The 'Voici Bernadette' which was acquired this week by the St. Lucie County Artificial Reef Program, was taken in tow by tugs of the McCulley Marine Services in Fort Pierce from its mooring in the Miami River, up the coast and into the waters near the Port of Fort Pierce in the morning of June 7. The ownership of the freighter was donated to the county by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency. The federal agency seized the freighter in June 2016 when it was involved in a cocaine smuggling bust. The Bolivian freighter docked in Miami after leaving Haiti and was found to have 800 bricks of cocaine totaling 2,000 pounds worth an estimated $35 million street value. Recently, acceptance of the vessel was unanimously approved by The St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners. Extensive cleaning and deployment will be completed by the county’s artificial reef contractor, McCulley Marine Services, Inc. St. Lucie County Coastal Resources . In a 'best-case scenario, the sinking of the vessel could take place late in summer on the county’s permitted Fort Pierce Sportfishing Club artificial reef site and will help increase recreational opportunities as well as provide essential fish habitat in the region. The 501(c)3, MMPS Environmental, Inc. has already started raising funds for deploying this ship and will organize further events throughout the summer. Costs to prepare the ship for deployment as a reef, meeting permit requirements established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Best Management Practices and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Artificial Reef Plan guidelines, were estimated to be about $147,000 total. Deployment will occur on the county’s permitted Fort Pierce Sportfishing Club artificial reef site and will help increase recreational fishing and diving opportunities, as well as provide essential fish habitat in the region. The hull of the ship combined with the bridge and tower could be as much as 100 feet tall, which might require the ship to be deployed in waters at least 150 feet deep. Not long after deployment, it was expected that fish like mangrove snapper, mutton snapper, red snapper, gag grouper, red grouper, amberjacks and a variety of other reef fish would make the ship their home. The 'Voici Bernadette' will be the first vessel deployed by the county since sinking the 75-foot long tug 'Kathleen' in September 2016. Underwater video taken by divers showed the tug teeming with sea life less than two months after its deployment in 147 feet of water. Report with photos: https://eu.tcpalm.com/story/news/2018/06/07/freighter-180-feet-long-and-may-placed-180-feet-water/680122002/
WORLD SHIPPING
08 June 2018 - 12:49
Freighter towed to Fort Pierce for cleaning before being sunk
The 'Voici Bernadette' which was acquired this week by the St
WORLD SHIPPING
08 June 2018 - 12:49
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