Back in 2002 the 510 feet Naval Landing Ship ‘Spiegel Grove’ was intentionally sunk off of the coast of Key Largo. In its heyday beginning back in 1956, the ship transported troops and medical supplies, and participated in amphibious exercises until it was decommissioned in 1989.
It would be a few more years before residents and dive enthusiasts in the upper keys would have the vision to acquire a large ship to be used as an artificial reef.
But, obtaining and sinking a large ship proved to be costlier and more complicated than any of them imagined.
Before a ship can legally be sunk it has to be cleaned. The gas tanks and other sources of potentially hazardous chemicals have to be removed. The stripped down hull has to meet strict EPA regulations. Sections of the hull that that could potentially snag or entrap divers have to be removed. Ultimately, the defunct vessels have to be transported to it’s final destination.
It took years of planning and hundreds of thousands of dollars to get the Spiegel Grove to Key Largo. Upper keys residents raised the money via various fundraisers.
Finally in May of 2002, the vessel arrived and was ready to be sunk. Teams of engineers, welders and tons of equipment were loaded aboard the ship. Residents and local radio and television reporters in boats hovered around the site to witness the sinking.
Thousands of keys residents tuned to local television and radio stations to follow the momentous event.
Welders and engineers carefully began creating the holes that would slowly fill and eventually sink the ship.
But suddenly, in a matter of minutes, the ship took on too much water and began to sink too rapidly. As it sank, workers scrambled to disembark. The ship went down fast and took their expensive welding equipment with it.
Panic ensued and local radio and TV crews captured the disaster as it happened.
On the island – locals gasped as they watched it all unfold.
During it’s rapid descent, the ship rolled over leaving only it’s upturned bow exposed.
That night, the ship eventually became fully submerged – sinking silently to the seabed, where it would rest on it’s for many years.
How and why the ship plunged into the sea became a contentious debate and the subject of many lawsuits. For a long time – the disaster was headline news. Many costly and unsuccessful attempts were made to right the ship.
Eventually, everyone forgot and forgave…and excepted that the ship would forever remain on it’s side.
But Mother Nature had other plans…On July 9th, 2005 – Hurricane Dennis pounded the Florida Keys with devastating winds and waves of over 20 feet. It came ashore with a fury, but passed quickly leaving mostly just downed trees and power lines in it’s wake.
Residents were tasked with the massive undertaking of clearing debris and restoring normalcy to the islands.
Nobody was thinking about the Spiegel Grove. It’s uncertain as to who discovered it first… but the reports started coming in – first over VHS radio – that the Speigel Grove had been righted.
Hurricane Dennis had turned the ship over! Today – it rests on the ocean bottom as originally intended.
It’s an almost unbelievable story – but true.
