Sunken Navy barge to become BVI dive site
The Kodiak Queen, formerly a Navy fuel barge and one of five remaining ships from the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941
May 12, 2017
By: Gay Nagle Myers
Source: Travel Weekly
The British Virgin Islands will introduce a new dive site called BVI Art Reef this spring, led by Richard Branson and the nonprofit UniteBVI organization.
Photo: Kodiak Queen Aerial, Credit: Adam Buyskes. Source: NY Times
The Kodiak Queen, formerly a Navy fuel barge and one of five remaining ships from the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, will be sunk off the coast of Virgin Gorda with an 80-foot octopus sculpture made by artists out of rebar and mesh attached to its deck.
Once sunk, the BVI Art Reef will serve as a dive site and as a platform for a new coral reef to serve as a marine habitat.
“The BVI is a world-class dive destination and we are thrilled to offer an attraction that combines art, ocean conservation, world history, marine science, education and diving. It will be an innovative addition to our islands,” said Sharon Flax-Brutus, BVI director of tourism.
Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, owns Necker Island in the BVI.
“This reef will allow people to experience the wonder of the ocean and its species up close, while having the time of their lives. That way, what they will learn with stay with them and affect them deeply and hopefully turn into more action to conserve the ocean,” Branson said.
