Algarve's Ocean Revival Project

Augusto Salgado · Issue 76, Jan/Feb 2014 · pp. 75–80

Just five minutes before two o’clock in the afternoon on the 21st last September, the fourth and last ex-Portuguese Navy ships – the hydrographic research ship Almeida Carvalho – started her controlled dive to the ocean’s floor, by the expert hand of the Canadian Artificial Reef Consulting (CARC). This ship joined three other ex- Portuguese Navy ships – the Zambeze (44 meters ocean patrol boat), the Oliveira e Carmo (85 meters corvette) and the Hermenegildo Capelo (102 meters frigate) – all sunk 1,5 nautical mile from Alvor beach, in the Algarve, creating one unique underwater park. All these ships, with a common background, create the largest single artificial reef structure in the world, freely accessible to all. With the sea bed around 30 meters, the upper structures of the ships are at a depth around 15 meters and the main decks around 20 meters, making them accessible to all levels …