Dantheengineer
Contributor
G'day all,
has any one been to the Arimoroa recently? Can you tell me if it's still:-
{ARIMOROA
This 260 foot Lebanese freighter is also known as the Freighter Wreck, or
the Egg Island Wreck. While en route from South America to Europe, this
steel hulled vessel was run purposely aground in May of 1970. It is not
known why, but a fire started in her galley, and spread with such speed and
fury that her captain decided to save the crew by heading at full steam
toward the nearest visible land, Egg Island. At the time of this unfortunate
accident, the Arimoroa was carrying a cargo of guano-based fertilizer. All
of her crew made it to land without injury.
The fire continued smoldering for almost three months. During this time
sea water flushed her high-phosphate cargo out through the ship's cracked
keel. For a few years afterwards, the surrounding area became barren as
the high phosphate levels poisoned the reef's normal variety of sea life.
Today, the badly burnt rusting remains of the Arimoroa sit perfectly upright
in 25 feet of water on a hard limestone bottom. From a distance the
Arimoroa looks like a ship at anchor, but on closer inspection it is easy to
see that she will never sail again. All around the main wreckage is a debris
field composed of steel hull plates, deck winches and various other machinery.
One of the most intriguing aspects of this wreck is the impressive amount
of fish that now congregate around her hull. Desi Stephens, a local dive
operator, reports seeing schools of 50 to 100 gray angels, an amount that
is extremely unusual for this species. Other inhabitants include dozens of
yellow stingrays, snappers, groupers and huge parrot fish. This drastic turn
around of aquatic life has been studied by scientists from the University of
Miami, the Rosenstiel School and the Florida Institute of Technology. They
have so far counted over 60 species of fish. Some specialists say that it's
due to the organic qualities of her fertilizer cargo, but whatever the reason,
the fish seen on this site will certainly impress even the most seasoned
Caribbean diver.}
or has a hurricane killed it yet?
has any one been to the Arimoroa recently? Can you tell me if it's still:-
{ARIMOROA
This 260 foot Lebanese freighter is also known as the Freighter Wreck, or
the Egg Island Wreck. While en route from South America to Europe, this
steel hulled vessel was run purposely aground in May of 1970. It is not
known why, but a fire started in her galley, and spread with such speed and
fury that her captain decided to save the crew by heading at full steam
toward the nearest visible land, Egg Island. At the time of this unfortunate
accident, the Arimoroa was carrying a cargo of guano-based fertilizer. All
of her crew made it to land without injury.
The fire continued smoldering for almost three months. During this time
sea water flushed her high-phosphate cargo out through the ship's cracked
keel. For a few years afterwards, the surrounding area became barren as
the high phosphate levels poisoned the reef's normal variety of sea life.
Today, the badly burnt rusting remains of the Arimoroa sit perfectly upright
in 25 feet of water on a hard limestone bottom. From a distance the
Arimoroa looks like a ship at anchor, but on closer inspection it is easy to
see that she will never sail again. All around the main wreckage is a debris
field composed of steel hull plates, deck winches and various other machinery.
One of the most intriguing aspects of this wreck is the impressive amount
of fish that now congregate around her hull. Desi Stephens, a local dive
operator, reports seeing schools of 50 to 100 gray angels, an amount that
is extremely unusual for this species. Other inhabitants include dozens of
yellow stingrays, snappers, groupers and huge parrot fish. This drastic turn
around of aquatic life has been studied by scientists from the University of
Miami, the Rosenstiel School and the Florida Institute of Technology. They
have so far counted over 60 species of fish. Some specialists say that it's
due to the organic qualities of her fertilizer cargo, but whatever the reason,
the fish seen on this site will certainly impress even the most seasoned
Caribbean diver.}
or has a hurricane killed it yet?
