Jean Marc Martinez, municipal councilor of La Ciotat in charge of environmental affairs and president of the Environmental Observatory, wishes to submerge an artificial reef ship in the city’s waters. A first in the waters of France.
This commendable initiative by the Environmental Observatory, supported by the city hall, aims to submerge a previously decontaminated ship on a relatively shallow sandy bed (about thirty meters). It will allow marine life to develop there, serving as a shelter and artificial reef. It can be visited by local diving clubs, being easily accessible to divers of all levels, thus reducing pressure on natural rocks. This project is of environmental, economic, and heritage interest, especially considering the city’s history and affinity with the maritime and naval domain.
A first in France
Divers are accustomed to exploring shipwrecks on the French coasts, but none of these vessels have been deliberately submerged. However, we regularly see other countries decontaminate and then submerge ships, planes or other craft to transform them into dive sites that will be colonized by marine life. In France, and especially in the Mediterranean, such a project had never been proposed because it was thought that the Barcelona Convention classified any deliberate submersion of a ship as ‘waste’. However, voices have been rising for years to prove that this text does not include the submersion of previously decontaminated artificial reef ships. This is particularly the case with Julien Belda, a maritime law jurist, who examined the issue and conducted a study to demonstrate the feasibility of such a project. Moreover, other signatory countries of the Convention have already carried out the submersion of artificial reef ships in the past, sometimes benefiting from European aid!
Numerous supports
The president of the Environmental Observatory of La Ciotat launched this initiative by sending a letter this February to the DDTM (Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea), explicitly requesting a principle agreement or a favorable opinion to officially start the process, with the support of the French State, to submerge this first artificial reef ship on our coasts. This project has already received numerous official supports, including: the historic diving club of Le Ciotat, the GPES (Group for Fishing and Submarine Studies), the prud’homie of fishing, the FFESSM (French Federation of Underwater Studies and Sports) national and South Region, and the ANMP (National Association of Diving Instructors).
This superb action is generating genuine enthusiasm among sector stakeholders, which will hopefully lead to the submersion of an artificial reef ship on our coasts!
Documents available
The letter sent by Jean Marc Martinez to the DDTM
The letters of support from the prud’homie of fishing, the GPES, theANMP, the FFESSM South, the FFESSM.
illustration image: Several wrecks are present in the waters of La Ciotat. None have been deliberately submerged. © Nicolas Barraqué