Have diving Baja California on your bucket list? Well, the area now has a new attraction.
A decommissioned Mexican Navy patrol ship was sunk recently off the coast of Baja California to set up an artificial reef.
Explosives were used to scuttle the 77-meter/253-foot URIBE 121 in El Descanso Bay off Rosarito Beach. The ship settled 29 meters/95 feet on the ocean floor, according to local TV channel Frontera Ensenada.
The URIBE 121 is the first of three ships planned for a ship cemetery zone that will be part of Rosarito Underwater Park, the only park of its type at the national level.
Organizers hope the new reef will help jump-start the local economy, with up to 40,000 local and foreign divers expected to visit the site the first year alone, bringing in up to 50 million pesos/US$3 million per year in tourism money.
Check out a video of the sinking (in Spanish) below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur5H-Wur0xU?
