Canada sank a retired warship; 5 years later, 170 marine species lived on it

A retired Canadian warship that was deliberately sunk off British Columbia in 2015 has become an artificial reef supporting a growing community of marine life. The former HMCS Annapolis, measuring 113.1 metres in length, was placed on the seabed at Halkett Bay Marine Park near Gambier Island to create additional habitat in an area affected by decades of log-boom storage. According to the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia (ARSBC), five years of biodiversity monitoring eventually documented more than 170 species of marine flora and fauna living on the wreck. Canada's Environment and Climate Change Canada records confirm that the vessel was approved for disposal at sea under a permit issued under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.From warship to reefThe Annapolis was a former Canadian naval destroyer escort that had been decommissioned before eventually being acquired by the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia.