USS America to be sunk

[Hoosier]

Yes, the ship has been at anchor at the Phliadelphia harbor since 1996. And, Navy claimed that they have gotten rid of any on board materials to pollute environment. I don't check it by myself though So, anybody want a real challenge here? 1800m=just more than one mile.

 

[DivePartner1]

Well there is a contradiction here. . . .It seems to me it should be possible to clean the ship to a reasonable degree and then run the same live fire excercises in water shallow enough for the ship to serve as an artifical reef.

I understand that they don't have the option of cleaning it to a reasonable degree. Treaties and US laws drive the EPA to require the Navy to scrub the inside and remove miles of harmless cable -- disrupting PCBs to 'save it'. Strikes me as silly, like removing perfectly good asbestos insulation that would be harmless if not fiddled with.

It takes years of complexity to get permission to 'reef' great ships and its not a zero sum game -- look at Texas's whining over the carrier to be placed off Pensacola. Anyway, they'd never do so with a ship that they use as a target (any range is littered with unexploded ordnance).

But the Navy can't legally just dump it either so they have a "Sink Ex" -- they load it up with sensors, put it somewhere deep and have more fun then is otherwise possible without getting shot at.

 

[WJL]

In addition to the potential problems with the unexploded ordinance, the Navy probably doesn't want to make it easy for OPFOR to examine the wreck to judge the effects of the various ordinance packages on the hull. The Navy might prefer that few people know exactly what a Zodiac full of C4 will do to a CVS hull.

 

[DivePartner1]

I suspect a carrier would fair far better than a destroyer, but good point.

 

[sinkorswim]

The Navy is going to be using everything from a tugboat (just like the USS Cole) to unmanned submersibles to test the effects of high explosives on the America for development of the next CVN 21 series of aircraft carriers. No matter how much they dismantle the America there will still be asbestos, and PCB's shaken loose from the shock waves from the H.E. The flight deck has been totally stripped, and last I knew the guys from MSDU 1 were going to play with it too, before it goes down.

 

[Wijbrandus]

I was hoping it would become a diver-friendly wreck, but alas, it is not to be.

Hopefully, they will learn some things from this test. I'm not sure I'd want to dive a wreck this big that was made "diver-friendly" through the use of explosives. All those sharp edges and shattered hull sections would make for a decidedly "unfriendly" environment, I think.

 

[Hoosier]

In recent days, especially after 9/11, it is a ridiculous challenge to discuss right and wrong about the appropriate cleansing out ship. As reported, the ship will used as a target of the terrorist attacks and bomb test. What do you expect? Do you think anybody can speak out the environment issue in Pentagon or White house right now? Get real divers!

 

[trickz_29]

hey new to diving and am wondering why would the navy sink it soo deep instead of an artificial reef? IT would make a good dive site in shallower water..

 

[dlndavid]

hey new to diving and am wondering why would the navy sink it soo deep instead of an artificial reef? IT would make a good dive site in shallower water..

Undetinated explosives may be present.

 

[trickz_29]

very true explosives may be present but then why would they use torpedoes to sink it if they were on it? It really doesn't make sense. thanks