Divers have said that Ireland’s first purposely designed wreck site is proving to be a great success.
Diver Caroline Bolger of Bray Divers and Nauti Divers in Dublin filmed videos last year which show that biodiversity is thriving in the area of the artificial reef off Killala, Co Mayo.
Storm Eowyn broke the shipwreck – MV Shingle – into three sections, and this has made it more interesting for divers, according to Michael Loftus of the Grainne Uaile Sub-Aqua Club in Mayo, who was one of the driving forces behind the project.
As Afloat has previously reported, the 60-metre MV Shingle is a former Moldovan registered ship that was seized by the Revenue Commissioners for smuggling cigarettes in 2014.
It became an artificial reef in September 2024 when it was towed to Killala Bay and dropped to a depth of 30 metres.
Asbestos and pollutants were removed from the 42 year old vessel before the sinking.
Bolger said that the Grainne Uaile Sub Aqua Club had done a “fantastic job” in marking out the dive site with three buoys.
“The sea area is already full of life, and it makes a good case for doing this again along the coast,”she said.
