WATCH: It took mere minutes for a former navy vessel to be sunk in BC waters today, after a lengthy legal battle. Jeremy Hunka reports.
Dozens of onlookers turned out Saturday afternoon to watch as demolition crews sent a former Canadian warship to its watery resting place off the B.C. coast.
The Artificial Reef Society of BC sunk the former Canadian navy destroyer HMCS Annapolis in Halkett Bay off Gambier Island on Saturday.
“I’m just elated — it went down perfectly,” said society director Larry Reeves shortly after the sinking, which took place on Saturday.
“It’s a huge sense of accomplishment and relief that it’s finally over.”
It took less than two minutes from the time the explosive charges were set off for the decommissioned warship to sink.
The sound of cheers and boat horns filled the smoke-filled air as the ship’s bow finally slipped under the water.
Earlier this month a federal court ruling cleared the way for the sinking, ruling against environmentalists who argued the ship’s paint was toxic.
The HMCS Annapolis served in the Canadian Navy for more than 30 years before being decommissioned in 1998 and sold to the artificial reef society 10 years later.
This is the seventh ship sunk by the artificial reef society in B.C. waters.
Artificial Reef Society of BC spokesman Rick Wall said the ship will be used for underwater habitat renewal and as a destination for recreational divers.
Information on the sinking is available at the ARSBC website.
-with files from Canadian Press
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