Sink the VANDENBERG! Reefing Advocates Celebrate Acquisition of Funds

The Key West City Commission has voted to appropriate $1.3 million to complete the funding for the reefing of the USNS HOYT S. VANDEBERG. The ten year effort to reef the former troop carrier and cold-war missile tracker has apparently come to a successful conclusion. The diverse group of individuals which formed the “Artificial Reefs of the Keys,” an organization conceived, designed and financed specifically to bring the Vandenberg to the Florida Keys and sink the vessel as an artificial reef, are today claiming victory. Reefing advocate Sheri Lohr told MarEx this morning, “We’re going to the shipyard!”

Following shipyard preparations and cleaning operations, The Vandenberg will be reefed six miles off Key West. With only one dissenting vote from the Key West City Commission, and overwhelming local support for the project, Wednesday’s meeting in Old City Hall reportedly erupted into an impromptu celebration when the decision was announced. The intentional reefing of the Vandenberg could take place as early as May of 2008 and there is still a chance that Key West might not have to ante up for the final $1.3 million because additional funding from the state of Florida might be forthcoming. The total cost of the project is put at $5.7 million.

The ex-USAFS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg was first commissioned as the troop transport USNS Gen. Harry Taylor. The ship saw service in WWII, the Hungarian Revolution, and the Cold War. After decommissioning, it even starred in a popular motion picture. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, it served as a missile tracker or “range instrumentation vessel,” stationed for much of that time in Port Canaveral, Florida. Its professional mariners were provided by the Military Sealift Command.

According to the Vandenberg reefing project’s sponsors, all of the federal and state permits to facilitate the lawful reefing of the vessel are in place. And while Reefing Advocate Joe Weatherby concedes that the full suite of toxins normally found on other vessels also exists on the Vandenberg, he also says that they have matched their funding requirements to that which would ensure the through cleaning of the vessel prior to reefing.

As an artificial reef, the ship will not only be a recreational resource for divers and fishermen, but will serve as an underwater classroom for the Florida Keys Community College, and be a platform for ground-breaking research in reef monitoring as mandated by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Management Plan. The ship's distinguished history will continue in its final disposition as a recreational, educational and scientific resource. Joe Weatherby explains, “The Vandenberg has commercial value to the Keys and its proposed reefing position will take recreational traffic pressure off of the only living coral reef in the country and take it onto the artificial platform.”

The ship that transported thousands of US servicemen in time of war and later also tracked cold war missiles will now provide additional service as an underwater, artificial reef. The US Maritime Administration will also be happy, no doubt, to see another one of their obsolete reserve fleet hulls head off for proper disposal. Useful in time of war, instrumental in preventing future conflicts, the Vandenberg will now rest in peace and continue her faithful service to a grateful nation.

Visit the Vandenberg Reefing Site at: http://www.bigshipwrecks.com