reef

In 2024, North Carolina sank the 106-foot tugboat Thomas Dann off Cape Lookout; it joined two older ships and 1,700 tons of concrete at a reef

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HT US Desk

The Hindustan Times US Desk brings you the latest news and developments from across the United States. The team covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports, business, entertainment and stories that are trending across the country. Our coverage includes the White House, Congress, US elections, immigration and visa updates, H-1B, green cards, Social … Read more

In 2018, Delaware sank its 325-foot Twin Capes ferry after 43 years of service; the ship now forms part of an offshore artificial reef

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The M/V Twin Capes joined Delaware’s artificial reef network in 2018, creating underwater habitat for fish and marine organisms. The reef program also draws anglers and divers and generates more than $6 million in estimated annual economic benefits for the state. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)

The ferry M/V Twin Capes had been serving passengers for 43 years, traveling between Delaware and New Jersey. The story of this ferry took a new turn on June 15, 2018, when it was sunk intentionally to form part of Delaware’s artificial reef complex. According to a 2018 Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental … Read more

In 1996, 26 retired Navy A-6 jets were sunk off Florida; divers later spotted tomtates, high hats, and grouper at the aircraft reef near St. Augustine

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Twenty-six retired Navy aircraft were placed off Volusia County in 1996 to provide underwater habitat. The scattered planes, now part of Florida’s artificial reef network. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)

In the depths of the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Florida, decommissioned planes of the Navy have turned into an unusual underwater attraction. On July 18, 1996, Florida recorded the deployment of 26 A-6 Intruder aircraft at Site No. 9 in Volusia County, at a depth of 135 feet, according to the Florida Fish … Read more

In 2017, Texas sank a 371-foot cargo ship 67 miles off Galveston; the retired ship began a second life as an artificial reef for Gulf fish and divers

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Where an old cargo ship now serves as a home for sea life in the Gulf. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)

On January 20, 2017, a 371-foot cargo ship slipped beneath the waves of the Gulf of Mexico(Gulf of America). That was the plan. According to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department news release, the vessel was deliberately sunk 67 miles off the coast of Galveston by the department’s Artificial Reef Program. The ship was called … Read more

In 2025, Florida sank a 227-foot derelict freighter nine miles off Martin County, turning an abandoned ship into the Boo McCulley artificial reef

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An abandoned ship, a new reef: How Florida turned a derelict vessel into a marine habitat. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)

An abandoned freighter sat in the Miami River for a decade. Then, on November 18, 2025, it was deliberately sunk. The 227-foot ship, named the Borocho, is now on the seafloor about nine miles off Martin County, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) news release. Today it’s known as the Boo … Read more

Florida rebuilt a degraded offshore oyster reef with dolomite limestone in 2018; within six months live-oyster density rose from near zero to 91 per square metre, and by year five it had reached 244

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Florida rebuilt a degraded offshore oyster reef with dolomite limestone in 2018; within six months live-oyster density rose from near zero to 91 per square metre, and by year five it had reached 244

Florida restored a degraded oyster reef in 2018; density rose to 91 per sq m in six months and 244 by year five (Image Credit: UF/IFAS) Florida’s Lone Cabbage Reef, once a productive oyster habitat that had deteriorated into a sandbar, began recovering after researchers and local oyster harvesters rebuilt it with dolomite limestone in … Read more

In 2024, Texas biologists turned more than 160 donated Christmas trees into an underwater reef at Granger Lake, where fish can use them as habitat within 15 minutes

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In 2024, Texas biologists turned more than 160 donated Christmas trees into an underwater reef at Granger Lake, where fish can use them as habitat within 15 minutes

The Christmas season is around the corner, and the must-have Christmas tree often ends up on the curb once the holidays are over, needles trailing down the driveway. They rarely get a second act. In 2024, more than 160 of them got a second act. None of them were headed for a living room, but … Read more

In 2017, Jordan sank a retired 30-metre C-130 Hercules off Aqaba to create an artificial reef; the aircraft now rests about 16 metres underwater and attracts coral, fish and other marine life

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In 2017, Jordan sank a retired 30-metre C-130 Hercules off Aqaba to create an artificial reef; the aircraft now rests about 16 metres underwater and attracts coral, fish and other marine life

A retired military aircraft has found an unusual second life beneath the Red Sea after Jordan deliberately sank it off Aqaba in 2017 to create an artificial reef. The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a roughly 30-metre-long military transport aircraft, was placed underwater on November 16, 2017, about 300 metres from the Aqaba shoreline. It now rests … Read more

In 2015, Hawaii rescued fragments of a coral found only in Kaneohe Bay; after its wild colonies disappeared, scientists grew it in a nursery and returned it to the reef

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In 2015, Hawaii rescued fragments of a coral found only in Kaneohe Bay; after its wild colonies disappeared, scientists grew it in a nursery and returned it to the reef

Acropora muricata, Heron Island, Australia. (Photo Credit: Claire Lager, Smithsonian) A rare coral species found nowhere else on Earth except Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii has been successfully returned to its natural habitat after completely disappearing from the wild. The recovery project was led by the Hawaii Coral Restoration Nursery, a facility run by the state … Read more

Bette Midler started cleaning a neglected New York park in 1995; 30 years later, her group has planted 200,000 trees and built an artificial oyster reef

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Bette Midler started cleaning a neglected New York park in 1995; 30 years later, her group has planted 200,000 trees and built an artificial oyster reef

Bette Midler once spent her mornings clearing parks in Northern Manhattan that the city had all but abandoned. Thirty years later, that early effort has grown into the New York Restoration Project, a charity credited with reshaping green space across all five boroughs. The organisation has planted more than 200,000 trees since 1995, alongside removing … Read more