On the evening of July 30, the Deep Gulf Wrecks Team reached the site of
Virginia, a 10,731-ton tanker sunk on
May 12, 2003, by U-507. the wreck lies
in approximately 238 feet of water.
As expected, visibility is limited at the site
(varying between 3 to 12 feet). The proximity of the site to the South
Pass of the Mississippi River and the shallower water depths allow for a
much greater influx of suspended sediment than we should experience at
any of the other sites. As we move into deeper waster, the conditions
should improve considerably.
Microbiologist Lori Johnston, Joey
Lekovich of Sonsub, and Project Manager Rob Church, plan the initial ROV
dive on deck of the HOS Dominator.
The stern of the vessel
appears to be separated from the rest of the vessel, just aft of the
superstructure. There is not much of the superstructure remaining. The
bridge telegraph is visible (still in place) and is in a poor state of
preservation. There is abundant biological growth on and near the wreck
site (red snapper, sea whips, sea fans, various corals, etc.).
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Sequence of photos showing the
launching of the Triton
XL-11 ROV over the wreck of the tanker Virginia.
Click to enlarge. |
During the night, we completed
the reconnaissance of the main hull of the shipwreck. Early in the
morning, we completed three transect lines over the main hull and three
transect lines approximately 1000 feet from the main hull. These will
be the only lines we run at this site because of the poor visibility.
All of the vertebrate (fish) and invertebrate (shrimp, etc.) traps are
deployed. There are ten traps total and fish were collecting in the
traps even before they were set on the seafloor. We just completed
taking all four sediment push cores and are now in the biological
collection phase of the project at this site. The excitement level has
increased considerably among the five biology groups represented.
Crab with a barnacle parasite.
The conditions at the wreck site
caused us to scale back the operation and limit some of the
archaeological documentation we wanted to achieve. We knew that would
be a possibility before we started, however and planned accordingly. By
utilizing the existing survey data and historical records we should
still be able to meet our archaeological objectives at this site. On
the other hand, for the biologists this site should prove to be quite
productive.
Peter Hitchcock removes a core sample
from its tube.
Although we had some initial
delays at the start of the project, we are back on schedule. We should
finish up our work at the Virginia by
midnight and be over the Halo site by
morning.
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