USS Oriskany sinking

The Navy announced on 5 April 2004 that it would transfer the former aircraft carrier to the State of Florida for use as an artificial reef. In September 2003, the Navy awarded a contract to Resolve Marine Group / ESCO Marine Joint Venture for the environmental remediation work necessary for sinking the ship as an artificial reef. The contractor towed the ship to Corpus Christi, TX in January 2004 and completed the environmental preparation work in December 2004. Oriskany was the first United States warship slated to become an artificial reef, under authority granted by the fiscal 2004 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 108-136). Oriskany was towed to Pensacola in December 2004 and was originally scheduled to be sunk with controlled charges 24 mi (39 km) south of Pensacola by June 2005. Exhaustive ecological and human health studies were conducted by Navy scientists in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to demonstrate no adverse impact from reefing the ship. Failu