FAIRFIELD NEWVENTURE

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Finally former research ship sits well on the bottom

The "New Venture" now sits on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico about 20 miles south of Orange Beach about two miles south from where the "LuLu" after several problems arose before the ship was finally in position. The biggest problem was the pumps that were taken out there were not in good operating condition and didn’t keep them running. Then it had to be waited until another boat arrived with pumps in good condition. By that time the vessel had drug its anchor outside of the reef zone. A tug had to tow it back to the reef zone and to the reef site. Even the eventual sinking didn’t go as planned. Initially, the stern, or back of the boat, was supposed to flood first and hit bottom first, followed by the bow. But there were too many pipes connecting the forward and aft tanks, it was impoissible to isolate where the water was going. Everything essentially ended up draining toward the bow of the ship, resulting in the bow going down first. Finally the new addition to the reef system was sitting pretty on the bottom, having landed upright and sitting on its keel. There was no notable list of the ship sitting on the bottom and the wheelhouse was about 57 feet below the surface. At that depth divers with the lowest certification can explore the "Fairfield New Venture". The coordinates of the wreck are N29 54.052 W87 32.896. Report with photos and video: https://lagniappemobile.com/250-foot-ship-sunk-for-alabamas-artificial-reef-program-video/

Former research ship scuttled

On June 26 the "Fairfield New Venture" finally sank to the botton of the Alabama Gulf waters. Thanks went out to Vince Lucido, Chandra C. Wright, and the Alabama Reef and Restoration Foundation. The ship went down bow first on even keel within a few minutes, and dive trips will be organized soon. Report with photo and video: https://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2018/06/watch_this_250-foot-long_ship.html

Sinking of former research vessel delayed

The "Fairfield New Venture", Alabama’s newest artificial reef was set to sink on June 21, 2018. But the workers hired to sink the ship were unable to because of equipment issues. The ship has several large air pockets that workers needed to fill with water before the ship could start sinking on her own. They were trying to fill those tanks with sort of the equivalent of a garden hose, so it was going to take a lot longer. The "Fairfield New Venture" will stay offshore over the weekend with several workers watching over it. They will get better equipment and do it all over again on June 25. The ship will sink 20 miles off Orange Beach on a depth of 120 feet and become a shipwreck for divers to explore and a habitat for marine life. Report with photo and video: http://www.fox10tv.com/story/38482067/sinking-of-new-venture-ship-delayed