Falmouth's Planned Artificial Reef
By Mark Milburn on 16 September 2008
Rumours
There has been rumours and circulation about an artificial reef near Falmouth for a long time. What is the truth? Are there plans? Or just wishfull thinking?
Due to a couple of new spokespersons representing the interests of the Falmouth and District diving fraternity, Shaun Beedie from Bay Marine and Gaynor Bennett from Sea Fans scuba, I managed to find out some of the proposed plans.
Whilst the project is still looking for funding it does have some very interested parties and ideas are still flying around.
I have managed to get copies of various letter outlining most of the details :-
Proposed structure
‘A proposal for an artificial hull or diving reef built of materials, which can virtually last forever in a marine environment is proposed for Gerrans Bay near Falmouth. Further information is supplied in attachments.
This will be a Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete (GRC) clad hull of an upper deck system designed for novice divers, and a lower deck system for experienced divers. Dimensions 100 metres in length, 22 metres wide, 8 metres high.
The Hull or Reef will be totally diver friendly, with designed exit and entry access, stainless steel guided rail systems. Can include, GRC Sea Cave features etc. This structure will survive year on year, and become more naturalised and placed in 20 metre / 30 metre depth will be ideal for wreck penetration dives etc. ’ – from a letter dated 10-01-2006.
They are obviously tyring to generate interest from many different areas :-
Business Plan
‘The Importance of the Artificial Reef (Ship) Industry to Cornwall.
1.) Combining a major leisure dive site increasing tourism/Green Energy with a knowledge based industry, linked to a University, you get great value for build cost, of say £2m.
2.) Due to the fact the structure is built in panels, and box sections, if a ship is 100m long, 20m wide, and 8m high, then there are 20 box compartments in it. If 2 years later the tidal energy industry needs 20 adapted box units for 20 free standing 5Mw tidal turbine bases, to be placed and ballasted on the seabed at the rate of one a week, then we are ready with 100Mw to 200Mw per year ability, and have honed the build practices to lower costs for a multi billion pound market.
3.) Being built, whilst overseas customers are organising their design requirements and orders and visiting from; Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Cork, Miami, Vancouver, Seattle, Belfast. A £50 million + industry.
4.) This new industry, based at Falmouth, may appear like ship building of specialist ships or factory unit building in its basics, with materials designed to have a long subsea life, rubber coated steel, stainless steel and GRC, they will stay as complete diving structures on the seabed.
5.) The same materials and techniques of build can be used in providing low cost structures for Wave, Tidal and Offshore Wind Energy, low cost anchorage units, anti scour collars, free standing tidal units.
6.) Although these structures are quite large in area due to their giant open mesh base only 25% of seabed is occupied, an important environment item.
7.) The Worlds first artificial Reef (ship) showroom based in Cornwall. Can be viewed on the internet, for a worldwide customer base.
Therefore, by having diversified from the outset into the leisure and Green Energy and academic industries, the response readiness and skills will be there, to step up to major Offshore Energy projects in the future.
During, this period the knowledge base will be here, plus a teaching base for the foreign nationals who are our customers. The component parts, and structures can be transshipped from Falmouth, to other world sites, and assembled by their workforce, overseen by our experts.
Hi-Spec’s role leading in design, and stainless steel structural technology is a major factor, the Rubicon rubber coated high tensile steel in its panelled mesh for as a structural insert gives it super-strength. The glass fibre reinforced concrete panels are the cladding material (GRC), all made in Cornwall.
Due to the fact each ship or reef unit will have video link underwater camera technology with (A) A shore based leisure visitor site, plus (B) a link into a marine studies university nearby. This gives each of these ships/reefs, a major dual role, as technical dive site for leisure, and the underwater study site for the University.
The first role justifies the cost of the build site by increasing tourist dive site numbers, the second role is the major undersea study covering many marine areas special to that university.
Funding Formula
E.U. funding can be directed though a shore base visitor attraction which has the underwater video link to pay for the build, they have diversified and will increase visitor numbers.
Secondary Support Funding
1) Lottery funding via the local diving clubs.
2) Sport England funding via same sources.
3) Discovery Channel film rights.
4) Business sponsorship say from major tyre rubber companies.
Jobs
Creates 30-50 permanent green energy jobs, sustains many tourism based jobs, adding £5m per year additional earnings to Cornwall.’ – from a letter dated 21-06-2006
From a personal point of view I welcome any increase in interest within the diving industry. There will be people out there that will say that this is a waste of time money and that they will not dive it, from what I have seen of the Scylla’s progression from a clean wreck to one that is covered in life, this will be very interesting to watch. For any ‘Spidge’ hunters there won’t be anything there for you, it’s a reef.
So the project, called ‘S.S. Nautilus’, is still alive and heading in the right direction, albeit slowly.
Contact
Author: Mark Milburn
Email: info@travel-dive.com
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