Good news for dive fans - the Vandenberg, a decommissioned US Air Force missile-tracking ship, is finally headed to Key West with the last steps of a 13-year process to create the newest artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, nearing completion.

On Easter Sunday [12 April], tugboats eased the 523-foot-long retired Air Force missile tracking ship down the Elizabeth River into Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia, USA. From there, a single 90-foot-long ocean-going tugboat, the Elsbeth III, led the 66-year-old vessel on its final Atlantic coastal voyage. The 1,100-mile voyage to Key West, undertaken at about 6 mph, should take about a week, according to Captain Latham Smith, owner of Smith Towing.

Following the Vandenberg�s arrival in Key West, at least a month will be required to complete necessary work before the ship can be sunk six miles south of the island in about 140 feet of water. Once sunk, it should provide new habitat for marine life, a recreational venue for divers and fishermen and an "underwater classroom" for marine science students. Project organizers anticipate the scuttling should take place between May 20 and June 1, 2009, but won�t project an exact date until after the ship arrives in Key West.

Seventy percent of the $8.6 million project�s funding resources and some 75,000 man-hours were required to rid the vessel of contaminants, according to Jeff Dey of Reefmakers.

The removals and additional ship cleansing were required to receive the necessary federal and state permits to sink the ship in the sanctuary without risking environmental impact to the marine ecosystem.

Project organisers say the prime attraction of the Vandenberg is its huge size and diversified structure that should appeal to divers of all skill levels. While some sections of the ship are expected to rise to within 40 feet of the surface, other areas should appeal to divers with advanced certification to dive in deep environments beneath overhead structures.

�There is simply nothing else like the Vandenberg for divers,� said Joe Weatherby, who founded Artificial Reefs of the Keys and began efforts to get the Vandenberg to Key West. �There are a dozen dive points that will come within 40 to 50 feet of the surface, while deeper areas will provide opportunities for advanced divers.

"At about 100 feet, the properly trained and equipped technical diver will be able swim a full 475 feet along the starboard section of Deck 1," he said.

The ship first saw duty as a U.S. Army troop transport named the General Harry Taylor. It became the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg in 1963 and tracked Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space launches off Cape Canaveral. It was retired in 1983, but received its most public exposure when cast as a Russian science ship in "Virus," a 1999 motion picture starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Sutherland.

When scuttled, the Vandenberg will become the second largest ship in the world ever to be intentionally sunk to be an artificial reef. Currently, the Spiegel Grove in Key Largo is the second largest and it is to drop a notch to number three.

"It's the final piece of the Florida Keys 'Wreck Trek' puzzle, said Bob Holston, president of the Keys Association of Dive Operators. �We'll have two major shipwrecks at either end of the Keys."

Project officials say the Vandenberg reef is expected to generate $80 million in tourism-related sales during the next 10 years, and point out environmental benefits including alleviating recreational diving pressure on natural coral reefs.

For more information, dive in to www.bigshipwrecks.com. For images of the Vandenberg, visit http://media.fla-keys.com/section_display.cfm?section_id=238.

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Media Enquiries: Sarah Shenston/ Kate Burgess at KBC PR & Marketing on 01825 76 36 33 Sarah.shenston@kbc-pr.com / kate.burgess@kbc-pr.com.