The Phuket wrecks
Reef Squadron
A total of ten decommissioned aircraft consisting of four Douglas C-47 Dakota Skytrain military transport aircraft and six Sikorsky S-58T helicopters of the Royal Thai Air force aircraft stand by ready to be sunk offshore to create a new coral reef for tourists and marine life at Phuket.
Bad weather preventing the planned sinking of the aircraft which will be kept at Layan Beach until the weather improves around November 2008.
The Coral Reef Squadron will create Thailand's largest Artificial reef once completed.
Other artificial reefs in Thai waters can be found at Pattaya in the form of 2 large decommissioned Royal Thai Navy ships, the HTMS Khram and HTMS Kut.
The Large C-47 aircraft will be have been specially prepared for divers, and each will be secured to the seabed by large concrete blocks weighing several tons.
CLIP VIDEO
Fish and other marine life quickly colonized the aircraft, until they were ravaged by monsoon season currents.
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s ‘Coral Reef Squadron’ sunk off Bang Tao Bay last November is 90 percent missing or destroyed, the Thai Dive Association admitted today.
Rainer Gottwald, head of the Thai Dive Association (TDA) technical committee, said TDA divers visited the site on Wednesday and were only able to find one of the 10 aircraft that formed the artificial reef.
Storms and heavy monsoon season currents were to blame, Mr Gottwald said.
Failure to follow instructions by some members of the team who chained the aircraft to large concrete blocks, and subsequent damage by trawlers,may also have played a role, he said.
The destruction of the site was ‘very upsetting’, given all the work and expense put into the project by the TDA and the numerous other agencies and organizations involved, he said.
The project was initiated by the Bangkok-based For Sea Foundation and funded to the tune of 4 million baht by the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization, which hoped the reef would boost tourism in the area.
The project also received a great deal of private-sector sponsorship.
Mr Gottwald said the TDA would have to learn from its mistakes and would probably use train wagons instead of aircraft in future projects.
The ‘Coral Reef Squadron’ consisted of four Douglas C-47 Dakota Skytrain military transport aircraft and six Sikorsky S-58T helicopters.
The TDA divers were only able to find one Dakota during the dive on Wednesday, which followed a series of heavy storms, he said.
TDA divers will survey the area to try and learn more about the fate of the aircraft when sea conditions improve, he said.
Mr Gottwald said he did not think currents would carry the aircraft to the shore, because if that were going to happen it probably would have done so already.
The missing aircraft were probably buried beneath the sand, he said.
Wreck Speciality course
Conditions
- Must be at least Adventure Diver or Advanced Open Water Diver
- and have minimum 15 years
Price 380.- € The full course
The price included
- Dives
- Book
- Certification
- Monitor
- Insurance
- Lunch
- Non-alcoholic beverages
The price not included
- * Tips
- * Extras expenses
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
You can subscribe by e-mail or by phone.
E-mail thank you for giving me:
- Your name and surname
- Your phone or GSM
Must be present at each class and participate in simulations.
If no, thank you prevent.
We sarrangera to catch up the lost session.
A written and practical exam is required to obtain a degree.
Candidates not having the examination will not be certified.
During the sessions, you can take notes, ask questions and interrupt the course if you do not understand.
Do not be afraid, you're there to learn at your own pace and most importantly stress free.
You will receive a manual to study at home safely and review techniques.
For your reservation
50% deposit to confirm your reservation
The remaining starting your course
Any deposit is lost 30 days before the course date.
