Sinking ships isn’t anything new but if your going to send something to the bottom purposefully then putting down a ship as great as the HMCS Cape Breton is a perfect plan.
Scuttled on October 20th, 2001 just off Snake Island near Nanaimo, BC. The ship came to rest upright with its keel at 42 meters (140ft), and the deck at around 21 meters (70ft).
Feather stars growing on the ship
The ship just prior to sinking
The Cape Breton was a Cape-class escort maintenance ship built in 1944 for the Royal Navy. The ship was initially named the HMS Flamborough Had, and was intended to operate with the British Pacific Fleet against Japan during World War II. After the war, Cape Breton was transferred to Royal Canadian Navy and later was acquired by the Artificial Reef Society.
As it rests on the bottom today the Cape Breton is world's second biggest artificial reef only eclipsed by the 44,000 ton aircraft carrier USS Oriskany off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, in 2006.
The marine life on and around this ship is truly astonishing, a diver and photographers paradise. Every inch of the ship is covered with life. Divers can find many fish species, anemones, sponges and invertebrates living on the outside and inside of the ship.
Creating artificial reefs by cleaning up and repurposing old ships creates habitat for marine life, adds an attraction for tourists in communities and provided historical talking pieces for those who might of served on one of these grand vessels.
Thanks for reading.
Scott
For more stories and images - http://www.scottstevensonphotography.ca/