Ark Royal's future beneath the waves

British Forces news - 

The Royal Navy’s former flagship HMS Ark Royal could have a new future in the submarine world of diving.

A group of scuba divers are bidding to turn the old aircraft carrier into a dive wreck but must first raise three-and-a-half million pounds.

Michael Byfield and James Doddrell from Torbay believe turning Ark Royal into a reef could bring £40 million into the Devon economy, creating the largest artificial shipwreck reef in the world. It would mean towing the vessel to a port to be stripped and made clean enough to be sunk.

The idea could repeat the success of HMS Scylla, which since being sunk has attracted thousands of divers to Plymouth, generating millions of pounds for the local economy.

The divers have formed a team called ArkRoyalReef which was one of a number of interested buyers to tour the vessel last week.

They say they do not want to see the former flagship follow n the wake of HMS Invincible, which was towed to Turkey for scrap.

Diver Michael Byfield said: "We have to meet all the strict guidelines on completely cleaning the vessel of any contaminants and pollutants.

"The MOD would strip 70 per cent plus of all the pollutants before they can release it, taking out the diesel and slurry etc. We are talking to a few companies about towing her, and talking to ports where we could store her.

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