Ocean Revival: The Final Ship Goes Down

Published 12 years agoon September 30, 2013

The Ocean Revival project, a new underwater reef system and marine habitat for divers visiting the Portuguese Algarve has now been completed with the sinking of the final ship on the sea bed. The sinking marks a very successful conclusion to a seven year project where four ex-navel ships have been scuttled to form a series of artificial reefs. The Hydrographic ship Ex-NRP Almeida de Carvalho A527 sank below the waves on Saturday 21^st September amidst great celebrations and applause from the extensive Ocean Revival team as well as excited onlookers.

Scubaverse’s very own Jeff Goodman, who was at the event, had this to say: “Cameras were working constantly from the small surrounding boats as a helicopter circled above taking aerial images. We had a five minute and then a one minute warning over the radio before the first of the explosive charges went off, shaking us all out of any daydreams we may have been having. The rest of the explosions followed immediately after, blowing debris and smoke into the air. Then silence. To everyone’s relief the bow slowly started to go under with the stern rising exactly according to plan.”

“As the last part of the stern disappeared in a mass of froth and bubbles we all were excited for the navy divers to do their check and then give us the OK to go down and have a look for ourselves.

“It’s quite strange diving on a ship you were looking at on the surface only a short while ago. It had already taken on quite a different demeanour. In some way it had gained an air of mystery and hidden secrets. The lines had become softer, the colours paler. I look forward to revisiting next year when wildlife begins to take control of the now bare metal.”

This dream of Luís Sá Couto, the project leader and owner of the SUBNAUTA Diving Centre, had finally come true. Luis said that the first of the ships that were sunk are already home to many fish and other reef species. It is a habitat that will only get better each year.

Video Courses with Ocean Revival in the Algarve

These amazing wreck sites and rich local reef systems are the backdrop to a series of underwater video courses run by Jeff, in association with UK based tour operator Hidden Depths and Subnauta Diving.

Cameras, lights and editing facilities are all provided for free for those who do not have their own equipment. There are introduction weekend sessions as well as full five day courses. Also on offer are GoPro speciality courses which come into their own when diving the wrecks.

The Algarve is located in the south of Portugal and is where the Atlantic Ocean mingles with the Mediterranean sea, resulting in water temperatures between 14º to 22º Celsius. It is a place where temperate species mix with sub-tropical, and is a very exciting location for filming underwater wildlife.