in2Scuba Maui
Registered
Here is a Newspaper article. They sunk it Tuesday
LAHAINA West Maui will say au revoir to the
Carthaginian II Tuesday, when it will be towed to a
spot off Puamana and sunk for an artificial reef.
This will keep the Carthaginian in Lahainas waters
where she belongs, while improving the quality of our
sub tour, said Jim Walsh, general manager of owner
Atlantis Submarines Maui. Its a good solution for
the community.
The Board of Land and Natural Resources completed a
lease agreement for submerged state lands on Friday,
the last of many governmental permits needed to create
an artificial reef from the veteran sailing vessel.
Atlantis has not much time to get the work done. As
part of its environmental impact review, Atlantis
agreed to a condition requested by the Hawaiian
Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary not
to sink the ship during whale season, which by state
law begins on Thursday and runs through May 15.
The old ship is in such bad condition that there is
concern that a heavy south swell might sink it at its
moorings in Lahaina Harbor.
Such disasters have happened before. The first
Carthaginian hit a reef and sank as it was being towed
out for repairs.
Todays ship, the Carthaginian II, was surveyed and
found to be in such bad shape that engineers doubted
it could be towed to Honolulu, the closest dockyard
capable of making repairs.
The Lahaina Restoration Foundation then sold the ship
to Atlantis in 2003, figuring to have it sunk on
purpose instead of by mishap. It has taken this long
to get the permits to do the work.
Atlantis has considerable experience in creating
artificial reefs. Off Waikiki, it has sunk an old Navy
tanker, a fishing boat and the hulls of two airplanes
to create homes where marine life can congregate.
Under nonexclusive leases of state submerged lands,
Atlantis can use the reefs as destinations for its
tourist submarines, but divers and even competing sub
tour companies can as well.
The site selected is 95 feet deep, about 3,100 feet
off Puamana Beach Park. There is no coral there now.
Later, Atlantis plans to construct a neighbor reef,
either finding other hulks or perhaps using engineered
structures.
We take great pride in being stewards of the marine
environment that Atlantis works in, so weve been
committed to doing this project the right way, said
Walsh.
This artificial reef will have a very positive impact
on Lahainas marine life.
The ship has already been cleaned of any hazardous
chemicals and will be stripped of any top hamper that
might create a hazard to navigation.
As the sinking date came nearer, a number of residents
and visitors expressed regret that Carthaginian II,
which had been a fixture at the harbor since 1973,
would no longer be there.
However, Carthaginian was never a real whaler. She was
a workaday cargo boat, doing nothing more romantic
than hauling fertilizer around the Baltic until she
was refitted with rigging to simulate a 19th-century
whaler and got a new career in Hawaii as a museum.
Atlantis has been running its submarine tour out of
Lahaina Harbor since 1991.
I am looking forward to getting out there on the site ASAP
Hope this helps
Ty Burnett
www.in2scuba.com
LAHAINA West Maui will say au revoir to the
Carthaginian II Tuesday, when it will be towed to a
spot off Puamana and sunk for an artificial reef.
This will keep the Carthaginian in Lahainas waters
where she belongs, while improving the quality of our
sub tour, said Jim Walsh, general manager of owner
Atlantis Submarines Maui. Its a good solution for
the community.
The Board of Land and Natural Resources completed a
lease agreement for submerged state lands on Friday,
the last of many governmental permits needed to create
an artificial reef from the veteran sailing vessel.
Atlantis has not much time to get the work done. As
part of its environmental impact review, Atlantis
agreed to a condition requested by the Hawaiian
Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary not
to sink the ship during whale season, which by state
law begins on Thursday and runs through May 15.
The old ship is in such bad condition that there is
concern that a heavy south swell might sink it at its
moorings in Lahaina Harbor.
Such disasters have happened before. The first
Carthaginian hit a reef and sank as it was being towed
out for repairs.
Todays ship, the Carthaginian II, was surveyed and
found to be in such bad shape that engineers doubted
it could be towed to Honolulu, the closest dockyard
capable of making repairs.
The Lahaina Restoration Foundation then sold the ship
to Atlantis in 2003, figuring to have it sunk on
purpose instead of by mishap. It has taken this long
to get the permits to do the work.
Atlantis has considerable experience in creating
artificial reefs. Off Waikiki, it has sunk an old Navy
tanker, a fishing boat and the hulls of two airplanes
to create homes where marine life can congregate.
Under nonexclusive leases of state submerged lands,
Atlantis can use the reefs as destinations for its
tourist submarines, but divers and even competing sub
tour companies can as well.
The site selected is 95 feet deep, about 3,100 feet
off Puamana Beach Park. There is no coral there now.
Later, Atlantis plans to construct a neighbor reef,
either finding other hulks or perhaps using engineered
structures.
We take great pride in being stewards of the marine
environment that Atlantis works in, so weve been
committed to doing this project the right way, said
Walsh.
This artificial reef will have a very positive impact
on Lahainas marine life.
The ship has already been cleaned of any hazardous
chemicals and will be stripped of any top hamper that
might create a hazard to navigation.
As the sinking date came nearer, a number of residents
and visitors expressed regret that Carthaginian II,
which had been a fixture at the harbor since 1973,
would no longer be there.
However, Carthaginian was never a real whaler. She was
a workaday cargo boat, doing nothing more romantic
than hauling fertilizer around the Baltic until she
was refitted with rigging to simulate a 19th-century
whaler and got a new career in Hawaii as a museum.
Atlantis has been running its submarine tour out of
Lahaina Harbor since 1991.
I am looking forward to getting out there on the site ASAP
Hope this helps
Ty Burnett
www.in2scuba.com
