Oct 15, 2009 3:06 pm US/Eastern
Sea Life Flourishing On Vandenberg Wreck Off Keys
KEY WEST (CBS4) ―
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The sunken USAF Gen. Hoyt S. Vandeberg is evolving as a marine ecosystem since being sunk to the bottom of the ocean off Key West about 5-months ago.
Florida Keys News Bureau
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Anticipation grows on ships surrounding the Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg as demolition experts prepare to send her to the bottom of the sea.
Jorge Estevez/CBS
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Spectators line the rail of a watch ship as demolition crews prepare to sink the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg off Key West.
CBS
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A wisp smoke is all that remains above the sea as the decommissioned Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg is sent to its new home on the ocean floor.
Jorge Estevez/CBS
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A new artificial reef opens in the Keys after officials sank the Vandenberg.
CBS
After nearly five months of resting on the ocean floor off Key West, the USAF Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg has become home to a number of underwater residents.
Since it was sunk last May the 527-foot former missile tracking ship, the second-largest ship in the world to be scuttled as an artificial reef, has become encrusted with several species of soft corals, a hairy mat of billowing polyps.
In addition to the corals, nearly 50 different species of fish have already taken up residence on the ship, according to the Reef Environmental Education Foundation which is involved monitoring the proliferation of sea life on the wreck.
"The growth has taken off just wonderfully," said Dive Key West instructor Jeremy Hansverger, who has observed the ship since it was sunk. "We have a bit of diversity of pretty much every kind of marine life on the Vandenberg."
Gray angelfish and butterfly fish have laid claim to the ships rudder and the anchor chain, while small triangular-shaped arrow crabs speed along the hull, scavenging for food.
Reef fish such as the parrotfish, yellow and blue tangs, barracuda as well as deep water dorado and the occasional sailfish attracted by clouds of bait that frequently school around the wreck have taken up residency on or around the ship. A pair of goliath grouper live in the bow section of the vessel.
"There's still a lot of buzz factor around this Vandenberg," Hansverger said. "The wreck dive itself is one of the most massive, intricate wreck dives you can do at this time."
Dive spots along the top of the superstructure are open and free from obstruction, ranging between 55 and 70 feet of the surface.
The Vandenberg sits upright approximately seven miles off Key West in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, its keel buried at 145 feet.
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