It was supposed to be a simple operation - a 510-ft. (155.4 m) retired Navy ship - Spiegel Grove - was to be sunk to create one of the world's largest artificial reefs. On May 17, the former Dock Landing Ship (LSD) had plans of its own when it sunk prematurely off the coast of Key Largo - in 130 ft. of water. The vessel, which as of this morning was in the process of being salvaged, flipped over - leaving its bow protruding ever so slightly out of the ocean.
With the assistance of Resolve Marine Group, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company that was hired to roll the ship, as well as a pair of tugboats providing more than 110 tons of pull, Spiegel Grove was to be (according to Resolve's president Joe Farrell), rolled on the ocean floor, upright, so that it would sink down into its original position on the ocean floor.
Farrell reportedly said that 70 inflatable bags would be strategically attached (via Resolve's 100-ft. salvage vessel, Lana Rose), to areas on the vessel's port side by Resolve's technical divers to maintain approximately 500 lbs. of buoyancy.