| East Africa's latest 'artificial' reef, set in the watery | | | | artificial wreck reef off Mombasa will help divert the |
| heart of the Mombasa Marine Park, barely 1.5km off | | | | human pressure away from the fragile remaining |
| the Kenyan port city, has been in place now for | | | | natural reefs, while at the same time providing added |
| more than 4 years. | | | | tourist attraction into the wreck divers' bargain. |
| The artificial reef has its origins in the deliberate | | | | On the D-day, the vessel was towed out to sea for |
| sinking-on 27th October 2002- of a 77 meter | | | | the last time from her moorings at Comarco Marine |
| decommissioned livestock carrier, the MV Dania, at a | | | | Base at Ganjoni, Mombasa. Two hours later Capt. |
| pre-designated site 50 meters beyond the naturally | | | | Bahero maneuvered her into a scuttling position in the |
| occurring reef off Mombasa's Bamburi Beach. | | | | Mombasa Marine Park. The crew began pumping |
| The scuttling operation of the ship wreck, when | | | | water into her bowels, which sank lower and lower in |
| eventually it went ahead, was the culminating act of | | | | the water until- through the rows of pre-cut holes in |
| ten months of painstaking planning and preparation in | | | | her flanks-she began to take in water by herself. Her |
| Mombasa. | | | | stern was the last to dip beneath the waves, |
| The MV Dania was built at Norway's Hatlo Verksted | | | | squeezing out the last remaining pockets of trapped |
| shipyard in 1965 as a general cargo vessel. She was | | | | air in a dramatic final exhalation. |
| then registered in Honduras, Central America, as the | | | | On sinking of the diving wreck, divers set in place |
| MV Rodriguez. In 1985, she started plying the trade | | | | prominent 'danger' buoy, flanked by other 'cautionary |
| routes between Eastern Africa and the Arabian Gulf. | | | | buoys positioned afore and aft of the ship wreck. |
| And finally, in 1993, she was converted into a | | | | These buoys provide a clear warning to approaching |
| specialized livestock carrier for the ferrying of cattle | | | | shipping, while also facilitating tie-up moorings for |
| to and from Mozambique, South Africa, Mombasa | | | | parties of Mombasa's diving visitors. |
| and Mauritius. | | | | The divers have since mapped out a number of |
| On being decommissioned in 2001, due to low | | | | recommended dive routes on and around the ship |
| livestock traffic, MV Dania was to have been retired | | | | wreck. These have been color coded according to |
| to India. The Owner of Buccaneer Diving IN | | | | the respective levels of difficulty they involve, so as |
| Mombasa- Bruce, operating out of the nearby | | | | to reflect the varying degrees of diving skill required. |
| Voyager and White sands Hotels had other ideas. | | | | Quite apart from its attraction as a premier new |
| Buccaneer is Mombasa's only IDC-PADI (Professional | | | | wreck diving site in Mombasa, the ship wreck of the |
| Association of Diving Instructors)-accredited five-star | | | | MV Dania is already serving, as a very useful |
| Instructors Development Centre. | | | | underwater laboratory for a number of the Kenya |
| The el Niño rains had wrecked havoc on the | | | | Wildlife Service research projects and divers teaching |
| natural coral gardens in Mombasa which were | | | | programmes. |
| previously a divers paradise. Conservation efforts | | | | Getting there |
| have now resorted to the development of artificial | | | | Your tour operator will arrange with the many diving |
| reefs using wrecks of various kinds, and also to add | | | | schools in Mombasa's South and North Coast for a |
| flavor and diversity to the diving fraternity. | | | | booking. Hotel reservations in Mombasa are available |
| The coral communities that have developed on the | | | | most of the year besides around December when |
| ship wreck overtime are as productive and diverse | | | | the local tourists go for their holidays at sea. |
| as ecosystems that you find in other healthy | | | | Advance booking recommended. |
| naturally occurring coral reefs. Having an alternative | | | | |