The ceremony to submerge a fleet of ten aircrafts in the Andaman Sea to form a new artificial coral reef and diving site recently took place in Phuket.

The operation was made possible through the joint cooperation of such concerned agencies as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Royal Thai Air Force, Royal Navy, For Sea Foundation, Phuket Province, and the Thailand Diving Association among others.

According to Mr. Settapan Buddhani, TAT’s Phuket Office Director, the project has been planned since as early as two years ago and it took the cooperation from all parties involved to realize it. The new artificial coral reef and diving site are expected to draw a sea of divers to Phuket to try it, on top of other benefits it will generate, both ecologically and economically.

The new diving site is located off Bang Tao Bay, Phuket’s Talang district. The 16-18 meters deep area where the fleet was sunk has a sand bed, and is one kilometre away from the natural coral reef and the Bang Tao Beach.

The fleet of sunken old and unused aircraft consists of four Douglas C-47 Dakota Skytrains and six Sikorsky S-58T helicopters. They once belonged to the Royal Thai Air Force and used to be housed at an air base in Lopburi Province. The For Sea Foundation initiated the project to create an artificial coral reef following operations to fix natural coral reefs that were damaged by the devastating Tsunami that hit Asia in late December 2004.

Aware that natural reefs can be destroyed by humans apart from exposure to natural catastrophes, the Foundation volunteers came up with the idea of creating an artificial reef to form an interesting diving site as an option for divers, in order to allow diving sites such as those in the Surin Islands, Similan Islands, Tarutao Island and other areas along the Andaman Sea to remain untouched by humans.

“To lure visitors to a new diving site, the artificial reefs need some sort of ‘star power’, like the King Cruiser wreck diving spot in Phuket, for instance. The idea of having a fleet of old and unused aircraft under the sea is equally irresistible,” said Mr. Settapan.

The sunken aircraft had been used heavily during World War I and the Vietnam War. This, in a way, lends the diving site a great sense of historical value, apart from physical attractiveness.

It took two years for the agencies concerned to complete the feasibility study on the environmental effects of the project and determining the best location to sink the fleet. It was found that the aluminum body of each craft is non-corrosive, while their shapes do not obstruct water currents. Most importantly, it was found that they do not pose any harm to the ecological system.

The diving spot is expected to help boost Phuket’s strategic position as a world-class marine tourism centre with this new fascinating dive site. As corals will form a new reef along each craft, marine fauna will have a new habitat and the ecological system in the area will eventually rehabilitate itself.

The sinking operation was done on 29 November, 2008, making history as a first in the world with 10 aircraft. Ms. Cathleeya McIntosh, one of Thailand’s best known actresses and an experienced diver herself, was also selected as the project’s Goodwill Ambassador to help spread the news about it.

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