Post by KG on May 21, 2018 20:13:14 GMT
Britain's first WWI merchant wreck set to become marine reserve after amateur diver bought it for £1
An amateur scuba diver who bought a First World War-era British merchant shipwreck for £1 in the 1990s is planning to turn it into a protected area for marine wildlife.
Steve Dover discovered the wreck of the merchant ship the City of Winchester while scuba diving off the coast of Oman’s Hallaniyat Islands.
The ship was the first British merchant vessel to be sunk during the First World War. Crew members had left before a German light cruiser shelled it in 1914, sending its cargo of tea and antlers to the ocean floor.
In 1998, the Omani government agreed to sell the wreck to Mr Dover, allowing him to take expeditions of scuba divers to see the Arabian humpback whales and dolphins that congregated in the man-made reef.
More at: LINK
An amateur scuba diver who bought a First World War-era British merchant shipwreck for £1 in the 1990s is planning to turn it into a protected area for marine wildlife.
Steve Dover discovered the wreck of the merchant ship the City of Winchester while scuba diving off the coast of Oman’s Hallaniyat Islands.
The ship was the first British merchant vessel to be sunk during the First World War. Crew members had left before a German light cruiser shelled it in 1914, sending its cargo of tea and antlers to the ocean floor.
In 1998, the Omani government agreed to sell the wreck to Mr Dover, allowing him to take expeditions of scuba divers to see the Arabian humpback whales and dolphins that congregated in the man-made reef.
More at: LINK