The valves opened, the sea gurgled in and slowly, imperceptibly at first, the ship began its journey to the bottom of the Atlantic.
The 60-metre MV Shingle debuted in Ireland a decade ago as a smuggling vessel, but then became an unwanted hulk. On Wednesday afternoon it performed its swan song – scuttled off County Mayo to create an artificial reef.
A flotilla of smaller boats with spectators circled and a drone fed live footage to YouTube, providing an audience for the sunlit scene off Killala Bay.
Authorities hope the wreck, from its new home on the seabed, will enhance the ecosystem and boost tourism by enticing divers to Ireland’s west coast.
It might also redeem a cargo vessel associated with crime. In June 2014 armed police and customs officers intercepted the Moldovan-registered ship, which had sailed from Slovenia via Portugal, as it neared the port of Drogheda, north of Dublin.
The Europe-wide security operation netted 32m cigarettes and four tonnes of tobacco apparently destined for the hidden market.
It also created a headache for Irish revenue officials who were left with a rusting, asbestos-tainted vessel. Nobody wanted to buy it and scrapping it was prohibitively expensive. So it sat in Dublin port for nine years and then last year was towed to New Ross port, no longer seaworthy.
A Mayo-based campaign group called Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef persuaded Mayo and Sligo county councils that the ship could create an artificial marine reef – Ireland’s first – and benefit marine life and tourism. The group said it wished to create an “Atlantic underwater oasis”.
Many sunken wrecks around the world teem with marine life including coral, eels, snappers and sharks, according to Smithsonian Ocean.
Revenue officials agreed to donate a vessel, which since being seized has cost about €2m in berthing fees, maintenance and remedial work, including the removal of asbestos and residual oils.
Michael Loftus, a Mayo councillor and diver who led the initiative, said the project had been a “long and hard road”. He hopes the wreck will generate income and spur research. “We expect that this money they have spent on it will be paid back within a three-year period from diving, tourism, fishing tourism, marine research,” he told RTÉ.
The Shingle was towed from New Ross and arrived at Killala Bay on Tuesday. About a dozen dinghies and other small boats accompanied the former cargo vessel on its last voyage on Wednesday.
Soon after 3pm, about 2km from shore, its valve tanks were opened. Nothing appeared to happen at first. After an hour it was visibly lower in the water.
It sank lower and listed to its starboard side, the ocean claiming the bow. The end came just before 5pm, and was swift: in a few seconds the bridge plunged beneath the water, producing foam which bubbled and swirled, then vanished, leaving calm, placid water.
The ship rested on the seabed 29 metres (95ft) below.
