Vandenberg In Political Trouble?

[OBXDIVEGUY]

Ok, so if this thing actually goes down, how long before it will be diveable? Anyone know what it was like when the Grove or Oriskany went down?

 

[truck1]

Judging by the shows I have seen lately about making ships artificial reefs, it can take anywhere from 1 or 2 days to a week, depending on how they sink her, and how she lands. Best case scenario figure at least 2 days for the demo crews to determine if all of the explosives were detonated or cleared and that she is how they want her. Otherwise, all bets are off.

 

[wjefferis]

Right after the Oriskany went down Navy EOD divers went down to make sure that all explosives went off. They cleared the Oriskany for recreational divers quickly after its sinking. I can't remember for sure, but it was within 48 hours. RIght after it went down it was a great dive, but it still looked so clean. Now after two years the growth has exploded and the site just keeps getting better. Unless there are major problems experienced during the sinking it should be available to divers very soon after the sinking.

 

[deepstops]

I was in SoCal when the Yukon was slated to go down. They placed the cut-outs to close to the waterline and during night prior to scheduled sinking, the swell increased and started going in the cut-outs. About 2am she rolled over and went down. The Navy EOD guys spent about a week removing the unexploded ordinance IIRC. And she ended up on her side instead of upright.

And literally thousands of divers (and non-divers) scheduled to witness the sinking were disappointed

 

[americanreefer]

All I can say is wait for wednesdays news, it is going to be very interesting. I am fairly sure the ship will be headed to a reef site, but where?

 

[canadianreefer]

THE NEXT 3 DAYS WILL TELL THE TALE

Posted on Mon, Dec. 15, 2008
Debts could sink Keys artificial reef project
BY CAMMY CLARK
The final voyage of the USS Hoyt S. Vandenberg -- a former missile-tracking ship that also brought World War II soldiers home from France -- will be either to the ocean's floor off Key West as an artificial reef or to a scrap yard.
''The Vandenberg's sister ship, the H.H. Arnold, was turned into beer cans in the 1980s,'' said Malcolm ''Mac'' Monroe of Melbourne, who worked on both vessels during secret Cold War missions. ``The Vandenberg deserves a more respectable end.''

The 12-year artificial reef project -- started by Key West dive boat captain Joe Weatherby and now expanded to include some 16 government agencies and $8.2 million in public funding -- is in the 11th hour.

On Wednesday, the 524-foot Vandenberg is scheduled to go to a federally ordered auction in Virginia to settle a $1.7 million federal lien for unpaid cleaning and decontamination.

The auction can be stopped, and the artificial reef project continued, if a settlement is reached by Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk, Va., three shipyard subcontractors and a bank consortium led by BB&T, which loaned money to the Vandenberg artificial reef project managers, Reefmakers Inc.

The bank hasn't completed payment for the cleaning and decontamination because, as the project costs increased, bankers worried they wouldn't be reimbursed by government funds that are only available if the project is completed.

BB&T spokesperson Bob Denham said he could not comment. A spokesperson for Colonna's Shipyards did not return calls Friday.

''It's out of our hands; we're waiting to see what happens like everyone else,'' said Key West City Commissioner Bill Verge, who has led the city in its role as facilitator between the private company, Artificial Reefs of the Keys, that created the project and the numerous public entities that are involved.

The ticking clock has the dive boat captain who embarked on the quest 12 years ago on edge.

''I'm very anxious,'' Weatherby said. ``A lot of people's blood, sweat and tears have gone into this.''

In 1996, Weatherby combed through files of 500 mothballed military ships and chose the Vandenberg as the perfect vessel to turn into an artificial reef because of its manageable decontamination and irregular shapes for exciting diving.

''The intention always was to create the world's best wreck dive,'' Weatherby said. ``That's what we're going to have if we can get it finished.''

If the Vandenberg reaches the ocean's floor, it would become the world's second-largest artificial reef that was intentionally sunk. The 911-foot Oriskany sunk off the waters in Pensacola in 2006 is the largest.

Verge jumped on board the Keys project for its positive environmental and economical impacts.

''It's much more than a playground for divers,'' Verge said.

Several studies, including one done by NOAA on the USS Spiegel Grove in Key Largo, have shown that artificial reefs help take pressure off the struggling coral reefs by attracting divers, snorkelers and fishermen to the artificial reef, causing declining use of the surrounding natural reefs.

Studies also have shown that large shipwrecks boost tourism. The Discovery Channel has already begun working on a show about the Vandenberg.

The economic and environmental benefits are the main reasons the private project has been able to garner millions in public funds at the local, state and federal levels: $1 million from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, $1.3 million from the city of Key West, $2 million from Monroe County, $1 million from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and $1.6 million from the governor's office of Tourism, Trade & Economic Development.

The U.S. Maritime Administration, which contributed $1.3 million to the project, turned the ship's title over to the state of Florida, which in turn gave it to Key West.

Weatherby said there also have been private contributions from more than 100 local businesses and $50,000 from Jimmy Buffett's Parrot Heads clubs.

The massive project, which has required navigating a sea of bureaucracy, has seemed dead in the water several times, with rising costs, changing regulations and expiring permits.

The Keys bank consortium that agreed to loan $4.3 million to the project stopped $1.1 million short when it evaluated its risk after major overruns for cleaning and decontamination due to new stringent Environmental Protection Agency requirements and fuel costs for towing, Verge said.

If the project fails, Verge said the public's money is safe. Only the U.S. Maritime Administration's funding has been doled out. The other money will be used only upon sinking of the ship. And the project has a $1 million insurance policy from Lloyd's of London.

But Verge said the public would lose out in other ways: the sales and bed taxes from tourists, the worldwide publicity the ship would attract, the positive environmental benefits from an artificial reef's habitat and coral.

The Vandenberg also is slated to be the pilot program of Ships-2-Reefs, a marine grant program that Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law in June.

''People don't understand how complicated it is. You don't just go and sink a ship,'' Verge said, displaying a report from one conference call on the project that included representatives of more than 10 agencies, including the FBI.

Kent Edwards, environmental administrator of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary where the Vandenberg has a permit for sinking, called the process ``complicated. This has taken a lot of work and a lot of time to do it right.''

The last piece of public funding was put in place last week, when Key West's commissioners accepted the $1.6 million grant from the governor's tourism development office.

If a settlement is reached to satisfy the federal lien, Verge said there is enough money pledged to have the Vandenberg towed to Key West for sinking.

The carefully chosen spot: six miles off Key West in waters 140 feet deep, far from the natural reef, between the Western Sambos Ecological Reserve and Sand Key.

Verge said it's possible the Vandenberg could be underwater by late February or early March.

Veterans of the Vandenberg, which began as a WW II Navy transport ship called the USS Harry S. Taylor, are planning to attend the sinking. Monroe said there are plans for the ashes of some of the veterans to be sprinkled in the ship.

''I'd much rather see it turned into a tourist destination, reef, education tool and tomb of some of my friends, than turned into beer cans,'' Monroe said. ``Let's sink it.''

 

[deeper thoughts]

First State rides to rescue on Vandenberg
Outbids shipyard at federal courthouse auction
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tool goes here By CAMMY CLARK
cclark@MiamiHerald.com
Posted - Wednesday, December 17, 2008 02:03 PM EST

First State Bank of the Florida Keys purchased the U.S.S. Hoyt S. Vandenberg for $1.35 million Wednesday morning at a federal auction in Virginia, clearing the way for the former World War II and Cold War ship to become an artificial reef in waters off the coast of Key West.

“Thank God that piece of the puzzle is done and we can finish the project and sink the ship,” Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson said. “It’s been a rough road.”

The 12-year project came perilously close to ending Wednesday when negotiations between a bank consortium, Colonna’s Shipyard and three shipyard subcontractors failed to reach a settlement for a $1.6 million lien for unpaid cleaning and decontamination bills.


That brought the fate of the Vandenberg to federal court for an auction. McPherson said the bank consortium’s lead lender, BB&T failed to show up, but that First State Bank came to the rescue.

"We're very, very pleased to have successfully secured the ship for the city and the citizens of the Keys," First State Bank President Karen Sharp said.

"The Vandenberg project was really in danger of falling," First State vice president Don Lanman said. "We didn't want to see that happen. This is the right thing to do. We're going to be working with the city to put this ship on the bottom. That's going to help the economy. This is going to be really beneficial in a challenging economic year."

In a bidding war with Colonna’s Shipyard, First State Bank came out on top. McPherson said the bank will be repaid with the pool of $8.2 million in federal, state and local funding that is available only after the ship is sunk.

McPherson said there are now no financial hurdles in the way for the 524-foot Vandenberg to be towed from its current location at Colonna’s Shipyard in Virginia to Key West for sinking in waters six miles off the island city.

Key West City Commissioner Bill Verge said the sinking could be done by as early as late February or early March.

“Our economy and our environment needs it,” said Key West dive boat captain Joe Weatherby, who began the project 12 years ago.

The ship would become the world’s second-largest artificial reef that was intentionally sunk. The 911-foot Oriskany, sunk off the coast of Pensacola in 2006, is the largest.

“I want to dive it every day for 10 years,” said Weatherby, who handpicked the Vandenberg out of 500 moth ball ships in 1996. “I’ll never be able to see all of it – it’s that big and that cool. This is going to be best wreck diving experience on planet earth. But of course, I’m a little biased.”

Keynoter Reporter Sean Kinney contributed to this report.

 

[mike_s]

so the shipyard was bidding for the ship also?

I guess they wanted to cut it up and sell it for scrap. No wonder they couldn't come to a negoiated agrement with the other banks before the auction.

It seems the shipyard was just after a quick profit scheme.


I'm glad they (the shipyward) lost and that also glad the ship didn't go at bid for what they wanted.

 

[ReefHound]

Let's be thankful for the recent plunge in metals prices, if this auction had taken place this past summer the bidding could have gone much higher.

 

[Buoyant1]

AWESOME! Ever since I saw a picture of it in Subtropic's shop, I've been wanting to dive it! (in fact my "ARK" bumper sticker has been on the side of my computer since I got it!)

Looks like we'll be staying closer to KW the next trip (the wife will be happy since she could spend every day at Fort Zach!)