World War II ship to become largest artificial reef

A World War II troop carrier that saw duty in the Cold War and had a role in a movie is destined to become the largest artificial reef in Florida.

The 162-meter General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, among the hulks in the ever-thinning James River Reserve Fleet, will be towed to waters off Florida's Key West, probably in one year, the US Maritime Administration announced on Tuesday.

Vandenberg's fate is "good for the economy, good for the environment and a great deal for US taxpayers," said Sean T. Connaughton, head of the Maritime Administration. The administration manages more than 100 unwanted ships in Texas, California and off Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia, where the so-called Ghost Fleet is moored.