U.S. Navy Destroyer to Become Latest Addition to Atlantic Ocean Reef

Delaware Department Of Natural Resources And Environmental Control press release:
DOVER— It’s “Ship sinking ahoy!” for Delaware’s artificial reef program after DNREC Secretary Collin P. O’Mara signed a transfer agreement accepting title to the retired destroyer USS Arthur W. Radford—which will become the longest vessel ever reefed in the Atlantic Ocean when sunk later this year.
The 563-foot-long Radford is tentatively scheduled to go down in August onto the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef site, located 30 miles from Cold Spring Inlet, 30 miles from Ocean City, Md., and 26 miles southeast of Indian River Inlet, Del. The reef’s name comes from the three states—Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland—partnering with the U.S. Navy to enhance fisheries habitat and recreational diving opportunities by putting the Radford on the ocean floor. The Navy also is sharing cost of reefing preparations, including transport of the ex-warship to its resting place in Delaware waters.
“Delaware is proud to be at the helm of a conservation project from which sportsmen and the environment alike can expect to derive great benefits,” said Sec. O’Mara. “We believe our artificial reef program’s renown will become an even bigger draw through the Radford’s sinking—and of course, drawing fish for anglers and divers is why we’re reefing the ship as marine habitat in the first place.”
Within the next two weeks, the Radford will be towed a short distance within the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where it’s now berthed, to Pier 5, Dry Dock 2, to be cleaned and prepared for sinking. Cleanup will follow EPA best management practices for reefing vessels and will be undertaken by American Marine Group, a Virginia-based contractor that has reefed many vessels along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
The ex-destroyer, named for Navy admiral Arthur W. Radford who served as the commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command and chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was commissioned in 1977 and decommissioned in 2003. Following final inspection and clearance in August, the Radford will be towed down the Delaware River and to sea over the reef site, where it will be positioned for several days while the hull is strategically sliced open to allow for a methodical sinking by flooding its compartments.
Delaware has 14 permitted artificial reef sites in the Delaware Bay and coastal waters, with five of these sites located in federal (ocean) waters. Development of the sites began in 1995 as part of a comprehensive fisheries management effort by the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Delaware Reef Program. The collaborative Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef, which consists primarily of sunken retired ships and fishing boats, comprises an area of about one square mile with a depth of 120-130 feet.
“Having title really throttles up our anticipation for the sinking, because as we’ve said from the beginning, the Radford is an exceptionally good reefing candidate,” said Jeffrey Tinsman, manager of the Delaware Reef Program of DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife. “We are excited about adding this great vessel to a mid-Atlantic reef site that’s accessible from ports in three states.”