• Creation of the Artificial Reef

Main Participants in the Creation of the Artificial Reef

Transportation, Preparation and Sinking:

From day one it was decided that the sinking would be in accordance with the most stringent cleanliness and preparation (Diverisation) standards, complying with, and wherever possible, exceeding all applicable Mexican regulations.

Design of hull preparation and Diverisation: Sr. Richard Long, President ef DUI International
Site Selection: Cicese, Ensenada.
Cleanliness and preparation Standards: Ships to Reefs International.

Municipality of Rosarito Baja California.
Secretary of Tourism of Baja California.
Secretary of the Navy of Mexico.
Dock while in preparation:
Pétreos del Pacífico, S.A. de C.V.
Sinking environmental standards Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente.
Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales.
Project Coordination Baja California Divers, A.C.
Logistics and Financial Support: Consejo Consultivo de Desarrollo Economico de Playas de Rosarito, A.C. CCDER.

The following limitation were taken into account to select the sink site:

Maximum Depth of 100 feet, in order to have the wreck´s deepest part within the limits of sports diving.
Baja California Divers members evaluated several sites suggested by CICESE, positioned and retrieved measuring devices to estimate underwater currents and turbidity; finally the site that was chosen is located in Bahía El Descanso at 32° 15´ 45” LN and 116° 56´ 03” LW.

View from the surface of controlled explosions applied to cut holes under the float line, with the vessel at the sink Site.

The hull landed almost vertically, as can be seen from the following images:

While preparing the hull one of the most frequently asked question was... How long does it take life to gather around or start in the Reef?, when the answer was that life starts accumulating immediately after the hull settles at the bottom, this answer was taken skeptically. see the following image.
Evolution of the Wreck:

2015 Pacific Hurricane season was extremely active and is considered to have been the second most active season in recent history within the Pacific Basin, combined with this year´s “ El Niño”, impacted Baja California Northwestern coast, creating unpredictable swells and currents, reminding all the that oceans are not foreseeable.

Due to this storms, Uribe 121 “listed” toward its starboard (right) and several ingress/egress accessed were buried, nevertheless the wreck remains divable and life is accumulating.