Decommissioned rig will give Alabama two more reefs

Decommissioned rig will give Alabama two more reefs

A decommissioned natural gas rig located approximately 60 nautical miles south of the Sand Island Lighthouse has been repurposed to create two new sites in what is already the largest artificial reef program in the country just off Alabama’s coast thanks to an agreement between the rig’s previous owner, APA Corporation, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. To create the two new sites, the platform portion of Spirit VK 780A was removed and towed to shore for decommissioning. The remaining portions of the rig, the platform legs and well jacket, were cut at 90 feet below the water’s surface to allow for safe navigation above the new 400 square feet reef zone that was established around the base of the rig. The top portion of the rig measures 85 feet by 77 feet and extends upward 107 feet from the seafloor. It is located in 206 feet of water 55 nautical miles southwest of the Perdido Pass farewell buoy. The base of the rig remains in 722 feet of water 67.6 nautical miles southwest of the Perdido Pass farewell buoy. It rises 632 feet from the seafloor and maintains the habitat that has been growing on the platform since 1998. Decommissioned oil and natural gas rigs create long-term, stable reef structures that can provide productive marine habitat for more than 50 years. MRD established the Marathon Reef and Swingle Reef from retired rigs in 1983. These sites are still productive, functioning reefs more than 40 years later. More info: outdooralabama.com/ saltwater-fishing/artificial-reefs.