Specialist explosive sinks ship to make reef

The corvette Afonso Cerqueira, which was retired from service in 2015, was sunk 450 metres off the coast of Madeira in less than 100 seconds. SABREX, an explosive cutting charge, was used to cut 16 x 1 square metre holes out of the ship’s hull under the waterline.

“We needed to rapidly and very precisely cut holes big enough to allow in the water, but without weakening or damaging any of the superstructure. The idea is for the ship to remain intact and upright to help improve biodiversity and develop underwater tourism,” said Chris Smith of Chemring Energetics UK (CEUK), which manufactures SABREX and supplies it from its site in Ardeer on Scotland’s west coast.

Tough and resilient

SABREX is easily formed to fit complex target shapes and designed to cut some of the toughest man-made and natural materials.

It can be used in depths of 12m with no adverse effect on its performance and is supplied in lengths of 4m in six different sizes, allowing the engineer to minimise the Net Explosive Quantity (NEQ) needed to sever the target

“The project in Madeira demonstrates its potential in marine salvage operations,” said Mr Smith.

Plans are already underway for two more warships to be sunk.

CEUK worked closely with the regional government of Madeira, the Portuguese Navy and contractors Tecnovia Madeira on the project.

By Rebecca Jeffrey