Ship from ghost fleet headed to Florida Keys as reef
By SCOTT HARPER, The Virginian-Pilot
© October 9, 2007
Last updated: 11:20 PM

NORFOLK

The last time Sam Hall saw the big warship was 62 years ago in New York Harbor , at the end of World War II.

Back then, Hall was a young soldier returning from the Pacific. When he walked off the former Gen. Harry S. Taylor to cheering throngs that day, he never looked back.

But on Monday, he was in Norfolk to see his old ship again, and to learn how the former Taylor - later renamed the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, now a 524-foot behemoth of rusting steel, peeling paint and odd Hollywood fame - will become the next big thing for divers and scientists off the Florida Keys.

When workers at Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk finish scrubbing the Vandenberg clean of asbestos, petroleum and toxic PCBs, the ship will be towed down the Atlantic coast and sunk about six miles southeast of Key West - the largest artificial reef in Florida .

"Oh, I think it's just great," Hall said of the $5.7 million reef project. "She's going on to a new beginning."

Joining Hall and others at a waterfront ceremony Monday was the chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, James Connaughton.

Connaughton, also an avid scuba diver, said he first learned of the project "at a bar in Key West , where most good ideas begin."

He said it exemplifies "sustainable development" and "cooperative conservation," and illustrates how government and private interests can come together to benefit the environment, the economy and society.

Connaughton said he hopes the U.S. government converts more obsolete ships in the James River Reserve Fleet into artificial reefs, instead of paying salvage yards to cut them up and sell them for metal scrap.

About 40 unwanted vessels remain anchored in the James River fleet, more commonly called the "ghost fleet." Dozens of other dinosaurs are awaiting their fates in Texas and California .

The Vandenberg sat idle for years in the ghost fleet, off Fort Eustis in Newport News . It took nearly a decade for the state of Florida and a host of reef and dive groups to obtain permits and funds to move the ship.

They hope their struggles will translate into smoother sailing for future reef projects - including some in Virginia waters.

On Monday, supporters congregated in Norfolk and cheered what they hope is the beginning of the end.

"Man, it's been a long time coming," said Jeffrey Dey, a project manager with Reefmakers, the company in charge of bringing the Vandenberg to the Florida Keys . "This will be an amazing addition to the marine ecosystem and for divers and scientists in the Keys."

Florida is investing in artificial reefs primarily to relieve pressure on its natural coral reefs. Boats, divers and tourism bring huge economic benefits, but they also are harming the reefs.

" We're loving our natural reefs to death, unfortunately," said William M. Horn, a fisheries biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Before any ship can be sunk as a reef, it must be cleaned enough to meet new federal guidelines. That means scraping away lead paint, yanking out wiring loaded with toxic PCBs and vacuuming waste oils and fuels.

"We want no harm, no impact, to the ecology," Horn said.

Adding spice to the project is history. The Vandenberg - and the Taylor - have touched many milestones.

It was the first ship back to New York after the Japanese surrendered in WWII. It tracked Mercury and Gemini space liftoffs.

It carried Hungarian freedom fighters to Australia after the Soviet crackdown in 1956.

It was painted to look like a Russian vessel in the 1999 sci-fi movie "Virus," filmed partly in Virginia .

For Sam Hall, the Taylor meant the fear of war. And then, suddenly, the excitement of peace.

"I'll never forget the day we learned we were going home," said Hall, now 83 and living in Wilmington , Del. "The ship stopped and turned completely around. The war was over."

Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper@pilotonline.com

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