Mysterious 'Ghost' Ship Rediscovered

[Still Waters]

A "ghost ship" that has been lost beneath the waves for more than 60 years has been discovered nearly a half-mile below the ocean surface off the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

A small submersible vehicle came upon the shipwreck last year, researchers at the University of Hawaii announced today (Dec. 5). Despite being torpedoed after World War II, many parts of the ship, including the ship's wheel, are still in their original locations.

https://uk.news.yaho...-004141616.html

[freetoroam]

After the war, the ship returned to Pearl Harbor, but neither the Navy nor its original owners wanted it. On Feb. 7, 1946, the ship was torpedoed and sunk into the deep waters off Oahu, but no one recorded its final resting place.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/mysterious-ghost-ship-rediscovered-near-hawaii-004141616.html#DyIb1lC

Am i reading this as "sea pollution" ? So is this what happened when they no longer wanted a ship which noone really wanted? throw it in the sea?...

But it is pretty cool and quite eerie when they find ships years later, still relatively intact, I would not want to be taking that one on a sail, but would love the wheel. I could find a place for that bit of "trash" on my boat.

[CrimsonKing]

Yeah free i was reading something about them sinking ships on purpose awhile back,think they were making artificial reefs with them or something cant quite remember.

[Sundew]

Am i reading this as "sea pollution" ? So is this what happened when they no longer wanted a ship which noone really wanted? throw it in the sea?...

Not necessarily, in some areas where there is no place for benthic animals to attach, or shelter for fish and other marine life is few and far between, ships are purposely sunk to make artificial reefs. At the time of this ship's sinking it was probably more for expedience.

To sink a ship for a reef nowadays, the vessel has to be cleaned from top to bottom, all oil and petroleum products removed and anything that might poison the environment. A few decades after sinking the ship can be encrusted with sponges, corals and other sea life which attract fish of all kinds and sizes. They often make good fishing areas and even dive and snorkeling sites, depending on the depth where they are sunk. After 100 years or so most of the metal simply rusts away and then perhaps only the sea life remains.

[NiteMarcher]

At one point it was stated that the ship was sunk as a target by U.S. submarine torpedo on Feb. 7, 1946, after WWII. In another section of the same article it states that the "Dickenson" carrying

evacuees from Fanning Island, sailed into Pearl Harbor o Dec. 7, 1941 the day it was attacked by Japanese forces. An enemy submarine had followed the this ship but was driven off by US forces.

NOAA regards the USS Kailua wreck as a historic site.

This ship served a vital role i keeping global telecommunications open in the first part of the 20th century and is a historic link to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge--now part of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the National Marine Sanctuary system.

[freetoroam]

Not necessarily, in some areas where there is no place for benthic animals to attach, or shelter for fish and other marine life is few and far between, ships are purposely sunk to make artificial reefs. At the time of this ship's sinking it was probably more for expedience.

To sink a ship for a reef nowadays, the vessel has to be cleaned from top to bottom, all oil and petroleum products removed and anything that might poison the environment. A few decades after sinking the ship can be encrusted with sponges, corals and other sea life which attract fish of all kinds and sizes. They often make good fishing areas and even dive and snorkeling sites, depending on the depth where they are sunk. After 100 years or so most of the metal simply rusts away and then perhaps only the sea life remains.

There was a programme about this and the idea seemed great, at first, but I doubt very much that nature needs our old ships to help its survival...considering the amount of damage we have done and are still doing to the seas, I feel its best we concentrate on helping our fellow man on land instead of interfering in the waters.

Economically the reefs are beneficial, but ecologically, it is still not certain.

Here is a couple of article about the artificial reefs:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/artificial-reef-projects-raise-environmental-questions/2011/07/13/gIQAmIRRKI_story.html

https://prezi.com/rrykx1umzkyj/biology-ecology-project/