Alabama’s coastal waters are home to the largest artificial reef system in the United States. That system got substantially bigger on Wednesday, July 1 with the sinking of a 400-foot-long decommissioned casino boat.
The Argosy VI, a former riverboat casino, was sunk Wednesday at 10 a.m. to become a massive artificial reef. The former casino is a four-story, 408-foot steel vessel. It now rests on the floor of the Gulf of America 23 nautical miles south of Orange Beach, Alabama, at a depth of 122 feet.
The casino boat is the latest addition to the Dr. Robert (Bob) Shipp Alabama Artificial Reef Zone, the largest artificial reef system in the United States. Dr. Shipp was a longtime professor at the University of South Alabama and expert in the Gulf.
The reef system has built a thriving marine ecosystem for fish species such as red snapper, amberjack, and vermilion snapper and provides a premier destination for scuba divers and fishermen.
The Argosy VI first operated as a floating casino on the Ohio River in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, from 1998 until its retirement in 2009. It was replaced by a newer and larger casino boat now home to Hollywood Casino.
The boat had been docked in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, in South Mobile County for years. Months were spent stripping the boat down to a bare iron shell. Alabama workers removed slot machines, gaming tables, hazardous materials and hydrocarbons to protect the ocean environment.
The sinking was executed without use of explosives.
Engineers had cut controlled water-intake holes above the ship’s waterline to allow it to fill and submerge gradually. The location of the sunken Argosy creates a high-density dive circuit for serious recreational divers close to the New Venture reef and within 7 miles of the LuLu reef.
Over 400 reef sites have already been sunk in the zone.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler writes about the colorful and positive in Alabama — her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected]
