65′ Long patrol boat deployed as artificial reef

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — A retired patrol boat is now sitting on the floor of the gulf, serving a new life as an artificial reef.

Teams departed from the tarpon dock drawbridge this morning, towing the 65-foot vessel.

A retired aluminum patrol vessel is the latest addition to the depths of the gulf.

The ‘G.D. Blomberg Memorial Reef’ was placed among 800 other artificial reefs Monday off the coast of Bay County.

“This is going to be another beautiful artificial reef spot for our divers and our anglers,” said UF/IFAS Coastal Resources Coordinator for Bay County Chantille Weber.

The vessel was owned by Hans Blomberg, the technical manager of dredging operations for Weeks Marine

“Mr. Blomberg worked for weeks marine, and they were the prime contractor for all dredge projects across the continental us. In his retirement, he acquired this patrol boat, completely gutted it, and was going to use it for local services. But instead, we were able to convince him to reef the vessel,” Weber said.

The 65-foot-long boat came from Crystal River.

Bay County officials have been planning for its deployment as a reef for about a year.

“Cleanup standards are prescribed by the EPA and also by NOAA and also by Florida Fish and Wildlife and so we adhere to those standards. Once that cleanup is completed, we use a contractor to do all that. Then we’re able to go ahead and submit that vessel for inspection,” said UF/IFAS County Extension Director Scott Jackson.

This last journey began when county officials met in Port St. Joe to pick up the boat.

It ended Monday, 130 feet underwater, about 29 nautical miles southwest of St. Andrew’s pass where crews sank the vessel.

The county spent $115,000 on the project.

“It’ll take probably anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours to sink the vessel. They’ll open up some of the valves in the boat already, and then augment that water coming into the vessel with pumps that they have available to them,” said Jackson.

Scuba divers monitored the sinking, along with crews above, who watched on go-pro cameras attached to the vessel.

“By putting these materials down, it’s creating a space for flora and fauna to establish closer to shore which makes everyone happy,” said Weber.

The ‘G.D. Blomberg Memorial Reef’ is located at 29° 40.797, -85°57.769′ and the link to other 800 artificial reefs can be found here .

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