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When the Texas Clipper, a 473-foot, 7,000 ton ship was recently sunk near S. Padre Island, Texas, surveyors from Lafayette, LA played an important role.

Surveyors from Fugro Chance Inc. and John Chance Land Surveys, Inc. used their technology to determine the water depth to aid in positioning the Clipper. A tugboat was used to tow the Clipper to the proper location with surveyors providing navigation guidance. Incorporating Fugro’s STARFIX.NAV® and DRONE® systems, a computer displayed the graphical depiction of the site and surveyors monitored the progress of the survey and navigation procedures. The navigation systems on the surveyors’ boat showed the ship’s position as it was being towed into the proposed location.

Once the ship was in the proper orientation, controlled flooding and opening the seacock valves were used to sink the ship. The sinking, in a water depth of 120 feet, took a little over an hour before the ship was completely submerged. The surveyors then used specialized acoustic imaging survey tools to scan the image of the ship on the seafloor to determine ship aspects and side profile of the ship.

The planned sinking of the Clipper on Saturday, November 17, 2007 was part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s “Ships to Reefs” program. The ship was towed from Brownsville, TX to a location 20 miles from the coast of South Padre Island, Texas where it became an artificial reef.

The Texas Clipper has a history of four lives. It began life as the USS Queens and was commissioned as a Navy troop transport ship and was among vessels in the Pacific at the battle of Iwo Jima. It was used in the American occupation of Japan until it was decommissioned in 1946. After the war, it was decommissioned as the SS Excambion as a luxury cruise ship between New York City and Mediterranean ports. It completed its last cruise in 1959. The ship was then commissioned as the first Texas Maritime Training Academy ship and served sea cadets at Texas A&M University at Galveston for three decades and named the Texas Clipper.

The Clipper will now live its fourth life as an artificial reef and provide an underwater habitat. It is expected to become an attraction for divers and fishermen, and to provide an economic boost for the South Padre Island area.

Fugro Chance Inc. is an offshore positioning and survey company. John Chance Land Surveys, Inc. offers land surveying and regulatory compliances services. Both companies are part of the international Fugro group of companies which has 275 offices in more than 50 countries and 11,000 employees. As a global leader, Fugro offers advanced geotechnical surveying, seismic, oceanographic, and positioning services.