BY ANN HENSON
Staff Writer
Upper Keys Reporter

Representatives from Monroe County, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce said Friday evening that by Monday, May 20, the Spiegel Grove would be righted and completely submerged in 130 feet of water.

The ship sank unexpectedly at 9 a.m. Friday, May 17, at Dixie Shoal, about six miles offshore of Key Largo. 

Local dive shop owner Spencer Slate, who led the effort from its beginning, resigned from the project following the sinking. He did so because, according to a source close to the project, engineers handling the sinking were not listening to his and other project members’ concerns. 

“We were flooding the ship intentionally, just prior to placing the [explosive] charges to take out the port of the ship,” said George Garrett, director of marine resources for the county. 

“It filled too fast for us and we asked everyone to leave,” he said. “It went down where it was supposed to, but not the way we wanted.”

During a press conference Garrett said all were in agreement on the plan and the timing. 

The stern of the ship is resting on the bottom but trapped air is keeping the bow up, a few feet out of the water. 

Officials could not say for certain if the 510-foot ship was bobbing. Dive teams were being called in to examine the situation.

However, it is a navigational hazard and must be sunk, said Dave Score, Upper Keys sanctuary manager. The tugboat that brought the ship from Virginia remains onsite and will shine spotlights on the ship until it is righted and sunk.

All 40 volunteers working aboard the vessel are accounted for and no one was injured, said Stephen Frink, representing the Key Largo Camber of Commerce.

“This project it not over yet,” Frink said. “We’re going to expend whatever resources are necessary to pay for this.”

The artificial reef committee has a balance of $65,000. The committee had $1.1 million for the project. Frink said there was no insurance coverage for sinking the vessel. 

He added that the purchase of commemorative medallions would help fund the project. 

The officials chalked up the problems to inexperience at sinking such a large ship. They said the strong current and light winds made the ship turtle or flip over.

Three South Florida marine salvage companies are in Key Largo looking at the job and coming up with a plan and estimates.

But a former Navy man said he knows how to right the ship.

Michael Paul, of Hurley, New York, served on the Spiegel Grove from 1985 until she was decommissioned in 1989. “I was in charge of all deck operations including flooding and launching of craft,” he said.

“I don’t know what they did, but it can easily be righted within 72 hours, after that she’ll be beyond recovering.”

Paul said he came to Key Largo to view the sinking. “I was going to go out on the public relations boat, I got ripped off.”

He said he works in construction and demolition in New York and would be glad to help; he knows the inner workings of the ship. “She was designed to partially sink,” he said. 

The Spiegel Grove was to become an artificial reef and the largest ship ever intentionally sunk. 

Project officials believed it would take pressure off the natural reef, become a dive attraction and bring in millions of dollars to the local economy. Sinking the ship has been a nearly eight-year process, with mounting problems, red tape and expenses. 

“This is just a hiccup, will maybe a burp,” Frink said. 

Ann Henson covers state and Monroe County government, environment, Key Largo and is the editor of the Reporter’s website. She can be reached at 852-3216 or by e-mail at amhenson@keysreporter.com

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By Kevin Wadlow Senior Staff Writer 
May 18, 2002
kwadlow@keynoter.com

Moments after escaping the sinking Spiegel Grove, dozens of volunteer workers started chanting – "No! No! No!" – as the great ship rolled onto its side off Key Largo.

The 510-foot retired Navy transport ship kept rolling around 10 a.m. Friday, "turning turtle" until it capsized completely.

"You could hear a collage of groans from all the boats out there," said Mike Edgerton of the Key Largo Volunteer Fire Department. "There was a lot of disappointment."

"It was eerie," said Edgerton, who used the department dive team’s inflatable boat to carry Monroe County Commissioner Murray Nelson off the sinking ship.

At press time Friday, the Spiegel Grove remained partially afloat, the rusty hull of the bow protruding from the water like a new volcanic island.

Coordinators of the scuttling project were in talks with mainland salvage companies about plans to prevent the Spiegel Grove from sinking completely while in an upside-down position.

"The fat lady hasn’t sung quite yet," said Stephen Frink. "We remain committed to making this the world’s best dive-able wreck. We will not consider the Spiegel Grove project to be complete until it’s upright or at least lying on its side."

Monroe County Marine Resources Director George Garrett said after talking with salvage experts, "There is a general assessment that they might be able to get it upright, certainly on its side. There are people who do this, and this is doable."

Over this weekend, additional tug boats – the number remained uncertain Friday – are expected to arrive at the sinking site about 5.5 miles off Key Largo in an apparent attempt to pull the ship over.

"We know we need help and we have the resources to pay for it," Frink said. "This is big [trouble] but we are going to overcome it."

The Spiegel Grove remains at its intended sinking site and has not damaged any sensitive marine resources, said Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary regional manager Dave Score.

The Spiegel Grove was expected to sink in an upright position sometime between 1 and 2 p.m. Friday. As the ship rested at anchor after reaching the Keys early Tuesday, workers spent more than three days preparing it for sinking. Dangerous passageways were sealed while other areas were cut open to create divers’ escape points.

A crew of about 40 to 50 people planned to finish final work and leave the Spiegel Grove by noon Friday.

Shortly before 10 a.m. Friday, workers saw water quickly creeping over the open transom and up the expansive wooden well deck that once held landing craft.

Word began to spread that the ship was taking on water faster than expected. All doubt was removed when a portable toilet floated out the transom, said several workers.

"The flooding was an intentional activity, but it flooded a little bit too fast for us," Garrett said.

"They wanted to bring the ship down 4 or 5 feet into the water, but it didn’t stop there," said Mike Hutchings of TowBoat/US-Key Largo. "It happened extremely quickly."

Project managers sounded the emergency evacuation signal – five blasts on an air-horn.

"There was no panic," said volunteer James Van Fleet. "It was hectic but orderly. They went over emergency drills every day we were out there."

Most of the crew made it aboard the tug Portsmith, while some boarded other boats involved in the operation. Coordinators double-checked all the names against a crew manifest. No injuries were reported.

"We all worked on the buddy system so nobody got left behind," said Grace Sjoblom. "There did a great job making sure everyone was accounted for."

"People started throwing their bags and trying to get as much stuff off the ship as possible," said dive instructor Adam DiSanto.

A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office helicopter landed on the ship helipad – about five stories above the keel – to remove several volunteers. By then, water was lapping at the helipad and the ship was starting to list, said pilot Mike Pandol.

"I’ve never had to land on a slope like that," said Pandol, a retired military pilot. "Once we put down, the helicopter started to slide down the deck. We got out of there as quickly as possible. It got pretty exciting there."

Despite the unexpectedly early sinking, the massive vessel seemed to be headed to the bottom as planned. Organizers always wanted to sink the stern first, then bring the rest of the ship down to the 130-foot deep sea floor.

"I thought it was going down perfectly," said former Spiegel Grove crewman Gene Dambra of Long Island, who was volunteering for Friday’s cleanup.

"Straight as hell," said Hutchings. "But the bow was still full of air, and it seemed to pivot."

As the bow lifted an estimated 40 feet out of the water, currents and wind seemingly pushed the ship onto its starboard side. It slid into the water, then rolled belly-up.

While all the volunteers made it off the ship, a large amount of equipment apparently did not. Several compressors, two welding machines and an undetermined number of cutting torches were described as lost.

The Spiegel Grove will be lighted and marked as a navigational hazard. A 500-yard patrolled safety zone remains in place for the next few days.

Organizers could not say Friday when the attempt to turn the ship would be made, but expect it to be by Monday.

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May 18, 2002

The ship that took forever to get to the Florida Keys apparently couldn't wait any longer to become an artificial reef.

Spiegel Grove, a 510-foot decommissioned Navy landing ship transport, sank ahead of schedule Friday morning, turning upside down in 130 feet of water six miles off Key Largo.

It took nearly eight years to get the vessel from a Virginia shipyard to Key Largo, as legal and environmental concerns delayed the project. Spiegel Grove finally arrived in the Keys on Tuesday and was supposed to be sunk Friday afternoon.

Water was put into the ship soon after its arrival to get it partially submerged. Four explosive charges were going to be placed in Spiegel Grove and detonated to create holes that would fill the rest of the ship with water and send it to the bottom between 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

A little after 10 a.m., Friday, before the explosives could be put on, Spiegel Grove started to sink and never stopped, turning over in the process, its bow poking about 20 feet out of the water.

About 50 people were on the ship at the time, but all of them got off safely. The U.S. Coast Guard was maintaining a 1,500-foot safety zone around the ship.

The task now facing project officials is how to get Spiegel Grove on the bottom and at least on its side, if not upright. According to project spokesman Andy Newman, the Monroe County Tourism Development Council flew out three salvage crews to survey the ship.

The crews were to meet with the project managers Friday to present their options and the cost of their salvage efforts. Newman said officials want to get the ship, which is intact and poses no environmental hazards, on the bottom "as quickly as possible."

"They've got a lot of work ahead of them," said Ken Banks, the manager of marine resources programs for the Broward County Department of Planning and Environmental Protection, who has been involved with the county's artificial reef program for 12 years. "They don't want it upside down."

Banks was not present at the sinking, but he said that when a ship rolls over as Spiegel Grove did, it's generally because of what he termed asymmetric flooding and/or asymmetric air release.

"It's important to get as much air out as water in," Banks said. "If you get one side flooded faster than the other side, it can roll over on you.

"Those big vessels, especially naval ones, can be tricky because they have a lot of compartments. Generally on a freighter, everything's symmetric," added Banks, who oversaw the sinking of a small freighter Tuesday to create a reef in 70 feet off Hollywood.

"If the bow is on the surface, that means there's air in there, so you've got to get divers to go in there with welders to cut holes and get the air out. Once the air comes out, the weight distribution of the ship will take over and it'll find some equilibrium."

Broward County has never had a ship land upside down, although Banks said some artificial reefs did hang up for a short time because of air in the bow or stern.

The Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo, which began today, has helped fund the sinking of more than two dozen artificial reefs off Pompano Beach. Rodeo executive director Patti Carr said all of those sinkings went smoothly, although she held her breath when the Rodeo sank its first reef in 1984. The Lowrance Reef was a
435-foot freighter that was sunk in 210 feet.

"The stern was up in the air for six minutes before it went down," Carr said, "and I had visions of it being there forever, being a monument in Pompano Beach."

The plan was for Spiegel Grove to sit upright on the bottom. The ship's top three levels would have been 40-60 feet below the water's surface, making it suitable for novice divers. The deck would have been 110 feet under the surface.

If the ship ends up on its side it will still be a good dive. Spiegel Grove is 84 feet at its widest, which would put it within 50 feet of the surface.

Steve Waters can be reached at swaters@sun-sentinel.com or at 954-356-4648.

Copyright (c) 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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BY SUSAN COCKING
Miami Herald

May 18, 2002

The decommissioned U.S. Navy ship touted as the largest ever to be sunk deliberately as an artificial reef refused to go all the way to the bottom Friday off Key Largo.

Workers were pumping the 510-foot, 6,880-ton Spiegel Grove full of water Friday morning, preparing to blast holes in the hull when it began sinking much faster than expected.

The estimated 40 to 50 mostly volunteer workers were forced to abandon ship quickly into three waiting boats. They screamed, ''No, no!'' as the ship went down stern first, then flipped over, leaving about 50 feet of the bow sticking up out of the water upside down. No one was injured, but thousands of dollars worth of tools and equipment were lost.

''The lower deck all of a sudden started to fill up with water,'' said Julie Schramm, a volunteer worker from Miami. ``The stern started to sink. Within a matter of minutes, the water went about 60 feet up. A [portable toilet] started floating away. From the time we got off till [the ship] flipped over was about 15 minutes.''

Captain Harry Welch, who took 20 people to safety aboard the Starfish Enterprise, said no one panicked.

''It was like a well-rehearsed fire drill in school,'' Welch said.

The crew of the tugboat Portsmouth that towed the Spiegel Grove down to Key Largo from Norfolk, Va., on Tuesday attempted to right it by attaching lines to the anchor chain on the bow, but that didn't work.

The upside down hulk bobbed on its four anchors in 130 feet of water about six miles off Key Largo, looking like a breaching whale minus the spray.

Dave Score, manager of the Upper Keys region of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, said the ship caused no environmental damage.

''It's in the location we selected,'' Score said. ``There has been no impact to sanctuary sensitive resources at this point. We need to get it oriented the right way on the bottom.''

Officials vowed at a news conference Friday afternoon to keep trying to make the ship go down upright or on its side.

''This whole thing is a massive community effort, and no one's going to abandon it,'' said Stephen Frink, a member of the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce's artificial reef committee. ``We'll take whatever resources are necessary to put it on the bottom. We're still trying to sink this vessel upright, but if it lands on its side, we can live with that.''

The worst possible scenario would be for the ship to rest bottom up, because it would be largely inaccessible to all but highly-trained scuba divers with experience in penetrating hazardous overhead environments.

Plans were under way Friday night to light the wreck, either with a buoy or by having the tug shine a spotlight on it, so that it wouldn't pose a hazard to navigation.

Meanwhile, representatives of three South Florida salvage companies flew over the wreck site in helicopters Friday afternoon and planned to meet with Score and the co-commanders of the sinking operation, George Garrett and Rob Bleser. Garrett, Frink and Score declined to discuss possible ways of righting the vessel.

The eight-year effort to sink the Spiegel Grove has already cost more than $1 million, and that figure is likely to rise with the cost of a salvage operation. But according to a business plan filed by the chamber with the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and County Commission, the wreck is expected to draw 50,000 divers each year and generate $14 million for the local economy.

''Our intent is to make this the best artificial reef ever,'' Frink declared.

The Spiegel Grove, part of a class of Navy vessels known as a landing ship dock carrying troops and landing craft, was chosen to become an artificial reef because of its massive size and complexity.

Five of the vessel's 10 decks, including its cavernous well deck, were drilled with holes and strung with safety lines for diver access. The ship's lower levels were sealed off to keep divers from getting lost. The top-most level would have stuck up to within 40 feet of the surface so that snorkelers and glass-bottom boat riders could see it.

One of the most ballyhooed events in recent memory in the Keys, the sinking drew some of the sailors who served aboard the Spiegel Grove before its decommissioning in 1989.

Gene Dambra, an electrician's mate who sailed from 1969 to 1970, was shooting photos aboard the Spiegel Grove on Friday morning when it began to sink. He left his camera in his haste to abandon ship.

Dambra of New York said he was sorry that the ship went down prematurely but glad it ended up at sea.

''It's going to produce fish. It's going to be a coral reef,'' he said. ``That's better than sitting in a mothball fleet or going to a scrap yard to make razor blades.''

© 2001 miami and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miami.com 

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By Willie Howard, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 18, 2002

KEY LARGO -- The 510-foot Navy transport ship Spiegel Grove was already the darling of the Keys dive community.

After eight years of planning and nearly $1 million, the retired Navy ship was scheduled to be scuttled Friday afternoon to create the nation's largest artificial reef before a crowd of dignitaries and the media.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Around 10 a.m., as workers were filling the ship with water and preparing it for the explosives that would send it 130 feet to the bottom, the ship began sinking. An emergency evacuation was ordered, and within 20 minutes the Spiegel Grove had gone down on its own terms, hit bottom and rolled over in the current. 

Upside down. Stern on the bottom and about 60 feet of its bow -- propped up by the super structure -- protruding above the surface like some gigantic steel teeter-totter.

"After eight years of work and all this donated time, it was sort of heartbreaking to see that happen," said Monroe County Commissioner Murray Nelson, who was on the ship congratulating volunteers for their work when everyone had to scramble to safety.

Officials with Monroe County and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary have called in marine salvage companies to evaluate. They know they must finish sinking the 6,880-ton ship, probably by Monday, and still hold out hope that they can roll it onto its side or its bottom as originally intended.

If the ship remains upside down, it is likely to be less appealing, less accessible and more dangerous for the divers it was sunk to attract. The upside-down configuration also could make the ship more susceptible to being moved or breaking up in a hurricane, an outcome that could damage nearby natural reefs.

The unexpected twist has not stopped dive shops and hotels from putting up "Dive the Spiegel Grove" signs in Key Largo. But it has attracted national attention. Fox News on Friday carried footage of the hulking bow above the headline: "Oops."

For now, the bow will be lighted at night and patrol boats will remain at the site to keep boats at least 500 feet away. The boat is in its intended place on sand near Dixie Shoal and is being held in place by four large anchors.

Stephen Frink, a member of the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce Artificial Reef Committee, said the incident will simply delay the celebration of the end of a long-term project. He said such problems often occur with ship scuttlings.

"This is a hiccup... a burp, maybe it's a burp," Frink said. "The Key Largo community is absolutely dedicated to making this the shipwreck it was intended to be."

Nelson said the sinking glitch might wind up to be a good thing in terms of attracting divers to the Keys. "This may work out to our advantage because bad news travels faster than good," he said.

The plan was to fill the ballast tanks on the ship, an LSD -- for Landing Ship, Dock -- set off a series of charges below deck and have the ship sink stern-first and land upright. 

But the cantankerous vessel started sinking before the charges were even in place.

Launched in 1955, the ship was named, as were all the ships of that class, for the estate of a former president, in this case, the Ohio estate of President Rutherford B. Hayes. It was decommissioned in 1989 and languished as part of the "mothball fleet" on the James River in Virginia until the plan to resurrect it as a reef was hatched.

Despite the upside-down flop, officials continued with a celebratory cruise Friday aboard a glass-bottom boat, complete with food and a commemorative cake. Among those on the cruise were former members of the Spiegel Grove crew.

Michael Paul of Hurley, N.Y., who helped decommission the ship, and fellow crewman Todd Wandel of Orlando said the Spiegel Grove was a temperamental ship, prone to breaking down and spending months in port for repairs. 

Paul said he was not surprised when the ship did not cooperate on its final mission.

"Metaphorically, it's so typical."

willie_howard@pbpost.com

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By Rich McKay
(Orlando) Sentinel Staff Writer

May 18, 2002

KEY LARGO -- The 510-foot USS Spiegel Grove was supposed to wait until the explosives went off, then sink quietly below the waves to become the first artificial reef in a national sanctuary.

But things don't always go as planned on the open waters, and the Cold War-era Navy transport ship went down too quickly and got stuck Friday, its stern resting on the ocean floor 160 feet down and its bow bloated with trapped air, arching toward the sky.

It's in a precarious spot: Unless quickly sunk, the ship that is eight stories tall could turn into an ecological battering ram on the delicate Dixie Shoal reef, six-tenths of a mile away.

Project organizers such as Rob Bleser said Friday afternoon that they won't let that happen -- they aren't resting until the ship is safely anchored on the sea floor.

"We're working on it right now," he said in a hoarse voice.

But the 71/2-year, $1.1 million effort to sink the ship as a divers attraction could be wasted if the Spiegel Grove sinks upside-down. Then, it won't be safe for diving.

Early Friday evening, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which controls the area, was rushing salvage experts to the scene six miles offshore, and the Coast Guard was scrambling to light the gray metal pyramid protruding from the water.

The culprit in the untimely sinking was seawater. More than 12,000 tons or 1.7 million gallons filled the ship's tanks, and more was pumped into the inner decks. The weight was supposed to help the ship glide gracefully to the ocean floor after the charges pierced its steel skin. More than 100 holes -- each 4 feet wide,  cut into the ship to create access for divers -- were to hasten the drop.

Bleser decided early Friday to fill the well deck in the stern of the ship as well. Dive-shop owner Spencer Slate, who spearheaded the project, hotly opposed the idea when it came up about 9:30 a.m. Friday at the scene of the sinking.

At the time, welders were still finishing up work and cabin doors were open. A boat carrying plastic explosives and the demolition team was on the way.

But water moved into areas of the ship "that we hadn't planned," Bleser said.

A dozen surprised workers dropped their tools and fled as the ship began to go down, stern first, about 10 a.m. A tugboat carried them to safety.

"For a while, there was some tears and concern about where our divers were," said Pam Baker, an employee of Ocean Divers in Key Largo, which had sent volunteers to work on the project. A head count confirmed everyone was all right.

Grace Sjoblom, a welder who was on the ship, said several co-workers had to leave expensive equipment behind when the warning went out that the ship was sinking.

"It was scary. You don't know how fast it's going to go down," she said.

The big question, however, is: What now?

Four anchors are holding the Spiegel Grove in place, but a marine sanctuary spokesman acknowledged that a squall could drive the ship into the very reefs it was to protect by diverting divers from the fragile ecosystem.

One idea is for tugboats to attach cables and try to roll the ship so it would sink on its side, said Andy Newman, a spokesman for the project.

"Getting it on its side will at least help save the project as a dive," he said.

Late Friday, it was unclear whether the ship could be turned to sink properly or whether the debacle would eliminate future artificial-reef projects in national sanctuaries.

Slate, who originated the idea to help jump-start Key Largo's tourism economy, had retreated to a room above his dive shop Friday night and wouldn't talk. Just the evening before, he was the center of attention at a Spiegel Grove party held at the local Buzzard's Roost. He spent years fending off naysayers, cajoling officials and begging for money to sink the workhorse ship that recovered the space-capsule splashdowns of the Mercury and Apollo astronauts.

When victory seemed in his grasp, he boasted on a local radio station that everyone who said it would never be done could kiss his fanny.

Underwater wildlife is popular with scuba divers, who are a $33 million per year industry in the Florida Keys. Already, big-dollar dive trips that were to start next week to the Spiegel Grove had been paid for. Now they're on hold.

Slate knows he's not a scientist, but he says if there are too many people on the reefs, give them something else to dive to. He had the backing of the marine sanctuary, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and Spiegel vets.

Gene Dambra, 54, an electrician from Long Island, was an electrician's mate third class when he called the Spiegel Grove home three decades ago. He's not a diver or a sport fisherman. But he spotted a story about the Spiegel Grove in a divers magazine at a dentist's office.

"I had to drop everything and come here," he said. "This ship means a lot to me. It was home for two years. I never thought I'd miss all that powdered milk and those powdered eggs, the constant swaying of the ship. The noise of the engines.

"It was my first real step into the world."

The Spiegel Grove -- named for the Ohio home of President Rutherford B. Hayes -- was decommissioned in 1989 and sat in a Navy shipyard in Virginia for almost eight years.

Slate and the local chamber of commerce first tried to buy the ship in 1994. Marine biologists said turning the ship into an artificial reef would aid the region's endangered natural coral reefs. But the Environmental Protection Agency said the paint, wiring and other mechanics on the ship contained fire-retardant chemicals that were hazardous to the ocean.

In all, the project of cleaning, moving and sinking the ship cost $1.1 million, with money coming from Monroe County, a tourism-development group and the sale of commemorative dive medallions and pins.

Slate's pet project had its detractors, however.

Among the unlikely ones is dive-shop owner Ed Davidson, who makes his living off of divers and tourists.

"Artificial reefs aren't all motherhood and apple pie," Davidson said.

The problem, apart from the misaligned sinking, is that the sunken ship will lure mature fish to a concentrated area, where they're more likely to get caught. And the ship will draw thousands more divers to the area than normal, and they will probably go on to the natural reefs after visiting the Spiegel Grove, Davidson said.

By Friday afternoon, the tourism already had started.

A swarm of fishing and sightseeing boats circled around as the massive ship
bobbed and teetered in the waves.

But no one will get within 500 yards of the ship for now because the Coast Guard maintains a safety zone around it. But setting the ship right is up to the project organizers.

"We're going to come up with something," Bleser said. "We've got to."

Wire services contributed to this report. Rich McKay can be reached at rmckay@orlandosentinel.com or 386-253-2316.
Copyright (c) 2002, Orlando Sentinel

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Sat May 18, 1:03 PM ET 
By SABRA AYRES, Associated Press Writer 

Crews were making last-minute preparations for blowing holes in the Spiegel Grove to send it to the bottom of the sea on Friday when the unexpected happened: The ship started sinking by itself.

It ended up resting upside down in about 130 feet of water, its bow sticking up out of the sea six miles offshore.

The goal is to sink the vessel completely to create a new habitat for aquatic life.

"Our ultimate intent is to do what we intended to do from day one," Stephen Frink, a project organizer and member of the Chamber's Artificial Reef Committee, said Saturday. "We want to put this vessel on the bottom where it's supposed to be, upright, and to create the world's best artificial reef dive."

Monroe County officials are working on a plan to tip the ship on its side. They want to have its position corrected by Monday, said George Garrett, director of marine resources for the county.

The protruding bow is a hazard to boaters, and a 500-yard security zone has been set up around the vessel, Garrett said.

A tugboat carried crew members aboard the ship to safety, and a head count confirmed everyone was all right.

Grace Sjoblom, a welder who was on the ship, said several workers had to leave expensive equipment behind when the warning went out that the ship was sinking.

"It was scary. You don't know how fast it's going to go down," she said.

Water had been pumped into the ship for a few days to make it sit low in the water to make the sinking easier.

Salvage and tug companies were reviewing the area to help devise a strategy to fix the problem. One idea being considered was for tugboats to attach cables and pull the ship over on its side.

The cost of adjusting the Spiegel Grove's position wasn't immediately known, but the project still has community support and about $65,000 left over from its original cost, said Ed Lett, president of TIB Bank of the Keys and a member of the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce (news - web sites).

Marine biologists have said the ship is the largest ever intentionally sunk to create an artificial reef. Such reefs attract underwater wildlife and are popular with scuba divers, who already are a $33 million per year industry here.

The Spiegel Grove — named for the Ohio home of President Rutherford B. Hayes — was decommissioned in 1989 and sat in a Navy shipyard in Virginia for almost eight years.

In all, the project of cleaning, moving and sinking the ship cost $1 million, with money coming from Monroe County, a tourism development group and the sale of commemorative dive medallions and pins.
 

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Fri May 17, 1:14 PM ET 
By Jane Sutton 

KEY LARGO, Fla. (Reuters) - A rusting U.S. Navy "ghost" ship sank on its own off the Florida Keys on Friday several hours before islanders planned to scuttle it with explosives to create an artificial reef. 

Dozens of volunteers were still doing last-minute work aboard the 510-foot transport ship Spiegel Grove when it began flooding rapidly about 10 a.m. EDT, forcing them to abandon ship in tugboats and safety boats. 

"They scrambled to get everybody off the vessel, which they did," said Andy Newman, a spokesman for the tourism development agency participating in the sinking project. 

No explosives were on board the ship when it went down. The 6,880-ton hulk of rusting gray metal came to rest upside down, with the stern resting on the seabed and the tip of the bow visible above the waterline. 

The Spiegel Grove is the largest vessel ever deliberately sunk to create an artificial reef, intended as a nursery for the fishes and a playground for snorkelers and scuba divers. 

Workers had planned to set off small explosive charges in the ship's belly later on Friday, blowing holes in the bottom of the ship and allowing it to sink upright in 130 feet of water off Key Largo. 

With it resting hull-up, they hoped to at least roll it over on its side, Newman said.

The premature sinking was a disappointment for Key Largo residents. Dive shop owners, the local Chamber of Commerce (news - web sites) and the tourism development agency for Monroe County, which encompasses the Florida Keys island chain, spent eight years raising money, winning permits and persuading regulators to let them sink the decommissioned ship in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to foster reef development. 

Within six months, sunken vessels are usually coated with barnacles, sea urchins and soft algae that draws nibbling fish, which in turn draw larger ocean predators. Over a decade or so, they build up coral polyps that form the region's colorful coral reefs. 

BIG BUSINESS IN THE KEYS 

Snorkeling and scuba diving on sunken ships is big business for the tourism-dependent Keys. Some 3.1 million people visit the islands annually and 60 percent of them swim, snorkel, dive, fish or participate in some water sport, said Dave Score, manager for the part of the sanctuary where the ship lies. 

"Pretty much everybody in the keys, their livelihood is intricately linked to the marine environment here," he said. 

Built in 1956 and named for President Rutherford B. Hayes' Ohio estate, the Spiegel Grove saw active duty off Lebanon, in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean during the Cold War. 

It sat for a decade at a Navy shipyard on the James River in Virginia, one of 97 decommissioned "ghost ships" mothballed there until someone figures out what to do with them. 

Letting them sink on their own would be an environmental and navigational hazard. Maintaining them enough so they don't sink costs $20,000 a year per ship. And federal taxpayers would have to shell out $1.6 million per ship to send them to be cut up at scrap yards. 

So giving the ship to Florida, which passed title to Monroe County, was "a hell of a deal for all parties concerned," said Michael Bagley, superintendent for the Virginia ghost fleet. 

Islanders raised more than $1 million in local donations and tourism tax pledges for the project. Most of it went to hire contractors who spent 28,000 hours scrubbing and stripping the ship to prevent ocean contamination from fuel residue and now-banned chemicals in the lighting fixtures and wiring. 

The Coast Guard had certified it seaworthy, a requirement to ensure it didn't sink accidentally during the five days it took to tow it from Virginia to Florida earlier this month. 

While the cause of the early sinking was unknown, workers had been pumping sea water into the Spiegel Grove's 110 ballast tanks since Tuesday hoping to help it sink smoothly and upright. They said on Thursday that many of the ballast tanks were in such poor condition that the water was leaking into the wrong places and leaving air pockets in others. 

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Posted on Saturday, May 18 @ 09:04:09 EDT by divenews

Crews were busy preparing the Spiegel Grove to be sunk with explosives when the ship sank on its own and rolled to an inverted position. The Spiegel Grove is now upside down in about 130 feet of water. The ship's bow is jutting out of the sea six miles offshore near Dixie Shoals, Key Largo, Florida.

The Upper Keys Artificial Reef Committee and a team of experts is studying the situation to determine how to now sink the Spiegel Grove completely to create the new marine habitat as originally intended. Monroe County officials are busy working on a plan to tip the ship on its side. They want to have its position corrected by Monday according to George Garrett, director of marine resources for the county... 

The protruding bow is a hazard to boaters, and a 50-yard security zone has been set up around the vessel. A tugboat carried crew members aboard the ship to safety Friday. Grace Sjoblom, a welder who was on the ship, said several workers had to leave expensive equipment behind when the warning went out that the ship was sinking.``It was scary. You don't know how fast it's going to go down,'' she said.

Experts from marine salvage and tugboat companies are analyzing the area and the problem to help create a new plan that corrects the current problem. One suggestion is for tugboats to attach cables to the Spiegel Grove and pull the ship on to its side.

This early sinking has significantly added to the cost of this project. Despite the complication, there is still widespread public support for the project. The cost of adjusting the Spiegel Grove's position is not known at this time. There is still about $65,000 remaining in the Spiegel Grove fund according to Ed Lett, president of TIB Bank of the Keys and a member of the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce.

This ship is the largest ever intentionally scuttled to create an artificial reef. Artificial reefs such as this are becoming more popular and are being created around the world. Florida has been a leader in the area of artificial reefs. Studies show that the reefs do attract marine species and generate new underwater habitats. This in turn attracts scuba divers who already add about $33 million per year to businesses in the state of Florida.

The Spiegel Grove was named for the Ohio home of President Rutherford B. Hayes. The ship was was decommissioned in 1989 and sat in a Navy shipyard in Virginia for almost eight years until it was purchased for use as a reef.

Cleaning, moving and sinking the vessel has cost roughly $1 million. Funds have come from Monroe County, a tourism development group and the sale of commemorative dive medallions and pins. For photos of the Spiegel Grove including recent shots of its current situation visit : http://www.spiegelgrove.com. (Ed. note: the photos mentioned appear above on this page.)

Source: Newswire and SpiegelGrove.com

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May 14: History, photos, & Key Largo arrival 
May 17: Breaking news & photos of the sinking
May 18: More stories & sinking sequence photos
May 19: Early plans to right her are forming
May 20: Underwater photos & interactive graphic
May 21: Exclusive eyewitness story
May 22: Crew heads south to begin work
May 23: The Lana Rose is on the scene
May 24: Efforts delayed due to weather
May 25: Project Chairman resigns, then talks
May 26: Spiegel Grove is not the first...
May 27: Salvor reveals righting plans
May 31:  Rolling date set.  Graphics & map
June 1:   Volunteers help salvor
June 2:  Work nearing completion
June 4:  A Friday flip?
June 5:  Use your mouse to right the ship!
June 6:  Sinking moved to Monday
June 7:  Attaching the lift bags
June 8:  Weather changes plans
June 9:  Tugboats arrive for final preparation
June 10: She's on the roll...and goes down
June 11:  Salvors are done...she's on her 
               starboard side...and she is 
               WORLD FAMOUS!