Saxon Ranger's watery grave

22/5/05
Thousands of people are expected to line the foreshore at Safety Bay this morning to witness the spectacular sight of the 400-tonne Saxon Ranger being sent to the bottom of the ocean.
The 38m fishing trawler will be scuttled to join 10 existing wrecks on the ocean floor of the new 279sq.km West Coast Dive Park, off Rockingham.
Housing and Works Minister Francis Logan said the entire scuttling process should take only 37 seconds from the time the explosives were detonated to the time the vessel hit the seabed.
Mr Logan said the Department of Housing and Works had worked as manager of the Saxon Ranger project since January, 2003 obtaining the vessel, issuing tenders for the preparation of the boat and co-ordinating the various approvals needed from the Federal Government.
The scuttling project cost $450,000 - the State Government provided $250,000 through a grant to the Department of Sport and Recreation, the City of Rockingham contributed $100,000 and a further $100,000 came from the Federal Government.
A contract to prepare the vessel for scuttling was awarded to a highly experienced company in the field, DG Artificial Reef Consultants.
Tourism Minister and Rockingham MLA Mark McGowan said he was delighted to see the scuttling of the Saxon Ranger going ahead.
"It will be the first vessel to be sunk deliberately at the park to form an artificial reef," Mr McGowan said.
"The artificial reef will further boost recreational diving tourism in the area, which currently contributes more than $120million to the Western Australian economy each year.
"I have advocated this project for many years now and believe it will bring more money, more jobs and more opportunities for the people of Rockingham."
The vessel was built in the English fishing port of Grimsby in the early 1960s and worked initially in the North Atlantic. The trawler was brought to Australia in 1974 and has since worked off the coast at Albany, as well as in Tasmanian and Antarctic waters.
The scuttling is due to take place at 10am.
Boats will be kept at least one kilometre away from the scuttling site at Warnbro Sound by patrols from the Department of Fisheries, Police, Conservation and Land Management and the Rockingham Sea Rescue group.
Minister's office: 9222 8950