Navy explosives experts ready to sink the Oriskany
_________________________________________________________________
Pensacola News Journal
By Troy Moon
April 28, 2006
March Madness was last month. But a group of Navy explosives experts are just now cooking up their own betting pool.
Not to see which team is tops in the land. But to see how quickly the 888-foot-long Oriskany sinks to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert Evans said Thursday that estimates are anywhere from 90 minutes to five hours.
"But let me get my slide rule out," Evans joked. "I think (it will sink) before two hours."
Evans' guess probably is better than most. The 24-year career Navy explosives expert is officer in charge of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 6 Detachment-Panama City, the unit that will sink the decommissioned aircraft carrier. The tentative date for the sinking is May 17.
Evans and his small team of Navy explosives experts plan to use about 500 pounds of explosives to sink the ship in 212 feet of water about 22.5 miles southeast of Pensacola Pass. The Oriskany is being sunk to become an underwater reef and diving destination.
On May 16 -- the day before the scheduled sinking -- Evans and his team will place explosives and detonation devices on 22 pipes and valves in the bottom of the ship. The plan is for the explosives, once detonated, to fracture the valves and surrounding piping, causing the 32,000-ton ship to slowly flood.
Evans said the Oriskany should settle flat on the Gulf bottom, leaving about 67 feet from the ship's highest point to the water surface.
For two years, Evans and his team have made frequent trips to the Oriskany to plan the ship's scuttling.
His unit, based at the Panama City Naval Support Activity, normally spends its time disposing of unexploded ordnance that washes up on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico and assisting local law enforcement when they handle explosive devices.
Evans said his team is up to the challenge of sinking the Oriskany -- and pretty revved up for the task.
"We don't get to sink an aircraft carrier every day," he said. "But the (demolition) part hasn't changed."
Evans and his team also will be the first divers to visit the sunken Oriskany. He said divers -- all EOD experts are trained divers -- will inspect the Oriskany within 24 hours of it being sunk.
"We'll see if it's sitting the way they want it," Evans said. "And we'll take some depth readings."
Security will keep recreational divers away from the Oriskany for at least 48 hours after it is sunk in case loose objects inside the ship float toward the surface.
____
www.artificial-reefs.blogspot.com
April 28, 2006
March Madness was last month. But a group of Navy explosives experts are just now cooking up their own betting pool.
Not to see which team is tops in the land. But to see how quickly the 888-foot-long Oriskany sinks to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert Evans said Thursday that estimates are anywhere from 90 minutes to five hours.
"But let me get my slide rule out," Evans joked. "I think (it will sink) before two hours."
Evans' guess probably is better than most. The 24-year career Navy explosives expert is officer in charge of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 6 Detachment-Panama City, the unit that will sink the decommissioned aircraft carrier. The tentative date for the sinking is May 17.
Evans and his small team of Navy explosives experts plan to use about 500 pounds of explosives to sink the ship in 212 feet of water about 22.5 miles southeast of Pensacola Pass. The Oriskany is being sunk to become an underwater reef and diving destination.
On May 16 -- the day before the scheduled sinking -- Evans and his team will place explosives and detonation devices on 22 pipes and valves in the bottom of the ship. The plan is for the explosives, once detonated, to fracture the valves and surrounding piping, causing the 32,000-ton ship to slowly flood.
Evans said the Oriskany should settle flat on the Gulf bottom, leaving about 67 feet from the ship's highest point to the water surface.
For two years, Evans and his team have made frequent trips to the Oriskany to plan the ship's scuttling.
His unit, based at the Panama City Naval Support Activity, normally spends its time disposing of unexploded ordnance that washes up on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico and assisting local law enforcement when they handle explosive devices.
Evans said his team is up to the challenge of sinking the Oriskany -- and pretty revved up for the task.
"We don't get to sink an aircraft carrier every day," he said. "But the (demolition) part hasn't changed."
Evans and his team also will be the first divers to visit the sunken Oriskany. He said divers -- all EOD experts are trained divers -- will inspect the Oriskany within 24 hours of it being sunk.
"We'll see if it's sitting the way they want it," Evans said. "And we'll take some depth readings."
Security will keep recreational divers away from the Oriskany for at least 48 hours after it is sunk in case loose objects inside the ship float toward the surface.
____
www.artificial-reefs.blogspot.com
posted by Pedro Caleja @ 10:50 AM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home