The southeast weather that got up ruined the accounts and that's how it was only 56 minutes after the scheduled start time, at 13:56 pm, the old oceanographic vessel «Almeida Carvalho» it suffered the controlled explosions that would take it to the bottom of the sea, to be part of the underwater park «Ocean Revival», about three miles off the beach of Alvor.
Despite the delay, the operation was «a success», guaranteed Alberto Braz, operational coordinator of the «Ocean Revival» project, and the «Almeida Carvalho» is already resting peacefully on the seabed, between two of the other ships also immersed on purpose, the old corvette «Oliveira e Carmo» and the ex-frigate «Hermenegildo Capelo».
Taking into account the characteristics of the old oceanographic research vessel, the openings in the hull, once at the bottom of the sea, to allow the entrances and exits of divers, were made much lower, closer to the waterline, than in previous vessels .
Now, with the Levant and the swell of about a meter that rose, there was a danger that the water would enter through those openings and the boat would sink before its time and place, during transport between the port of Portimão and the predicted sinking site. So this time it was necessary to cover the lower openings with plywood boards and readjust the explosive charges.
At the time of the explosions, the plywood boards flew through the air, but were then promptly picked up by two boats from the «Ocean Revival» project.
Alberto Braz also explained to journalists that “the characteristics of the sea and the tide forced us to leave the port of Portimão two hours later, at 10:00 am. But it was a small calculated delay».
There were also a series of "abnormal things" to happen, such as "cables that broke" or "tug hooks that opened", and, inside the ship, the last operations, namely the placement of detonators in the explosives, were carried out. in 'tougher' conditions.
In the end, despite the two-hour delay in leaving the port, the sinking ended up occurring just 56 minutes after the scheduled time and everything went well, with the bow of the «Almeida Carvalho» sinking first and the bow afterwards, so as it was intended. In 1 minute and 2 seconds, the ship was submerged. Soon after, the Navy divers checked the conditions and ensured that the operation had gone perfectly.
Two hours later, five divers, drawn from among the patrons who have supported the project, made the first dive. And thus came to an end the saga of the sinking of the old navy ships, donated to the «Ocean Revival» project to create, in the Algarve, a pioneering underwater tourism park in the world.
And now maybe the submarine «Delfim»
The oceanographic vessel was the fourth vessel of the Portuguese Navy to be sunk to give rise to the underwater park it intends to promote diving tourism in the Algarve, but, contrary to what was announced, it may not be the last.
Luís Sá Couto, from the company Subnauta, great mentor and financier of the «Ocean Revival» project, admitted, in statements to journalists, the «possibility» of there being a fifth vessel to be immersed in that location, the submarine «Delfim». "Delfim should go to Viana do Castelo, but I still haven't lost hope that he can come here," said the businessman.
Whether or not there is a fifth ship sunk, the first phase of the project is complete, with the purposeful submersion of four Navy ships. And now what's next? «Now it's about promoting, promoting, promoting!», guarantees Luís Sá Couto, drawing attention to the need to promote this new tourist product at an international level, especially in the markets of «Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Germany, England, Ireland".
The first steps towards this international tourist promotion have already started: the Algarve Tourism Association brought to the region, to monitor the sinking of the last vessel, journalists from the Dutch publication «Duiken» and representatives of the specialized British tour operator «Oonasdivers».
Luís Sá Couto revealed that, since the immersion of the first two ships, on October 30th of last year, and in just over eight months, his company alone has made over 4500 dives. "And we hardly made any promotional efforts."
The objective of the investment, said the businessman, is that, within ten years, «the Algarve will receive 90 to 100 thousand dives per year».
«In relation to other diving destinations, the Algarve does not have its clear and warm waters, but it does have things that are also very important, such as safety, the friendliness of the people, the gastronomy. The Algarve is a destination for the whole family. The diver knows he can come here with his family, because there are other things to do besides diving. And this is our competitive advantage in relation to other markets».
Algarve has a diversified offer for diving tourism
Then, he added, in addition to the underwater park «Ocean Revival», now equipped with four former Portuguese Navy ships – the corvette «Oliveira e Carmo», the patrol «Zambezi», frigate «Hermenegildo Capelo», and the oceanographic ship «Almeida Carvalho» – the Algarve coast has many other points of interest for divers, such as the more than 150 species of colorful nudibranchs (sea slugs), which are the delight of underwater photographers, the remains from the Battle of Lagos in the XNUMXth century, the four ships sunk during World War I.
«We have all the conditions, now we have to explore, take advantage of and, above all, promote, promote, promote», stressed Luís Sá Couto.
From the genesis of the idea to the immersion of «Almeida Carvalho», nearly seven years have passed «and three governments». An investment of 2,5 million euros was needed, spent mainly on preparing the ships, which were stripped of anything that could pose a danger of contamination or pollution of the seas, namely asbestos, PCBs and hydrocarbons.
And when will this investment be paid? «The return on this investment is not for me, it is not for my company in particular, but for the community», guaranteed Luís Sá Couto.
On what must have been the day of the last sinking of a ship in the «Ocean Revival» park, the operation aroused the curiosity of many people. In addition to the guests who attended ashore at the time, at the base of operations from the Hotel Alvor, about three dozen pleasure and tourist boats surrounded the ship, outside the security perimeter maintained by Navy vessels, to watch the moment of explosions and the rapid sinking.
On land, especially in Prainha and Alvor, dozens of people also follow. And at sea, a little further away, the liner “Mistral”, which, due to its dimensions, could not enter the port of Portimão and remained at sea, also offered its passengers this unexpected spectacle.
Veja here all the photos of the sinking of the hydrographic vessel “Almeida Carvalho”.
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