Clean Up the Wreck

Wrecks are “cleaned” with two main aims in mind: to make them “environmentally safe” and “diver safe.” Wrecks can pose a threat not only to the environment but also to divers. To minimize these threats, wrecks must be checked, and to the degree that this is possible, these risks must be eliminated.
To make a wreck “environmentally safe” all potentially toxic substance must be removed from a vessel before it is sunk. These would include hydrocarbon residues, especially those still in a ship’s fuel tanks, heavy metals, PCBs (Polychlorobiphenyls) from any refrigeration equipment, and any anti-vegetative paints which by design pose a threat to marine life.
To make the wreck “diver safe,” all objects and structures that could prove dangerous during a recreational dive, have to be removed or modified. Metal wires are removed, access to confined areas is denied, all portholes are either removed or sealed, and wide openings are cut in the structure to allow for a constant view of the outside of the wreck.

Positioning the wreck

The final step requires placing the wreck at the target site, in an orientation and position that has been previously agreed to as the best one possible.
The scuttling of the ship is generally supervised by a government environmental protection agency and carried out by specialized firms who use explosives to sink the wreck in a pre-selected position with a minimum of impact on the local environment. Once it reaches the bottom the wreck is marked with a buoy to mark its location and to facilitate surface identification.


Monitoring Program

Now, as the new environment begins its journey towards stability, the only thing left for human beings to do is wait, and watch. Observation will yield an account of the various benthic organisms settling into their new habitat, of which fish species will be the first to move in, and of the interactions that occur between the different organisms. The best way to observe this sequence of events is to dive the new site at regular intervals, and to record existing changes to organisms, either invertebrate or fish, in, or around the wreck.