Artificial Reefs

The Saint Lucia Dive Association has been involved in the creation of a number of artificial reefs over the years.

Back in 1996, the government of Japan sent two barges to the south of Saint Lucia, to assist in the dredging of Vieux Fort harbour to facilitate larger ships. At the end of the project, the Japanese determined that the cost to return the ships to Japan was too high, and instead donated the vessels to be sunk as artificial reefs, one in Vieux Fort, the other, now a popular dive site known as Daini Koyomaru, at Anse Cochon. The sinking of the Daini Koyomaru, which is Japanese for “boat number two”, was facilitated by Anbaglo, in conjunction with the Soufriere Marine Management Association.

In 2018, the Association was involved in the sinking of the Vicky B and SK2 barges, both at Anse Cochon.

The Vicky B has a checkered past with varying stories depending on who you speak to. Tainted with skullduggery, it took more than a year after the vessel was released by the courts, to acquire it for sinking as an artificial reef. The 165’ freighter lies in 80’ of water, with the shallowest part in about 50’, with bow facing seaward. The vessel sank with its forklift still in the hull and is a popular dive site due to the abundance of sealife that has made a home within its walls.

The SK2 was a barge used for the transportation of sand and aggregate, and originally ran aground in front of the Hummingbird Beach Resort in Soufriere. The wreck now lies in a maximum of 100’ of water with the shallowest part in 70’.

The Association has also partnered with the Sandals Foundation on an artificial reef in Soufriere, and with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (5Cs) on one in Canaries.

More recently, Anbaglo has overseen the creation of an additional four artificial reefs as part of the wider “North Project” with the National Conservation Fund, which includes the coral nurseries at Cutty Cove. Two of these wrecks are located at Cutty Cove, one at Berger Rock just south of Rodney Bay, and one at Rat Island, north of Castries.