRP Oliveira e Carmo (F489) Algarve Portugal 2012 NRP Zambeze (P1147) Algarve Portugal 2012 HTMS Chang, formerly Ko Chang Thailand 2013 NRP Hermenegildo Capelo (F481) Algarve Portugal 2013 NRP Almeida Carvalho (A527) Algarve Portugal 2013 T11 Coastal Patrol Ship Ko Chang Thailand 2013 Tug No. 2 Sliema Malta 2014 HTMS Kledkaeo (AKS-861) Phi Phi Islands Thailand 2014 MV Ærøsund South Fionan Sea Denmark 2015 British Columbia Canada 2015 Checheng Township, Pingtung Taiwan 2015 ARM Uribe (P121) Rosarito Beach, Baja California Mexico 2016 General Pereira D´Eça F477 Porto Santo, Madeira Portugal 2016 Vis Kamenjak, Istra Croatia 2017 Cape May, New Jersey United States 2017 Fishing Trawler, Gal'Oz Hertzliya, Israel Israel 2018 Queensland Australia 2021 Marsaskala Malta 2022 Xatt l-Aħmar Malta 2023 (P217) K41 East Timor

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