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Diving for victory in NSW

Monday, February 22, 2010

Catherine Deshayes

Next month, New South Wales will have its very first artificial dive site when the warship HMAS Adelaide is sunk off the Central Coast near Terrigal - and the area is expecting a flood of tourists and divers keen to check out the new underwater ‘museum...'

Back in February 2007, the Australian Government announced that the ex-HMAS Adelaide warship would be gifted to the NSW Government for the purpose of creating an artificial reef and recreational dive site in waters off the New South Wales Central Coast near Terrigal.

As the only military wreck dive site in NSW, the project is expected to generate significant economic benefits for the Central Coast region in areas of tourism and hospitality. The creation of an artificial reef will also enhance marine biodiversity and provide significant marine research opportunities.

On 3 July 2009 the ship was officially handed over to the NSW Government. The £3 million major contract for the ship preparation and scuttling was awarded to McMahon Services Australia.

Next month, the ship will finally be sunk, creating the the first artificial dive site in NSW.

The warship is due to be sunk off Avoca Beach on March 27th, weather permitting and diving will start once the ship settles, which is expected to be about two weeks later.

There will be six moorings around the ship, four of which will be managed by a soon-to-be appointed commercial operator. The final two moorings will be available to private recreational divers.

The ex-HMAS Adelaide - the "ex" is added on decommissioning - is the sixth warship to become a dive site in Australia.

The most recent sinking was in Victoria late last year, when the ex-HMAS Canberra was given a new home 28 metres below the surface off Ocean Grove on the Bellarine Peninsula.

Central Coast tourism operators are hoping the Adelaide will prove as much a boon to the area as the Canberra has been to the Bellarine Peninsula.

When appointed, the site's commercial operator will also handle bookings for private dives. The ship's website has details of tours to Avoca Beach for the scuttling.

Check out hmasadelaide.com to read more.

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Picture by The Library of Congress