Delaware takes title to retired destroyer USS Radford for reefing
Larry
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
April 7, 2010
Vol. 40, No. 95
Contact: Jeffrey Tinsman, Division of Fish and Wildlife, 302-739-4782
or Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.
Delaware receives title transfer to ex-USS Radford, setting course for
summer sinking of longest ship reefed in Atlantic
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 26 miles
southeast of the Indian River Inlet. 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."
For more information on the state's artificial reefs, please visit
http://www.fw.delaware.gov/Fisheries/Pages/ArtificialReefProgram.aspx
or contact Jeff Tinsman, Delaware Reef Program administrator, at
302-739-4782.